RAWALPINDI:
A division bench of the Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi Bench, comprising Justice Jawad Hassan and Justice Muhammad Raza Qureshi, has rejected the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) objection to its jurisdiction in a petition challenging 40 percent taxes, levies and duties on sanitary napkins across Pakistan.
The court ruled that millions of women live across Punjab and the Lahore High Court has jurisdiction to hear the petition.
The bench said that appropriate orders would be issued and directed the federal government, FBR chairman, finance ministry and the National Human Rights Commission to submit clause-by-clause replies within two weeks.
The court expressed dissatisfaction with the institutions’ failure to provide written responses.
During the hearing, the FBR counsel argued that since the respondents include the Federation of Pakistan and the FBR, the petition can only be filed in the Islamabad High Court and the Rawalpindi Bench lacks jurisdiction. However, the court rejected this objection and ordered all respondents to file written responses before the next hearing.
The petition was filed under Article 199 by 25-year-old lawyer Mah Noor Umar, daughter of Umar Ali Khan, in the public interest of women.
The petition states that Pakistan’s female population is 48.51 percent – 151 million women. Even so, sanitary napkins are taxed up to 40 per cent. Critics argue that this is akin to punishing women for simply being women and call for the removal of the “period tax”.
According to the 1990 Sales Tax Act, domestically produced sanitary napkins are subject to 18 percent sales tax, while imported sanitary napkins and raw materials are subject to 25 percent duty.
UNICEF Pakistan says that cumulative taxes increase the price of a single sanitary napkin by approximately 40 percent.
The petition claims that these taxes are discriminatory and violate constitutional guarantees of equality, dignity, social justice and protection against exploitation.
In a society where menstruation is still considered “shameful”, high taxes make hygiene products even more inaccessible.
A pack of 10 sanitary napkins costs Rs.450, while Pakistan’s average monthly income is about $120, which is equivalent to one meal for a family. Removing 40 percent taxes would bring the prices within reach of common women.
Research by UNICEF and WaterAid (2024) shows that only 12 percent of Pakistani women use commercial sanitary napkins. Most rely on cloth or alternatives, often without clean water or sanitation facilities. Lower prices would benefit millions of women.
The petition claims that this step is essential for women’s health and to change societal attitudes. It requests that all taxes and duties on sanitary napkins be declared unconstitutional, removed entirely, and that the government ensure free distribution in girls’ schools.
The petitioner’s lawyer, Ahsan Jehangir Khan Advocate, said the case is about restoring the dignity of women, not just financial concerns. Global precedents – such as India (2018), Nepal (2025) and the UK (2021) – have eliminated period taxes. The petitioner claims that if sanitary napkins become affordable, girls will not drop out of school, women will work with confidence, and society will generally become healthier.
