{"id":6477,"date":"2026-05-26T09:03:51","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T13:03:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fosfeminista.org\/?post_type=article&p=6477"},"modified":"2026-05-26T09:03:51","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T13:03:51","slug":"from-silence-to-accountability-challenging-menstrual-inequality-in-pakistan","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/fosfeminista.org\/es\/news-and-stories\/from-silence-to-accountability-challenging-menstrual-inequality-in-pakistan\/","title":{"rendered":"Del silencio a la rendici\u00f3n de cuentas: Desafiando la desigualdad menstrual en Pakist\u00e1n"},"template":"","class_list":["post-6477","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_type-stories","article_format-stories-of-change","issue_tax-gender-equity","issue_tax-menstrual-dignity","issue_tax-breaking-the-cycle-of-sexual-and-gender-based-violence","location-pakistan"],"acf":{"details":{"":null,"article_type":21,"article_format":150,"authors":"","add_button":false,"button_type":"","button":null,"download":null,"download_button_text":"","featured_image":6480},"sidebar":{"issues":{"title":"Cuestiones prioritarias","issues":[104,37,35]},"locations":{"title":"Ubicaci\u00f3n","locations":[99]},"partners":{"title":"Socios","partners":""}},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_hero_article","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_hero_article":{"":null,"anchor_id":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"What looks like a tax issue is also a story about who gets to stay in school, move safely through public life, and manage their health with dignity.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nIn a country where menstruation is surrounded by stigma, discrimination, and silence, a tax system that treats menstrual products as luxury goods can remain unchallenged for years, while millions live without access and face barriers to education, health, and bodily autonomy.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nIn Pakistan, menstrual products have historically been classified as non-essential goods, making them subject to layers of taxes and duties that significantly increase their cost. For an estimated 88% of the population, these products\u00a0remain\u00a0out of reach. As a result, women and girls often rely on cloth or improvised materials, sometimes without access to clean water or safe facilities, increasing the risk of infections and other health complications.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cGrowing up with five sisters, we did not have enough supplies to manage our periods safely, so we had to use sheets of cloth and often rags. It often made me wonder that if I, a person who enjoys the privilege of having a shelter and access to school education, struggle to have safe periods, how do people whose homes get flooded each monsoon take care of their period?\u201d, shares Bushra Mahnoor, co-founder of\u00a0Mahwari\u00a0Justice, a feminist, grassroots, student-led organization working to ensure access to safe periods, especially during disasters and emergencies.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nIn September 2025, a legal challenge brought this issue into Pakistan\u2019s judicial system. Lawyer Mahnoor Omer filed a public interest petition before the Lahore High Court (Rawalpindi Bench), arguing that the taxation of menstrual products violates constitutional rights to dignity, equality, and access to\u00a0basic necessities. The petition specifically challenges the classification of menstrual products as non-essential goods and calls for the removal of taxes that make them unaffordable.\u00a0Mahwari\u00a0Justice (\"Mahwari\" means menstruation in Urdu) has played\u00a0a central role\u00a0in supporting and expanding the effort.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nA period is not a small inconvenience when it keeps a girl out of school month after month. In Pakistan, UNICEF estimates that one in five girls misses school because of her menstrual cycle, adding up to at least one year of missed education. Girls face bullying, are often considered impure, and may be discouraged or even punished for speaking about menstruation. Health risks, including infections caused by unsafe materials, are common.\u00a0Over time, these barriers reinforce cycles of inequality and limit girls\u2019 future opportunities.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cMenstruation is deeply connected to child marriage and is a major reason girls miss school, especially since there are no safe bathrooms or clean water\u201d,\u00a0explains Mahnoor. In disaster settings, the situation can become even more severe. \u201cI have seen people putting wood ash from stoves into a piece of cloth to use as an absorbent. I have also seen people using leaves, sand, and mud inside of cloth to manage their periods. In the worst cases during disasters, multiple women\u00a0have to\u00a0use the same cloth one after the other because there is nothing else available\u201d,\u00a0Mahnoor adds.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nTaken together, these realities make the legal\u00a0case about\u00a0much more than taxation. It challenges a broader system in which menstrual health has long been dismissed. Without products, water, privacy, and\u00a0accurate\u00a0information, menstruation becomes a barrier to education, health, mobility, and dignity. Even without a court ruling yet, the case has already begun to shift how menstruation is discussed in Pakistan, moving it from a private issue to a matter of public accountability and open public debate.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nOnce the petition reached the courts, the\u00a0Mahwari\u00a0Justice mobilized its volunteer network and platform to bring the issue beyond legal spaces and into public conversation. Their volunteers have taken the campaign into bazaars and shopping malls, speaking directly with people about why menstrual taxation is a rights issue and inviting them to sign a public petition through QR codes. This approach has allowed the campaign to reach people across different ages and backgrounds, including those less likely to\u00a0encounter it\u00a0online. To date, the petition has gathered more than 10,200 signatures, contributing to increased media coverage and growing public debate around period poverty and gender equality.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nLegal advocacy has been paired with sustained grassroots\u00a0work. Sixty stakeholders across disability organizations, clinics, shelters, and education groups have engaged in the campaign. The organization conducted interviews and focus groups with hearing- and visually impaired menstruators and co-created inclusive resources with persons with disabilities. Through 18 community awareness sessions in Sindh and Punjab, they reached 1,678 girls and women with information on menstrual biology, product use, and stigma reduction, while training a network of 20 peer educators to lead rights-based conversations in their communities.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n\"We are now working on intergenerational dialogues between parents and their children to make sure these conversations take place and that the hidden silence even within the family is reduced. People are finally becoming more open and understanding\u201d,\u00a0said Mahnoor.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nThis progress has been strengthened through the Sang pour Sang\u00a0Uni.e.s\u00a0pour la\u00a0Dignit\u00e9\u00a0initiative, a global program that supports feminist organizations working to advance menstrual health and dignity. With this support,\u00a0Mahwari\u00a0Justice has been able to expand its work, combining legal advocacy with community engagement, strengthening its evidence base, and reaching more communities.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nTogether, these efforts point to a broader shift: menstrual discrimination is increasingly recognized not as an isolated issue, but as part of a system that shapes access to health, education, gender equality, and economic justice. The case before the court, combined with grassroots\u00a0mobilisation,\u00a0demonstrates\u00a0how coordinated feminist action can challenge entrenched norms, influence public discourse, and lay the groundwork for policy change.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nEven as the case continues through Pakistan\u2019s courts, its impact is already visible. By bringing menstruation into constitutional debate, this movement is helping redefine it, not as a private burden, but as a public responsibility.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>","":null,"anchor_id":""}}]},"yoast_head":"\nFrom Silence to Accountability: Challenging Menstrual Inequality in Pakistan - F\u00f2s Feminista<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fosfeminista.org\/es\/news-and-stories\/from-silence-to-accountability-challenging-menstrual-inequality-in-pakistan\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_MX\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"From Silence to Accountability: Challenging Menstrual Inequality in Pakistan - F\u00f2s Feminista\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fosfeminista.org\/es\/news-and-stories\/from-silence-to-accountability-challenging-menstrual-inequality-in-pakistan\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"F\u00f2s Feminista\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/fosfeminista.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Mahwari-Justice-Story2.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"716\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fosfeminista.org\\\/news-and-stories\\\/from-silence-to-accountability-challenging-menstrual-inequality-in-pakistan\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fosfeminista.org\\\/news-and-stories\\\/from-silence-to-accountability-challenging-menstrual-inequality-in-pakistan\\\/\",\"name\":\"From Silence to Accountability: Challenging Menstrual Inequality in Pakistan - 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