Why Scrapping Tampon Tax Isn't Enough
- justcallmedee
- Jan 1, 2021
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 12, 2021
The distinct mix of urine from unflushed loos, cheap bleach and hundreds of different adolescent body sprays hung in the air. All fighting for dominance, but instead intertwining to create a whole new scent: Odour Toilette.
The stench of the grotty school toilets would've been enough to make anyone heave on a regular day, but combined with the sight of the crimson, surprise guest on my no-longer-white pants, made my head reel as I sat in the tiny cubicle.
I was still clutching the loo roll, legs uncontrollably shaking when the bell rang, signalling the end of lunch time.
5 minutes later I was in English.
I was perhaps 13 or 14 at the time. Small and quiet. I rarely spoke in class, let alone asked to go to the toilet midway through the lesson.
So I sat there, silently willing the next 2 hours to be over fast, as the blood soaked through the tissue I'd hastily used to cover my pants, seeped into my underwear and leaked through my (thankfully) black trousers.
I had underestimated the severity of the situation, and it was only when I stood up and saw the wet prints on the plastic chair that I realised what had happened.
As if the agony of menstrual cramps wasn't bad enough, (I used to puke because of the pain), I could feel my legs chafe as the damp fabric of my trousers brushed against them while I walked to my next lesson.
To this day, I cringe at the mere thought of that horrific situation.
Getting rid of tampon tax would have made no difference to me at that point. I wasn't underprivileged, I was just unprepared.
At 13 years old, I had no idea about my body besides what I'd learnt in those brief, awkward science lessons. I'd only had a handful of periods at this point. I had no idea about how flows varied, that I should always carry sanitary products with me, that within 10 minutes I would bleed through the big wad of a tissue I'd used as a makeshift pad.
I didn't need the pads in the shop to be tax free. All I needed in that moment was someone or something to give me a pad so that I could carry on with my school day without being covered in blood.
It's taken THIS LONG for period products to be seen as necessities and yet the issue isn't even close to being fixed. Find me a single woman who doesn't physically NEED a pad or a tampon when blood is pouring out of them all week.
I don't want to hear about how it's "progress". I do not want to hear the words "at least". Why are we striving for the "least" amount of "progress"??? Can it even be called progress if it's fixing something that was completely backwards anyway?
It's simply not good enough.
Making sanitary products free does not just help end period poverty. It helps anyone who NEEDS this ESSENTIAL item. Anyone stuck in an awkward/surprise/difficult situation.
It helps women and girls deal with something that they didn't ask for and they can't change. It makes the playing field just that tiny bit more level.
No 11 year old child should have to worry about not having a pad. No fully grown woman should have to worry about not having a pad.
Scotland have made their period products free and it's time the rest of the world does, too! Until then, eliminating tampon tax is not really praiseworthy news.
(If this story made you uncomfortable - just imagine how it felt to experience it)
Divya x
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