Sanitary products are taxable in almost every country and, this is one of the major reasons why so many under privileged women can’t always afford it.

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But, according to reports by Reuters, now Scotland leads the way to make sanitary products freely available for all women in the nation. 

Plans to make sanitary pads and tampons free for all women were approved by the Scottish parliament on Tuesday. Scotland is the first country in the world to do so. 

As per the legislation, designated public places like community centres, youth clubs and pharmacies will provide free tampons and sanitary products. And, the new policy will cost an estimated 24.1 million pounds ($31.2 million).

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The Period Products (Free Provision) Scotland Bill was passed in the parliament with 112 votes in favour, none against and one abstention. 

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Now, the policy has been moved to the second phase where members of the Scottish parliament will have to propose amendments. During a debate in the Parliament the bill’s sponsor, Monica Lennon said:

The legislation is a milestone moment for normalizing menstruation in Scotland and sending out that real signal to people in this country about how seriously parliament takes gender equality.

In 2018, Scotland did something very similar. It became the first country in the world to provide free sanitary products in schools, colleges and universities.

People on social media are lauding the progressive move made by the Scottish government and this is what they have to say: 

Currently, sanitary products in the UK are taxed at 5%. The passing of the new bill is a big win for the global movement to stop onereous pricing for sanitary products including “tampon taxes” that categorise them as ‘luxury items’. 

www.medicalnewstoday.com

We hope that other countries too will follow suit since sanitary products should not to be seen as ‘luxury items’ but, as a necessity.