The Ketu North MP, Abla Dzifa Gomashie, has urged the government to remove all taxes on sanitary products to make them affordable and accessible for girls during their periods.
She lamented the high taxes on sanitary pads, which she said have pushed many girls into transactional sex in order to afford them.
“Some of these girls, out of ignorance and a need that they don’t know how to handle, are having transactional sex because a man is providing a simple sanitary pad for them.”
She said this affects their daily lives and their dignity.
The government is facing pressure to remove taxes on sanitary pads.
On Thursday, June 22, many Ghanaians stormed Parliament demanding that taxes on sanitary pads be scrapped immediately.
They said the 12.5 percent VAT and the 20 percent import tax on sanitary pads have made the prices of the item too high for women who make up 51 percent of Ghana’s population.
The Speaker of Parliament also instructed the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta not to present the 2024 budget with a tax component on sanitary pads.
However, the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) has warned the Akufo-Addo government not to attempt to remove taxes on imported sanitary pads.
AGI argued that scrapping the taxes on sanitary pads will harm the economy.
