Zero-rating VAT on pads too little
FROM April there will be no VAT on sanitary pads and while some have welcomed the decision, others believe it will do little to help already cash-strapped families.
On Wednesday, during his first Medium-Term Budget, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni announced that sanitary pads, white bread flour and cake flour would be zero-rated and that funds would be set aside to provide free sanitary pads to poor pupils.
But female empowerment activists, who have heard the horror stories of girls using rags, newspapers and even grass to prevent mishaps, are questioning what difference this would make.
Sue Barnes, the founder of the reusable and eco-friendly Subz pants and pads, said while the zero VAT would somewhat lighten the load on the average household’s monthly shopping bill, it would not assist in the ability to buy pads. “…15% less on a product is cheaper, but it is still money women don’t have.”
Even the free sanitary pads distributed at schools was not very effective because of poor quality, said the founder of the PrincessD Menstrual Cup, Shamila Ramjawan.
She said there have been instances where the pads were too thin and resulted in leakage.
“The girls are not comfortable as it leaks through on to their dresses, and they have to be sent home early.”
Ramjawan said schoolgirls missed between five to seven days a month of classes, which equated to a term over the year.
The managing director of the Valued Citizens Initiative (VCI), Carole Podetti-Ngono, said this was a reality for thousands of female pupils.
“(And) all too often, many of these young women abandon their education out of sheer frustration.”
The secretary-general of the UDM Women’s Organisation, Thandi Nontenja, said the zero VAT was “the least” the government could do.
She said it had placed priority on providing free condoms, but continued to ask women to pay for sanitary pads.
Ramona Kasavan, the founder and chief executive of a community sanitary pad organisation, Mimi Women, said she had seen women and girls struggle because of the lack of these essentials, which affected their confidence, dignity, self-esteem and place in society.
Minority Front leader Shameen Thakur-Rajbansi, who launched a campaign in April to distribute sanitary pads to schoolgirls in Phoenix, Chatsworth and Pietermaritzburg, among other areas, said the zero VAT was “long overdue and would make the necessity affordable for most women”.
In November 2016, the Department of Education launched a project for the provision of sanitary pads to indigent girl pupils from Grades 4 to 12, at selected quintile-ranked schools.
The principal of Chatsworth Secondary School Arthur Luckhan, said this contribution, as well as other provisions from NGOs, had helped their pupils tremendously.
“Half of our female pupils cannot afford pads and by providing it free keeps them in school,” said Luckhan.
According to a 2014 British medical research study, up to 17 000 sanitary pads or tampons will be used by an average woman in her lifetime.
A pack of 10 sanitary pads costs between R15 to R20 .