Malawians no longer have to pay tax on sanitary pads, reports BBC Africa. 

In an attempt to help Malawians with the burden of rising prices, a 16.5% levy, meant for articles classified as luxury articles, has been axed.

“In the spirit of promoting girl child education, government has listened to the contributions that came from various stakeholders and has consequently removed duty and excise tax on sanitary pads”, Finance Minister Sosten Gwengwe said earlier this week.

Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world and period poverty is prevalent, with approximately 50% of its people living below the poverty line.

Access to menstrual or sanitary protection alters the course of a woman’s life and determines whether girls are able to continue their education, as young women find it difficult to continue school or attend school during their period due to the burden that comes with having to constantly wash and reuse unsuitable sanitary protection.

The minister also announced that value added tax would no longer have to be paid on cooking oil and tap water, hoping to assist rural masses that are off the national grid.

This decision was widely celebrated amongst advocates who had been working towards removing this tax for four years. 

The bill came into effect on Friday 1 April 2022.