“Pads & Tampons Are Not a Luxury, They Are a Need”

Schools across Malta are now offering free menstrual products in dispensers that are automatic, discreet, and tailored to student preferences. What started as a pilot in September 2024 benefitting around 900 students across three schools (Santa Monica Secondary in Birkirkara, Maria Regina College in Mosta, and Gozo College Middle School) will scale up in the 2025/2026 academic year to all middle and secondary schools, including state, church, and private institutions (lovinmalta dot com). The government has earmarked €439,000 to install 142 vending machines stocked with two types of pads and one tampon option, accessible through QR scans or dongles to prevent misuse (timesofmalta dot com).

This initiative forms part of Malta’s Gender Equality and Mainstreaming Strategy (GEMSAP), which also abolished the tampon tax this year cutting VAT on menstrual products to zero (lovinmalta dot com). The pilot combined product preference surveys with awareness campaigns to counter stigma and reduce absenteeism mirroring successful efforts in Scotland, Canada, and Kenya (maltadaily dot mt).

But it raises a fundamental question: why is a basic hygiene product treated as extraordinary in schools? We hand out free plasters for cuts without a second thought so why do pads and tampons still carry shame or cost when bleeding is not our fault? If we treat mini injuries as worthy of free care, menstruation should be no different. The fact that we emphasize discretion and “normalization” only underscores why such access should be standard, not headline making.

This policy is not charity it is rectifying an overdue inequality. It confronts the absurdity that bleeding bodies remain burdened by cost and stigma. Education is not just about math and history it is about removing barriers to participation. And a girl missing school because she cannot afford a tampon is a failure of the system, not her.

Malta’s move is a victory but it also reminds us that what is extraordinary today should be the baseline tomorrow. Menstrual products are essential. They deserve to be free, normalized, and unremarkable just like a plaster for a scratch.