Pakistani Woman Challenges Government Over Period Tax on Sanitary Pads: A Fight for Women's Rights

The petition argues that period taxes unfairly burden women by making essential hygiene products prohibitively expensive.

A determined 25-year-old Pakistani woman has initiated legal action against the government, challenging what she calls the "period tax" on sanitary pads.

Mahnoor Omer, who was raised in Rawalpindi, has submitted a public interest litigation (PIL) to the Islamabad High Court. Her legal argument centers on the claim that imposing taxes on menstrual hygiene products represents a violation of women's constitutional rights to equality and dignity.

In September, Omer and her attorney, Ahsan Jahangir Khan, formally filed "Mahnoor Omer vs Federation of Pakistan," naming multiple government entities as respondents. These include the National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW), the National Commission of Human Rights (NCHR), the Ministry of Finance, and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

The petition contends that such excessive taxation treats a fundamental necessity as a luxury item, which is both irrational and perpetuates gender inequality.

During an interview with Al Jazeera, Omer recalled her school experiences of concealing sanitary pads within her shirt sleeve "like a drug addict hiding a substance." She mentioned that teachers would reprimand students who discussed menstruation openly. One classmate even shared that her mother viewed sanitary pads as a "waste of money."

Omer, now a lawyer herself, began her human rights advocacy as a teenager when she and her friends created "dignity kits" for economically disadvantaged women in their community. "That's when it hit me. If middle-class families think this way, imagine how out of reach these products are for others," she explained.

The petition argues that these taxes discriminate against women by making essential hygiene products costly. This contradicts Pakistan's Constitution, which guarantees equality, dignity, fair treatment, and social justice for all citizens.

Jahangir Khan characterizes the lawsuit as an issue of justice rather than merely taxation. "It's a tax on a biological function," he states. "Men don't face it, so why should women?" He believes that Pakistan's predominantly male policymaking has consistently overlooked women's realities.

In Pakistan, the government imposes an 18% sales tax on domestically manufactured pads and a 25% customs duty on imported ones or the materials used in their production. With additional local taxes, UNICEF reports that the total tax burden may reach up to 40%.

A standard package of 10 sanitary pads in Pakistan costs approximately Rs 450. With the country's average monthly income at around Rs 33,000, this price equals a low-income family's meal of rotis and dal for four people.

If the 40% tax on sanitary pads were eliminated, the price would decrease to approximately Rs 270.

According to data from UNICEF and WaterAid, only 12% of Pakistani women use sanitary pads, while the remainder rely on cloth or other potentially unsafe alternatives.