A campaign which asks government to make sanitary napkins tax-free has been trending on Twitter.
SheSays, a non-profitorganisation, started the campaign with #LahukaLagaan. The campaign urges finance minister Arun Jaitley to exempt the tax on sanitary napkins by making it a non-luxury item under the GST.
Legal representations have been sent to govt officials on behalf of women at large. These are few of our demands #LahuKaLagaan @arunjaitley pic.twitter.com/cVddBhTQqU
— SheSays (@SheSaysIndia) April 19, 2017
However, Delhi government has reduced the tax on sanitary pads to 5 percent from the earlier 12.5 percent in March 2017. The tax on sanitary napkins is still 14% in many other states.
Read more:Online petition to FM Arun Jaitley for removing taxes on sanitary napkins
Meanwhile, Congress President Sonia Gandhi has supported a Change.org petition, started by Congress MP Sushmita Dev, for scrapping of tax on sanitary napkins and recalled that during previous UPA government she had called for providing napkin free to BPL families.
Several celebrities and standup comedians have tweeted to the finance minister in support of the campaign.
Morning @arunjaitley ??
sanitary napkins are a necessity not a luxury &more women should be able to afford them minus GST-pl?#LahuKaLagaan pic.twitter.com/EzWx1FOwYX— Aditi Rao Hydari (@aditiraohydari) April 19, 2017
@SheSaysIndia @arunjaitley Mr @arunjaitley astonishing fact.. isn’t it? I never knew it myself that using a sanitary napkin is a luxury..STUNNED!! 1/2
— Gutta Jwala (@Guttajwala) April 19, 2017
Remove tax on sanitary pads. The insensitivity is simply because men don’t need them. #LahuKaLagaan @SheSaysIndia @arunjaitley
— radhika vaz (@radvaz) April 19, 2017
23% of girls drop out of schools on reaching menarche! Sanitary Napkins really need to be made more affordable @arunjaitley #LahukaLagaan https://t.co/jz3NimSWeC
— MissMalini (@MissMalini) April 19, 2017
Hi @arunjaitley Want to see whats in my bag? Watch this video. #LahuKaLagaan #travelwithshenaz @SheSaysIndia @MissMalini @Tutejajoginder pic.twitter.com/kueyy7VoQV
— Shenaz Treasury (@ShenazTreasury) April 18, 2017
Dear @arunjaitley,
Our lives are taxing enough without having to be taxed for sanitary napkins. #LahuKaLagaan @SheSaysIndia pic.twitter.com/vMjWYsmUWV— Anu Menon (@ExLolaKutty) April 18, 2017
Hi @arunjaitley #LahuKaLagaan pic.twitter.com/gqsf6GnaHt
— Mallika Dua (@MallikaDua) April 18, 2017
@arunjaitley #LahuKaLagaan maaf karo.Please remove the tax on Sanitary Napkins. With @SheSaysIndia & @kunalvijayakar pic.twitter.com/a8ZeQsmcES
— Cyrus Broacha (@BoredBroacha) April 18, 2017
#LahuKaLagaan has to go! https://t.co/58CB7Qkqjp
— SheSays (@SheSaysIndia) April 18, 2017
Out of the 497 million women who constitute the Indian population, only 12 percent actually use sanitary napkins.
The remaining population resorts to traditional alternatives like old fabric, rags, newspapers, sand, dry leaves and plastic.
