In a world where half the population menstruates and yet millions still struggle to access basic hygiene products, Nepal’s recent Supreme Court decision to abolish all taxes on sanitary pads is not just a fiscal reform—it’s a feminist victory, an economic correction, and a symbol of what responsible governance can look like.
For years, menstrual products have been quietly taxed, subtly treated as luxuries—subject to duties, VATs, and even social shame. Yet periods are not a choice, not a privilege, and certainly not a luxury. They are an inescapable biological function that comes with pain, discomfort, and for many—especially in South Asia—crippling stigma.
That is why Nepal’s move is not just timely; it is revolutionary.
The Courtroom Catalyst
At the heart of this story are two determined young law students, Shreena Nepal and Abhyuday Bhetwal, who dared to ask a simple but profound question: Why should menstruating individuals be taxed for something they cannot control? Their legal petition invoked constitutional rights to health, dignity, and equality—and they won. In June 2025, Nepal’s Supreme Court ordered the government to eliminate all taxes—customs duties and VAT—on sanitary pads, whether imported or locally manufactured.
But what resonates more than the courtroom victory is the message: when civic courage meets constitutional clarity, even the most entrenched taboos can be dismantled. The duo’s battle is a reminder that where there is a will, there truly is a way.
Why This Matters So Much
Let’s be clear—this is not just about a few rupees shaved off a pack of pads. This is about structural access. For a young girl in rural Nepal, the cost of a sanitary napkin is often the cost of her education. She may skip school to avoid humiliation. She may resort to unsafe alternatives like rags, leaves, or newspapers, risking infections and long-term health issues. What begins as a biological inconvenience becomes a barrier to opportunity.
Removing the “red tax” isn’t charity—it’s an act of justice. It signals that menstrual health is a right, not a privilege reserved for urban elites. It affirms that every woman, no matter where she’s born or what she earns, deserves to manage her period with dignity.
The Economics of Menstruation
There’s an unspoken economic layer here. Sanitary pads, when taxed, contribute to what is globally known as the “tampon tax”—a term that exposes the absurdity of classifying essential hygiene items as taxable goods. Imagine being taxed for breathing air or drinking water. Why should bleeding naturally come at a financial penalty?
Nepal imported over 213 million sanitary pads last year. With customs duties and VAT combined, consumers were effectively paying around 18% more than the base cost. That’s a heavy price to pay for a necessity. For women living on the edge of poverty, even a 10-rupee difference can determine whether she buys a pad or skips a meal.
Moreover, taxing menstrual products has a ripple effect: it impacts attendance in schools, productivity at work, and even public health outcomes. The economic burden isn't personal—it becomes societal.
The Supreme Court’s decision, thus, does more than make pads cheaper. It repositions menstrual products as what they always should have been—medical essentials. Like vaccines or contraceptives, they must be accessible, affordable, and stigma-free.
Beyond Policy: The Role of NGOs and Corporates in Menstrual Health
While progressive policies create the legal scaffolding for menstrual equity, real change often begins on the ground. NGOs and social entrepreneurs have been working tirelessly to fill the access and awareness gap. From distributing free or low-cost sanitary products to hosting community sessions that break long-held taboos, grassroots initiatives such as Goonj’s "Not Just a Piece of Cloth" have brought critical change where formal systems faltered.
Corporates too, through their CSR arms, have joined the movement—funding pad-making units run by women, installing sanitary vending machines in schools, and supporting education drives on menstrual hygiene. These scattered efforts have made a difference, but the challenge now is scale and sustainability. A more unified, national approach is required—one that ensures consistent access, quality products, and dignity for all, no matter where they live.
What Can India Learn?
India made headlines in 2018 by removing the 12% Goods and Services Tax (GST) on sanitary pads after massive public pressure and years of campaigning. But the journey didn’t end there. Despite the rollback, many companies did not reduce retail prices, citing high input costs. That’s because the raw materials used to make pads — like super absorbent polymers, cellulose, non-woven fabric, and even packaging — are still taxed under GST. For big manufacturers, this inflates costs; for smaller women-run units or rural producers, it acts as a roadblock to scale. The benefit of the tax cut, thus, never fully reached the consumer. In rural and semi-urban India, a packet of pads remains expensive for millions of menstruators — a silent but significant barrier to menstrual health equity.
Nepal has gone a step further—not just removing GST equivalents, but customs duties and VAT, and in doing so, created momentum for domestic manufacturers to ramp up production. This is an opportunity India can build on. By subsidizing raw materials, incentivizing rural pad-making units (especially women-run cooperatives), and strengthening public distribution of menstrual products, India can convert its tax gesture into a full-blown menstrual equity movement.
After all, the world’s largest democracy cannot afford to let its women bleed silently in shame or poverty.
Menstrual Health is Empowerment
We talk often of women’s empowerment, usually in glossy brochures and panel discussions. But real empowerment lies in the basics—sanitation, safety, and access. Empowerment is when a girl in a village school doesn’t have to worry about staining her uniform or hiding a pad in shame. Empowerment is when a working woman doesn’t lose a day’s wages because she had no access to period products. Empowerment is when we stop treating menstruation as a monthly curse and begin seeing it as a natural cycle that deserves support, not stigma.
Let’s not forget the emotional cost.
Periods are painful. Physically, yes—but also mentally. The constant calculations—how many pads do I have left, can I afford another pack, where will I hide it from my brothers—are daily burdens. A government’s job is not to compound these struggles with taxes; it is to ease them with policy.
A Cultural Shift Begins with Policy
Nepal’s decision won’t dismantle centuries of taboo overnight. But policy shapes perception. When the state declares that sanitary pads are as essential as rice or medicine, society listens. When lawmakers back biology with dignity, generations shift.
We’ve long talked about the “pink tax”—the extra money women spend simply for being women. Sanitary pad taxes are a glaring example. What Nepal has done is puncture that logic with constitutional compassion.
India, and indeed the rest of the developing world, should take note. Menstruation is not a marketplace—it’s a human right. Taxing it is not just bad economics; it is bad ethics.
In the end, the message is simple but profound: Dignity should never come with a price tag.
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