Scotland Makes Sanitary Products Free of Charge

Scotland becomes the world’s first country to provide its citizen with sanitary products free of charge. After a long four-year campaign to shift the public’s discourse around menstruation and to create awareness to acknowledge it as a normal bodily function.

Scotland’s Period Products Act was passed unanimously on Tuesday, it will place a legal duty on local authorities to make period products available for all those who require them free of charge.
Councils like North Ayrshire have been providing free tampons and sanitary towels in their public buildings since 2018.

The campaign to make sanitary products free of charge in Scotland was headed by Scottish Labor’s health spokeswoman, Monica Lennon, who told the Guardian this was “a proud day for Scotland”.

“This will make a massive difference to the lives of women and girls and everyone who menstruates. There has already been great progress at a community level and through local authorities in giving everyone the chance of period dignity. There has been a massive change in the way that periods are discussed in public life. A few years ago, there had never been an open discussion of menstruation in the Holyrood chamber and now it is mainstream. MSPs have enjoyed being a part of that, and it has encompassed the menopause, endometriosis, as well as the types of products we use and their sustainability.” Lennon says.

Period poverty is a real problem, all around the world, not just in Scotland, every month several women struggle to pay for basic sanitary products. Research by the Women for Independence group stated that one in five women experienced period poverty, this has a significant impact on their hygiene, health, and wellbeing. Women are estimated to spend an average of £13 a month on period products and several thousand pounds over a lifetime. It is exactly why the people of Scotland made sanitary products free.

The Scottish law to make sanitary products free is not limited to local authorities but it also adheres to educational institutes to provide the students with free sanitary products whenever they need them. It has become increasingly common in Scotland to walk into a women’s toilet and find free products by the sinks, or with an honesty box.

Making sanitary products free is incredibly important in today’s world. It is something that should also be practiced within Pakistan.
The taboo around menstruation is absurd and unnecessary. It is nothing more than a bodily function, and to have to pay for something that you have no actual control over is insane. Thousands of women, living in poverty do not have access to appropriate sanitary products since they are too expensive for them, which is why they switch to using cheaper alternatives which then causes multiple illnesses amongst them.

Pakistan should learn from Scotland making sanitary products free of charge and also take into account the need for this.

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