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Ending the Period Tax: A Step Toward Gender Equality in Cambodia
- Apr 9
- 5 min read
By Molika Meas
IPF +
Future Forum's junior research fellow Molika Meas was published in Kiripost on April 9th, 2026. Check out the original article HERE, and read it below!
Menstrual health is a basic part of women’s lives, yet it is often overlooked in public policy. The cost of menstrual products remains an issue for millions of Cambodian women and girls in poverty, which also impacts their studies, work and social development.
While the government has reduced import duties, menstrual products still have VAT, which makes them more expensive. As Cambodia promotes gender equality and inclusive growth, it should consider whether this tax supports these goals or simply adds pressure on women and low-income families.
Women and girls make up approximately 8.79 million of Cambodia’s population — more than half of the country. For many families living near the poverty line of $2.30 to $2.70 per day, monthly expenses are tightly calculated, which can make menstrual products a heavy burden.
Despite the recent reduction of import duties from 15 to seven percent under Cambodia’s 2026 tax reform Notification No. 6069/25, General Department of Customs and Excise, sanitary pads remain subject to a 10 percent Value Added Tax (VAT).
This effectively means that women and girls continue to pay tax on a biological function. Menstrual products are not optional consumer goods, but essential health necessities.
The hidden lifetime cost of menstruation in Cambodia
The financial burden is not insignificant. On average, menstruators use around 20 pads per cycle, depending on how heavy their flow is, which means women and girls in need to use approximately two to three packs of pads per month, or up to 36 per year.
With a pack of six pads costing around $3 in Cambodia, annually a woman has to spend roughly $72 up to $108 a year just on menstrual pads – they will menstruate on average from the age of 12 until the age of 52.
The cost of menstrual pads alone – excluding additional spending on pain relievers, soap, or tissues – could add up to $3,600 in their lifetime.
When periods become a burden
Households living in poverty might be faced with the choice to spend on menstrual pads or spend on food, utilities, education and transportation costs. When affordability becomes a barrier, some women and girls resort to using cloth or improvised materials for extended periods, increasing the risk of infection.
The Cambodia Demographic and Health Survey 2021–2022 shows that while about two-thirds of women aged 15 to 49 use disposable pads, nearly one-third rely on reusable materials, reflecting both cultural practice and economic constraint.
The public health implications are significant. The 2022 study ‘An Overview of Period Poverty and the Public Health Benefit Impact of Providing Free Feminine Hygiene Products’ found that period poverty increases risks of reproductive tract infections and social exclusion.
It also contributes to school and work absenteeism. Evidence from Burkina Faso shows that women using disposable pads had 24 percentage points lower work absenteeism compared to those using cloth, while a study in Ghana found that 19 percent of women missed school, work, or social activities during menstruation.
When girls miss classes and women miss workdays, menstrual health becomes directly linked to economic participation and long-term income opportunities.
This connects to broader structural inequality. UNICEF’s policy brief on menstrual health taxation notes that in some contexts taxes can account for up to 40 percent of the final retail price.
While Cambodia’s tax rate is lower, the principle remains: VAT on menstrual products is disproportionately affecting low-income women and girls. At a time when Cambodia is working to reduce gender gaps in employment and wages, maintaining a tax on menstrual necessities contradicts broader gender equality goals.
Making periods affordable
However, the global movement shows that reform on menstrual products is both feasible and increasingly common. Countries such as India, Australia, Kenya, Rwanda and Malaysia have removed VAT on menstrual products, while Scotland went further by providing them free nationwide.
Germany reduced VAT from 19 to seven percent after public advocacy campaigns. These reforms recognise that menstrual health is a public health and human rights issue rather than a luxury consumption matter.
In 2023, Cambodia imported about $56.9 million worth of sanitary products, showing strong demand. Cutting VAT to zero percent would make these products cheaper and reduce the burden on low-income women and girls.
It could also encourage local businesses to produce hygienic, reusable and eco-friendly options, creating more jobs for small and medium enterprises. Since many people in Cambodia pay for healthcare from their own pockets, preventing infections through better menstrual products could also lower long-term health costs.
However, a sudden reform of tax on menstrual pads can not be done effectively overnight. Cambodia should first start with lowering the tax on menstrual products 50 percent, reducing the VAT from 10 percent to five percent.
The Ministry of Economics and Finance, in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce, will need to play an important role in following up on this change, to track that the prices of menstrual products sold in shops have dropped following the tax reduction.
This would combat concerns regarding price manipulation, which has been a key concern in Kenya, with companies controlling and driving up prices for menstrual products.
Beside reducing the VAT both imported and locally produced menstrual products, the government should use the remaining income that comes from the tax on menstrual goods by allocating it in the national budget to subsidise pilot programmes that offer free menstrual pads in public schools, especially targeting schools that are lacking access to clean water and toilets.
The school selection and implementation can be managed by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport. The garment sector should also be prioritised to receive free or subsidised menstrual pads in a similar pilot programme, due to the vulnerability of female factory workers.
While these steps will not end period poverty completely, it would show that the government is prioritising the significance of menstrual health. This will not only benefit the individual but also promote reproductive health and emotional support and empower women and girls to fully participate in their education, work and social opportunities, by reducing the financial barrier to accessing menstrual care products.
Menstruation is natural and happens every month for many years of a woman’s life.Taxing necessary health products treats them like optional items, not basic needs.
If Cambodia wants to support gender equality and inclusive development, reducing and ultimately removing VAT on menstrual products would be a simple and critical step to achieve gender equality and inclusivity.
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