AMN /
Despite it being a hygienic requisite of nearly half the population, sanitary napkins are treated as luxury product and currently taxed up to 14.5 per cent.
Silchar MP, Sushmita Dev raised her voice against this discrimination and wrote a letter to Finance Minister and has requested him to ensure that women are not taxed unfairly. In her letter to Ms Dev said that taxing sanitary napkins creates economic obstacles for women from getting easy access to them.
According to experts, only 12 per cent of the country’s 355 million women are using sanitary napkins.Beyond affordability, Articles 14, 15, 21, and 47 of the Indian Constitution guarantees ‘Equality before the Law, Prohibits Discrimination based on Sex and Propagates States to exercise their Right to Improve the Standard of Living of its Citizens’.