Don’t tax menstrual pads as luxury goods, says activist : NPR
Bushra Mahnoor, photographed at home in Attock, Pakistan, advocates for the menstrual health of girls in Pakistan. “It was a big taboo mentioning that you were on your period. But mentioning that you were on your period without access to a pad was just even more humiliating,” she says. Ben de la Cruz/NPR hide caption toggle caption Ben de la Cruz/NPR Growing up, Bushra Mahnoor dreaded getting her period. It meant shame, stigma and, often, missing school. As an adolescent in Pakistan with four sisters, she says there were never enough period supplies in her home. They’d ration pads — regularly using ones designed for eight hours for well over 24 hours — and sometimes they had to use a rag or a spare cloth that could easily leak. Others face a similar situation. According to a report from UNICEF, published in 2025, only about one in 10 girls and women in Pakistan use commercially manufactured products. “When I knew I might not have a pad and I had to rely on a cloth, those …






