Association to two ministries: ‘Sanitary pads must be free in Turkey’

* Photo: Canva

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The Children and Women First Association has applied to the Presidency's Communication Center (CİMER) and related institutions and said that sanitary pads must be free in Turkey immediately.

Addressing the public, the association has also shared petition samples on social media so that citizens can submit them to the CİMER to be referred to the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Trade.

In a statement about the issue, the association has explained:

Women and girls menstruate for nearly 7 days once in a month. An average of 4-5 pads are used every day and 20-25 pads are used during the whole cycle. Think about a mother and her two daughters having their period: It accounts for almost 170 Turkish Lira (TRY) when calculated based on the current prices in the market. And now imagine that the only income of this family is '1' minimum wage. This pricing means that millions of women and girls cannot access this basic product.

Reiterating that "sanitary pads must be free", the association has said, "In line with this aim, we, as the association, submitted our two separate requests to the related institutions via the CİMER. All our members and volunteers applied to the CİMER on their own behalf today."

The association has expressed the following requests:

"1) The Health Ministry should provide every woman who makes such a request with 20 free pads every month via family health centers and pharmacies. 2) The Ministry of Trade must inspect the increases in pad prices and introduce a ceiling price to unit prices."

Accordingly, the Children and Women First Association has called on the public to apply to the two ministries via the CİMER with these requests. (AÖ/SD)