Jamshedpur: The Centre's decision to exempt sanitary pads from goods and services tax (GST) has initiated a positive social change in a nation where women's health is not one of the top priorities, social workers and women entrepreneurs feel.
Pooja Mahto, a Class VIII student of Rajkiyakrit Jamshedpur Balika Uchcha Vidyalaya is happy that she and her friends can now afford sanitary napkins and won't have to stay away from school during those difficult days.
Most women and girls in villages and slums use unsanitised cloth during menstruation instead of spending money on sanitary pads.
The National Family Health Survey for 2015-16 shows about 62 per cent girls between the age group of 15-24 years still use cloth for protection during menstruation.
Conceding to a year-long demand, the GST on sanitary pads was cut from 12 per cent to zero on Saturday.
"There won't be much change in the affordability of the product but the initiative will change the mindsets of people. India is not just about working urban women but a large chunk of rural women for whom buying a Rs 30 lipstick is important than purchasing pads. This initiative will make people feel that women health is important and pads are more of a necessity than vermilion and bangles," Ranchi-based social activist Malavika Sharma, who works on gender equality, said.
Women entrepreneurs expressed similar views, but emphasised on more initiatives to bring down the cost of pads to make them more affordable for rural women. "I think a lot of awareness needs to be created in rural areas. The companies should now focus on manufacturing quality products at an affordable cost," said Ujwala Asundi Kumar, entrepreneur and chairperson of the CII Women's Empowerment Panel (Jharkhand).
The move is expected to benefit manufacturers as the drop in prices is likely to lead to an increase in sales. "We can now slash the price of our products by Rs 6. So a pack of sanitary pads that used to cost 22 in villages will now cost Rs 16," said Dolly Vig, a social worker and manufacturer of Sakhi Saheli sanitary napkins in Baradwari, Jamshedpur.
Poonam Maahanand, founder of social outfit Nischay, which has created pad banks to boost menstrual health, lauded the initiative.
"You know a change has begun when 10 boys send you messages saying they are happy about sanitary pads being made tax-free," she said.
