Girls and women bleed once a month. Women bear children for the human population. We are strong and patient. What do we get for our bravery and love? High tampon prices and unfair maternity leave. Being a woman is so freaking expensive and yet nobody does anything about it. Tampons are not a luxury, but taxed as “non-necessities.” I am sorry that we women need tampons so we don’t bleed all over your kitchen floor. Being pregnant is such a special gift from God. The most treasurable time a baby needs with the mother is right out of the womb, but in some cases, others don’t think so, hence the amount of time women are allotted for maternity leave.
The average cost of a pack of tampons is $3.00. They are cheapest in Hungary at the cost of $1.20 and most expensive in the United states at the going rate of $5.61. In addition, one main issue for women in the U.S. is health care. So it is not a surprise the fight on tampons has been debated on for years.
“Menstrual equity” refers to equal access to hygiene products, but also to education about reproductive health. And it’s the focus of a variety of new laws and policies to provide menstrual products in prisons, shelters, schools and even on Capitol Hill. Advocates are also urging states to exempt menstrual hygiene products from sales tax, arguing that they’re a necessity. Generally, men’s products are more expensive than women’s. In my opinion, it is like women have to endure more than let them work for what they deserve. If women have to go through so much discomfort and pain, products and time to love should be respected.
According to a multiple of surveys, America’s maternity leave lags behind the rest of the world.
From Glamour’s 2017 issue, here are the Best & Worst Family planning Laws:
The Best:
Bulgaria: 58.6 weeks (that is over a year!) at 90 percent pay
U.K.: 52 weeks with up to 39 weeks pay
Poland: 26 weeks at 100 percent pay, or 52 weeks at 80 percent pay
Italy: 20 weeks with 80 to 85 percent pay (depending on the job)
Brazil:17 weeks at 100 percent pay(and men get at least 5 days)
France:16 weeks at 100 percent pay
Germany:14 weeks at 100 percent pay (they can stay on leave without pay or work part time until their child turns 3, and guaranteed their job upon return)
Iceland:13 weeks for the mother as well as the father, and 13 weeks that the mother and father can split, at 80% pay
The Worst:
The USA, (big surprise said with sarcasm), under the Family and Medical Leave Act, 12 weeks of leave without pay are available to American mothers and fathers during a child’s first year of life or right after adoption.
Maternity leave in the United States is regulated by US labor law. Unlike women in other developed countries in the world, American women working in the U.S. who take maternity leave are not guaranteed any maternity leave benefit payments from the federal government. Once a child is born, your whole life is devoted to their care, so if you want more than 12 weeks to bond with your child, I say fight for it.