Why are sanitary napkins taxed when beedis are tax free? NGO SheSays has started a campaign called #LahuKaLagaan which aims to push Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to abolish the tax on women’s sanitary products from the GST.
The campaign has spread ferociously on Twitter with many celebrities joining in and tweeting about how sanitary napkins should be made tax free. Everyone, right from actress Aditi Rao Hydari to Miss Malini, is talking about how bleeding is not a luxury, how women can't help bleeding and how it is a natural biological process which should not be taxed.
Here's comedian Mallika Dua speaking about the issue in her 'makeup didi' avatar.
https://twitter.com/MallikaDua/status/854273793610702848
Samyak Chakrabarty, MD X Billion Labs tells SheThePeople.TV that he is writing a letter to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley about the issue. "I am going to tell him that while on the one hand the government is enabling bans, this is something that they can do which will commonly appeal to everyone. It will also appease younger audiences," he says.
"Modi talks about Swasth Bharat, a healthy India and proper menstruation practices are a fundamental step towards promoting women health," he says. Chakrabarty will also mention how Modi's speeches about women's empowerment have to translate into the government taking stands that are more progressive.
Deepanjali Dalmia, who is launching a biodegradable sanitary napkin company this year, tells SheThePeople.TV that sanitary napkins must be made tax-free. "The lack of affordable women's healthcare products isn't a worry anymore, it is like a pernicious plague affecting women all over India," she says.
Pleas are pouring in from all corners of the Internet. Here's a few from the Twitterati:
https://twitter.com/mojorojo/status/854298421376757760
And the list goes on...
Also Read: Delhi Govt Reduces Tax On Sanitary Napkins
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