 The teenagers can't afford the sanitary pay. So the old men are taking chances of those teenagers. But we know condoms are essential products. And there is no tax whatsoever on condoms just because we want to stay healthy. But what of sanitary products? Now it's about the lady, the lady's period and the way to place value on it and privatize it. For many countries in Africa and across the globe, the access to menstrual hygiene product continues to be one of the greatest challenges. Menstrual hygiene is a critical part of the broader right to health. It determines how women are able to participate in society, if they are able to go to school or if they are able to go to work. Not only is menstrual hygiene impacted by social factors such as taboos and stigma, but also by policies put in place by government that keeps menstrual health out of reach for working-class women and girls. In Ghana, for instance, there is a whopping 40% tax on menstrual hygiene products as the government classifies them as luxury products rather than the essential health items that they are. This continues to keep girls out of school and is also a major factor of the increase in rates of teenage pregnancy. So to better understand this issue, I'm joined by activists from Ghana who recently held a protest that don't tax my period to demand the removal of all of these taxes on sanitary products in their country. Also joining me for the broader conversation on period poverty and the struggles of working-class women in Lesotho is Deserto from Unite. Right, so tell us about the general situation in terms of period poverty in Ghana and what may have necessitated the recent protest you held that don't tax my period on the 22nd of June. Okay, first of all, I'm Victoria Wilson from Ghana, Socialist Movement of Ghana. I'm an active member of Women's Wink and which recently held don't tax my period period. Period poverty in Ghana is quite alarming as in sanitary products are now very expensive if there's prices now shooting in the market. And all this boils down to the fact that recently there's been a tax that has been placed on sanitary products. That's dabbing sanitary products as a luxurious item. Apart from the value added tax that is already on product, every product in the general market that is about 1.5. Another tax has been added to the sanitary product that is 20% tax thereby shooting the tax about 40% on sanitary products. And because of that, it has made sanitary products very, very, very expensive. Taking it for example, maybe I can afford but ask of that little girl in senior high school in the junior high school and in those remote villages, they cannot afford it and this is becoming very alarming because these teenagers or these girls tend to resort to using either racks yes, racks for just to keep themselves and we know that it has a looming effect on them. It has a long way effect on them and those that think that still we need the sanitary product for our safety they go in an India lured by this young gentleman just for sanitary products, just for protection which is not their fault anyways because we are all human. The women's wing of the socialist movement of Ghana we actually organized a parade, a placard parade that was dabbed don't tax my period. whereby we sent a petition to the parliament house we met the speaker telling him that it is unquotable for about 40% tax to be placed on sanitary products thereby rendering the administration like sanitary poverty it is so alarming and then we find it is very disheartening because at the center of it we are women and then how we see it is that the government is trying to process the fact that yes, we purchase this product and it is capitalizing on that and making profit out of it and which is you can't even think about that in that way so that is why the socialist movement of Ghana women's wing thought is wise that we need to do something about it there should be a change and the tax should be removed on sanitary products you are also another member of the socialist movement of Ghana and you actively participated in the don't tax my period parade give us a brief background about don't tax my period very well thank you very much Makiza I am Misaka Basiza from the socialist movement of Ghana so when I saw that there is a tax that has been imposed on sanitary products for young ladies and ladies for that matter I felt that I should be a part of the struggle 40% and over that sanitary part or peer poverty should not be seen as the ladies confined to ladies it is also a part that men if for anything at all so it is a collective fight in this I can't hold my head around the fact that a government can get up and say that lack of products as part of it sanitary parts are lack of products I cannot hold my head around that I believe those that we are doing that have wives and children and have mothers and it is just unheard of I think the problem started coming up during last year I think October, November there about and it was an issue of national concern in fact as you just said rightly NGOs, all girls guide and all those groups were all pushing the fact that we should end the peer poverty and since there has been various demonstrations that has gone on and we were thinking that at least the government would do something about it but it's like all those agitations and everything are falling on deaf ears and then no one is doing anything about it there is no result whatsoever we can't sit down putting our hands inside our thighs doing nothing why