25-year-old lawyer from Rawalpindi, Mahnoor Omer, has taken a bold step that could change how Pakistan treats women’s health.
Her fight is against what she calls a “period tax” — the heavy taxation on sanitary pads that makes them unaffordable for millions of Pakistani women.
In Pakistan, sanitary pads are taxed up to 40%, including an 18% sales tax on local products and a 25% customs tax on imported ones or their raw materials.
Growing up in Rawalpindi, Omer remembers the discomfort surrounding menstruation in school. Carrying a sanitary pad to the restroom felt like committing a crime.
“I used to hide my pad up my sleeve like I was smuggling drugs,” she recalled. Teachers discouraged open discussion, and one classmate once told her that pads were “a waste of money.”
That comment struck her deeply. “If middle-class families think this way, what about those who can’t afford pads at all?” she said.
In September 2025, she filed a petition in the Lahore High Court challenging Pakistan’s taxation laws that, she argues, discriminate against women and violate constitutional guarantees of equality, dignity, and social justice.
Her petition highlights that in a country where the average monthly income is around $120, a pack of 10 branded pads costs about Rs. 450 ($1.60).
According to a 2024 UNICEF and WaterAid study, only 12% of Pakistani women use commercial sanitary pads. Most rely on cloth or other improvised materials, often without access to clean water.
Omer’s legal battle is officially titled Mahnoor Omer vs. The Government of Pakistan. But to her, it feels much larger. “It’s not me versus the government,” she said. “It feels like women versus Pakistan.”
Her fight resonates with Bushra Mahnoor, founder of Mahwari Justice, a student-led organization promoting menstrual rights.
Growing up in Attock, she often had to ration pads among her four sisters. At school, shame followed her. One classmate was once punished and made to stand for hours after a period stain appeared on her uniform.
“No one told me how to use a pad,” she said. “I stuck it upside down. It was painful. That shame never leaves you.”
A 2023 study in Frontiers in Public Health found that eight in ten Pakistani girls feel embarrassed talking about menstruation, and two-thirds learn about it only after it starts. This lack of awareness leads to poor hygiene, missed school, and deep social stigma.
Hira Amjad, founder of the Dastak Foundation, says the period tax adds an economic layer to the stigma. In most homes, men control household finances.
“Even if women earn, they often hand the money to men who decide how it’s spent,” she explained. “When pads are expensive, they’re seen as unnecessary.”
Over half of Pakistani women cannot afford sanitary pads, according to the same 2023 study.
Amjad believes removing the taxes will make menstrual products affordable and could improve school attendance for girls. “We’ll have healthier, more confident women,” she said.
Via: AlJazeera
What a bold step! This can make difference. Yes, we, including myself are paying tax quietly ,knowingly who will listen to our lament.
“Hahan 10 de rehe the 20 de do. Aab kaya ho sakta he”
Sadly this acceptance has made it impossible for working woman to meet their respectable standards.
Keep it up!
This is an outstanding initiative towards ensuring health and prosperity of entire population, because women are ensured safety and comfort, with facilitation to their basic needs, children grow healthier, and isn’t that the root ?