Activists and social justice groups are urging South Africa’s Parliament to treat menstrual health as a basic right by supporting the proposed Menstrual Health Rights Bill. The push follows a parliamentary colloquium where civil society groups and government departments debated how to expand access to free menstrual products in public institutions.

Supporters say current programmes remain too uneven. They argue the Menstrual Health Rights Bill would replace an ad hoc approach with a legal duty to provide products, sanitation and health education.

Activists want menstrual access protected by law

The proposed Menstrual Health Rights Bill calls for universal, free access to safe sanitary products in public institutions, with activists comparing the idea to South Africa’s public condom distribution programme. At the colloquium, groups including I Menstruate and Team Free Sanitary Pads argued that dignity, health and school attendance are at stake.

According to the source article, speakers told lawmakers that 83% of schoolgirls do not have consistent access to menstrual hygiene products at home and at school, while one in four misses school each month because of poor access. I Menstruate founder Nonkululo Malawana also said her organisation’s research found that 17% of girls lack adequate sanitation facilities.

Existing policy has not closed the gap

South Africa has already removed VAT from sanitary pads, and the government’s Sanitary Dignity Implementation Framework provides for free sanitary products for indigent girls and women in targeted settings. SARS guidance confirms sanitary towels were added to the zero-rated VAT list, while the official framework sets out the state’s sanitary dignity policy.

However, activists told the colloquium that implementation is patchy. Candice Chirwa said the current approach is failing and argued that the Menstrual Health Rights Bill would move the country from “charity-based” projects to an enforceable system. Portfolio committee chairperson Tebogo Letsie also warned that funding for sanitary products must show clear results and be protected from abuse.

Responses and comparative examples

Some lawmakers questioned whether a new law is needed when dignity rights already exist in the Constitution. Yet activists said those constitutional protections have not translated into universal access in practice.

Supporters also pointed to international examples. Scotland’s government says its 2021 law requires local authorities and education providers to make period products available free of charge to anyone who needs them. In Kenya, Parliament is considering a 2024 bill that would provide free sanitary towels in public institutions and correctional facilities.