SANITARY PADS SHOULD BE FREE; CONDOMS SHOULD BE SOLD. SEX IS A CHOICE; MENSTRUATION IS NOT.

 By: Clarisse IRADUKUNDA, Rwanda Coding Academy

When was the last time you used a public a bathroom at school or work, and how much did you spend for toilet paper? Allow me to respond: you did not pay anything. You'd never think to bring a spare roll of toilet paper with you in case you needed to use the lavatory away from home, would you? Pads do the same thing as toilet paper in terms of keeping our bodies clean.

Most girls find it difficult to purchase pads since they are costly, and what if needing to purchase feminine hygiene products every month puts an undue strain on her family's finances? This is the reality for millions of young girls and women throughout the world. For many women, getting their period implies higher costs, missed school days, and the danger of catching diseases on a regular basis. The fact that the government doesn’t recognize feminine hygiene as a health issue.

When pads aren't available, women and girls' options might be exceedingly harmful to their health. Tissue paper, toilet paper, and even rags are examples of some of these alternatives. Another of these options is to wear a pad for extended periods of time since they can't afford to buy more or because they aren't widely available. This causes different infections.

The pad tax is a form of gender discrimination that is wrong on so many levels. It's incredible to think that some individuals still consider feminine hygiene products to be "luxury stuff." For your information, pads are not optional. We need pads as women and can't live without them. Despite that, much money is being made off of a woman's natural biological functions, which she has no control over.

As a result, periods are biological; we have no control over them and no choice in the matter. Why are we being forced to pay so much for something we didn't ask for? Condoms are readily available for free, but something that is supposed to help women feel better is more expensive, which is both nasty and infuriating. Having intercourse is a personal choice, but women can't live without pads because if we don't, we risk staining everything and making others uncomfortable. Men would vanish if women didn't have periods, hence I believe sanitary pads should be free and condoms should be sold.