Parliament has on Wednesday passed the bill seeking to repeal the tax on sanitary pads and tampons.

The bills, which was submitted by Kurendhoo constituency MP Abdul Baaree Abdulla, was passed at Wednesday night’s sitting with the vote of 73 MPs. None of the members had voted against passing the bill.

Earlier on Wednesday, the bill was accepted for consideration with the vote of 65 MPs, eight MPs abstained from the vote.

All members who took part in the vote had been in favor of passing the bill.

While there is currently a six percent GST on sanitary products, slashing Goods and Service Tax (GST) on sanitary products is one of the pledges made by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih during his presidential campaign, to be completed within the first week in office and it was also included in the ruling coalition’s manifesto, which vows to cut GST on such essential products.

Back in 2016, over 500 people signed an online petition asking the parliament and the government to repeal the tax. Those that led the campaign emphasized that 'menstruating is not a luxury for women'.