by Emma Beavon, reporter

Menstrual products have just become a lot more affordable for women in South Africa.  

Finance minister Tito Mboweni announced on Wednesday that from April 2019, South African women will no longer have to pay 15% value added tax (VAT) on sanitary pads and tampons.  

He also announced that sanitary pads will be distributed for free to public schools.  

This is a huge win for the poverty-stricken country, as the cost of menstrual products is a huge burden for low-income women, costing them around R600 (around £31.89) a year. 

As many as 30% of young girls miss school because they cannot afford to buy menstrual products.  

This move has been a long time coming, as female members of parliament and academics have been putting pressure on the government to drop what is known as ‘pink tax’. Earlier this month, students from across the country rallied using the hashtag #BecauseWeBleed in protest of pink tax. 

South Africa is not the only country to make this move to abolish ‘pink tax’. Australia, Malaysia and India all took steps to ditch the tax this summer. 

Wednesday’s announcement means that South Africa is the latest country showing signs of progression across the globe.