By: Ollus Ndomu
Malawian women’s rights groups have continued to hail the government for scraping off the infamous “period tax” after years lobbying and discussions.
Speaking earlier this week, Finance Minister Sosten Gwengwe announced that the government had axed the 16.5% tax on sanitary pads:
“In the spirit of promoting girl child education, government has listened to the contributions that came from various stakeholders and has consequently removed duty and excise tax on sanitary pads.”
The continental NGO championing Menstrual Health and Hygiene, AFRIpads expressed delight in the development saying, “We believe scrapping taxes of period products is crucial in making menstrual products more affordable and accessible. We have therefore been involved in period tax advocacy campaigns in several countries across Africa.”
Going by this latest development, girls will no longer miss school due to period poverty as prices of sanitary pads are expected to drop significantly.
Meanwhile, Malawi has also cut tax on cooking oil and tap water in effort to arrest the soaring prices and increasing access to drinking water.
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