we just look on like that so that is why we thought it's wise that if nothing is done about it from all the agitation that are coming on from the various groups then we are also going to champion it so that the government will know that we are actually ready to champion this course to end peer poverty okay so what makes you think that the government will listen to you this time around if there has been a series of partitions sitting at the gender ministry of your country and no action has been taken what makes you think that this will actually lead to some changes and the removal of these taxes on the sanitary products okay what is peculiar about our placard parade or our petition that was sent was that in spite of the various petitions that has been sent to the gender minister this time around we went to the parliament house and then parliament was even in session and then we met the speaker of parliament and in the midst of the session the speaker of parliament had to stop whatever he was doing at the parliament house and attend to us and then we sent our petition and the speaker also assured us that he is also very particular about this peer poverty and the tax that has been placed on sanitary products so he told us and assured us that in fact he's going to take a move he's going to make a move that would actually that would be jared to us and then this peer poverty okay I'm sure that the removal of the sanitary I mean the taxes on sanitary parts are not the only demands that you made in your petition so paint was a picture of the demands that you made in the petition you presented to parliament on the 22nd of June okay the petition we presented stated rightfully that the 40% that has 40% tax that has been placed on sanitary parts should be removed totally not subsidizing it not bringing it down or anything should be removed and also the fact that the young girls are the senior high school the junior high schools sometimes it's very hard for them to purchase the product so if possible they should be given free sanitary products just to stay healthy okay so categorically secondary school students and junior high school students as well not generally not generally not generally generally the tax should be removed that is a 40% tax should be removed and then we should consider that those in the junior high schools and the senior high schools to be given free sanitary product being part of that struggle I felt that it was okay with me and then whatever be the case if there should be another one I will be right there to fight for the struggles of our lady folks so that they can't resist this obnoxious tax this tax that is just in human and demonizing for me you just like saying that drinking water is luxury so when it was HIV society saw it the need to provide condoms free of charge literally free of charge that is society because it has to do with their man now it's about the lady in the ladies period and they want to place value on it and privatize it simply because they think that they can get money profit profit from it that has to also do what I think is capitalism delimence of society now and then you see humanity is now beginning to commoditize everything it is a struggle that everybody must join indirectly it will affect you directly it will affect you so don't sit back and say that it is for the women and for them to let them do their struggles alone when you do that the cultural effect will be that on you as an individual my name is Tise Toma Leidu from Lesotho I'm coming from a united organization in Lesotho so the issues that we have about sanitary birth it's it's it's happening at the workplace and it's also happening in the villages about the workplace we have this issue of of the women who go on their periods and blotted they blotted I don't know what to call it I'm sorry so those women they have supervisors and the supervisors are men so sometimes when they tell they tell those supervisors about their problems they are not taking that seriously meaning they humiliate humiliating them I don't know what to call it so I'm like sometimes we are using the the fabric what is this the fabric let me say the yeah so we are using them at the workplace when we are on periods because still in Lesotho we have the low wages problem so some people don't afford to buy sanitary birth so when it goes to villages we have these teenagers those teenagers sometimes they they don't have parents sometimes the parents are not waking as I said in Lesotho now we still have a problem of the factories that are being closed and everything so the teenagers can't afford the sanitary birth so the old men are taking chances of those teenagers because they are buying them they are buying them those sanitary births and sleeping with them so I'm like that is not good we are still we are still on we are still organizing what we can do about those things so as I'm saying we are standing in solidarity with SMG in Ghana as unites employees in Lesotho thank you thank you very much for speaking to us so this conversation has been about period poverty generally in Africa as well as the recent Don't Tax My Period Parade that was held on the 22nd of June 2023 in Ghana to demand the removal of all of these taxes on sanitary products in Ghana this conversation also shuts light on the situation in Lesotho where young girls have to sleep with men to be able to afford sanitary parts this means that our collective humanity is at stake and we must take action to end all of this against injustice against women