Taxing The Menstruating Women
Finally, GST is rolled out. Pundits are busy analyzing the pros and Cons while normal citizens are curious about what gets cheaper or dearer. Listing sanitary napkins under 12% tax slab is disheartening for most of the women. It’s more irritating to know that bindi, kajal, sindoor, and bangles are tax exempted by the same policy makers. It definitely shows the priorities of our patriarchal society. Isn’t women rights mere tokenism? Are we endorsing the cultural symbolism over today’s women’s genuine issues? A decorative woman is an eye-catcher while a menstruating, dirty and miserable woman is neglected cavalierly. Our modern minds have abolished many ill-practices pertinent to menstruation still we ignore to understand the tough challenges it has imposed. Categorizing the sanitary pads under high tax slab is an implication to opt for alternatives. The question here is – why are the sanitary napkins considered a luxury item? First, if ...