In a landmark case on the accessibility of feminine hygiene products in Pakistan, women’s rights activist Mahnoor Omer has filed a petition with the Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi bench to have feminine sanitary products be declared essential goods and given tax-exempt status. The petition argues that taxes imposed on these products “disproportionately impact women” and penalise them for “a biological function over which they have no control”. Quoting Unicef, the petition said only 12pc of these women use commercially available sanitary products. It asks the court to order the classification of feminine sanitary products as essential items. The court has been requested to direct the authorities to place sanitary products and their raw materials in the Eighth Schedule in order to exempt them from taxation.