Budget: Experts welcome tax relief on sanitary pads, contraceptives but urge caution

The federal government has proposed abolishing tax on sanitary towels, related women’s health products and contraceptives in the budget for fiscal year 2026-27.

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb made the announcement while presenting the federal budget, saying essential items for women’s health were daily necessities linked to dignity and social participation.

“Essential items for women’s health, such as sanitary towels and related products, are daily necessities that are indispensable for women’s health, dignity, and full participation in social activities,” the finance minister said in his budget speech.

“Therefore, it is proposed to abolish the tax on sanitary towels and related items,” he added.

Aurangzeb also announced the abolition of tax on contraceptives, linking the measure to Pakistan’s population challenge and the government’s family planning priorities.

“The second measure in this regard relates to the abolition of tax on contraceptives,” he said.

“Pakistan is the fifth-largest country in the world in terms of population. The rate of population growth is alarming, and family planning is a top priority of the government. Therefore, we are completely abolishing the tax levied on contraceptives.”

The proposal was welcomed by rights advocates and economic analysts, though they warned that the announcement should translate into actual price relief for consumers.

Bushra Mahnoor, founder of Mahwari Justice, a student-led organisation whose name translates to “menstrual justice”, appreciated the government’s proposal but told Geo.tv it was too early to celebrate.

“I really appreciate this move of the government to propose a reduction in the tax but I think this is also a very critical time for us and we should not be blinded by the optics of it,” she said.

Mahnoor said the measure had only been proposed at this stage and warned that “bureaucratic red tape” could still affect the actual removal of the tax.

“But even when we get the tax removed, there are so many things that we need to be aware of,” she said, citing the example of the United Kingdom, where she said manufacturers increased prices in subtle ways after the removal of tax on period products.

“So I think this is the time for us to be very, very vigilant and to increase our advocacy efforts and not celebrate just yet because there is a lot more that needs to be done,” she said.

Mahnoor said the proposal was still an “amazing move” and reflected years of advocacy by campaigners who had worked both on-ground and online to encourage conversations around menstruation.

However, she stressed that menstrual injustice in Pakistan was not limited to access to period products.

“Access to period products is just one part of that huge problem that we are trying to solve because there is only a very little number of people who get to use these period products to begin with,” she said.

She said many people did not use such products or did not want to use them, meaning the proposed tax relief would not reach as many people as advocates would want.

Mahnoor added that even where safe period products were available, many women still lacked basic facilities such as toilets, clean running water and adequate sanitation.

“There are no toilets, there is no clean running water, women still have to walk miles and miles to access water just to clean themselves,” she said.

She also linked the issue to climate change and water scarcity, saying disaster situations and worsening access to water made safe menstruation more difficult.

“So yes, this is a step forward, but I would say it’s very symbolic,” she said. “This is definitely not the end goal. This is the start of our struggle because there is so much more needs to be done.”

Mahnoor said she would “truly celebrate” when menstrual education was included in Pakistan’s curriculum and when no one had to hide their periods because of stigma.

AAH Soomro, an economic analyst, also welcomed the proposal, calling it “a step in the right direction”.

“That is a step in the right direction to focus on benefiting half of the population's basic hygiene needs,” he told Geo.tv.

Soomro added that Pakistan also needed to do more to control population growth.