To the President of the Republic of Ghana, the Chief of Staff, the Gender, Children and Social Protection Ministry, the Ghana Revenue Authority and all relevant govt institutions.

The Girls Excellence Movement is by this petition bringing to your notice injustice embedded in the 20% import tax levied on Sanitary Pads in Ghana under the HS Code 9619002900 of the Ghana Revenue Authority. Mr. President, this injustice has existed against women and girls for far too long. As a known human rights activist, we plead you put an end to it once and for all. We request a total removal of the levies on the importation of Pad because:Below is why:

1. Too many girls cannot afford or access sanitary pads, which means that when they get their menses, they have to turn to unhealthy alternatives like dirty rags, leaves, scrambled news paper pages, old socks, etc. In addition to the high risk of infections such girls are exposed to every time the have their menses, some have to avoid school --and the more school time they miss, the more obvious it becomes that they will fall too far behind in academics and eventually drop out entirely.

2. The 20% tax makes Sanitary pad an expensive commodity. Meanwhile buying sanitary Pad is not for luxury, but a NECESSITY in every girls life until menopause. It is therefore a grave injustice against girls to categorize Sanitary Pad as luxury goods in the GRA Guidelines and levy it accordingly whilst CONDOMS are exempted from all forms of taxes and distributed freely in most institutions. How do we exempt Sex which is choice from taxes and tax menstruation which a girl cannot avoid? Mr. President, is that fair to girls?

3. It is not by choice that girls bleed every month for days, it is natures own design, menstruation is the excretion of a bodily fluid just like urinating. We believe if urinating does not attract taxes and levies, menstruating shouldn't.

In conclusion, Mr. President, Menstrual flow which is also called PERIOD SHOULD END A STATEMENT AND NOT A GIRLS EDUCATION.