Australia has made a landmark decision to scrap its controversial tampon tax. On Monday, the country’s Senate passed a bill drafted by the Greens party to remove the tax on tampons and feminine hygiene products, previously considered by law to be ‘luxury’ items. Since 2000, considered as ‘non-essential items’ by the Australian government, a 10% GST was levied on the cost of tampons, pads, liners, cups, sponges and 11 other feminine hygiene products. While other health-related products like condoms, lubricants, sunscreen and nicotine patches were exempt from the tax. Currently in India, sanitary pads are taxed at 12%, while condoms and contraceptives are exempted from the tax.

The bill was proposed and passed by Greens senator Janet Rice, who argued the tax was undeniably based on gender. “If it were cisgender men who required sanitary products in relation to a natural function of the bodies every month, it is unlikely that the GST would have been added in the same manner,” said Rice in May during a second senate reading of the bill. Public protests against the tax has been fervent in Australia over the last few years, with critics calling it discriminatory and unjust. One 2015 petition titled ‘stop taxing my period’ garnered over 100,000 signatures.

Rice further said, “The current Act amounts to a tax on the biology of people who menstruate, and it never should have existed in the first place. For state, territory and federal budgets this tax is a drop in the ocean. The impacts of the GST on sanitary products are actually felt by people who need to purchase the products.” She also added, “This tax is disproportionately affects low income women and transgender people, many of whom have insecure work and housing. It’s easy for some to dismiss this as a non-issue. But there are people sometimes faced with having to make a choice between buying tampons or buying food. The face that they’re charged more for an essential sanitary product because of the GST is unacceptable.”

In the US as well, menstrual products are excluded from tax-exempt product categories in most states. Nine states have exempted menstrual products from their sales tax – Minnesota, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, Connecticut and Florida – with seven more states introducing similar legislation. India surely needs to learn from countries where the taxes on female hygiene products have been exempted. Women are not responsible for natural bodily function that one cannot stop.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 18, 2018 05:44 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).