Turkish women decry high price of sanitary pads
Women activists call on the Turkish government for a tax reduction and other measures to lower the prices of menstrual products, which have grown forbiddingly expensive amid the country’s economic turmoil.
Turkey’s leading political satire magazine, LeMan, devoted its cover to women’s menstrual products last week, depicting a woman looking desperately at a sanitary pad flying away in the air. It was a lampoon of the extent to which Turkey’s economic turmoil has eroded purchasing power, sparking a campaign to lower the prices of sanitary pads, which have become unaffordable for millions of women.
Turkey’s government-run statistical institute says consumer inflation hit 36.08% in 2021, while independent researchers put the figure as high as 82.81%. According to the institute, the price of sanitary pads rose by nearly 60% over a year to reach 1.05 liras ($0.08) per piece in December. Menstrual products are among the goods on which the government levies the highest value-added tax (VAT) of 18%.
Amid dizzying price hikes on basic goods and services from bread and meat to electricity and public transport, sanitary pads have become a luxury beyond the reach of millions of women. According to the Deep Poverty Network, a civic group devoted to helping the poorest, a survey it conducted among 103 families shows that sanitary pads have become inaccessible to 82% of women.
The growing problem has prompted local administrations to add sanitary pads to the list of handouts they provide to the needy. Istanbul’s Kucukcekmece Municipality, for instance, launched a campaign under the slogan “Sanitary pads are not a luxury but a basic need” last week, aiming to meet the needs of some 10,000 women in its district.
