Sixty percent of respondents admitted to budgeting to afford sanitary items and 79 percent have made sacrifices or gone with less to afford their necessities. To combat that, 72 percent of respondents think the government should mandate free menstrual products for everyone.

In India women in the rural world suffer the most due to the high price of sanitary pads.  according to 50 percent of the rural women, if the government constantly tries (and sometimes succeeds) at placing tough restrictions on reproductive rights, if they are regulating our lady parts, they might as well pay for costs relating to those parts.

Why are Feminine Products More Expensive?

The answer is because of the Pink Tax. Pink Tax is defined as expanding a product’s value based on gender, typically this price rise is specific towards products marketed for women. Although the pink tax is not an official tax, it can be found while buying products such as razors, body wash, shaving cream, shampoo, and conditioner.

On the bright side, one country that seems to have understood this grievance is Scotland, becoming the first country to make period products free and accessible to the public; following in their footsteps is the United Kingdom, which has wiped out all the taxation of menstrual products. Other countries have failed to speak out on this phenomenon and are letting this unfair treatment go on as these companies are profiting from it. Adding tampons and pads to public bathrooms should be mandated just as toilet paper is, doing so makes it easier for those who can’t afford to buy pads or tampons every month.

So the bottom line is the majority of women already face a battle concerning unequal pay, making 79 cents for every dollar a man makes. Even with that, they still must deal with the up-pricing of everyday items. Some necessities cost upwards of 42% more for women which means that statistically, women are paying 1,300 dollars more per year than men on the same products. This is yet another example of blatant gender inequities in society, even in the so-called developed nations. Abolishing the pink tax would mean that the prices of items in a store would be equal for everyone and would bring down the unnecessary financial struggle in women’s day-to-day life.