California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill on Friday
that mandates the public schools and colleges in the state to stock their
restrooms with free menstrual products, aiming to achieve menstrual equity.

The move from the state of California comes amid a
nationwide push from women’s rights advocates for affordable access to pads,
tampons, and other items. California’s latest effort builds on a 2017 law
requiring low-income schools in disadvantaged areas to provide students with
free menstrual products.

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It expands the law to include grades 6 to 12, community
colleges, and the California State University and University of California
systems, starting in the 2022-23 school year. The bill also encourages private
schools and colleges to do the same.

“Our biology doesn’t always send an advanced warning
when we’re about to start menstruating, which often means we need to stop
whatever we’re doing and deal with a period. Just as toilet paper and paper
towels are provided in virtually every public bathrooms, so should menstrual
products,”  Democratic Assemblywoman
Cristina Garcia was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.

Several other states were considering or have required free
menstrual products in public schools, according to advocacy group Women’s
Voices for the Earth. Purdue University in Indiana decided last year to offer
free feminine hygiene products in campus bathrooms.

“California joins a growing number of states who lead
the way in demonstrating that menstrual equity is a matter of human rights. No
student should ever lose learning time due to their periods, period,” the
advocacy group PERIOD said in a statement, AP reported.

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California also previously repealed a tax on menstrual
products that cost women an estimated aggregate $20 million a year.

Women’s Voices for the Earth says more than half the states
still tax menstrual products as a “luxury” item. Worldwide, many
countries have eliminated such taxes, including Britain, Australia, Canada, and
India.

(With inputs from the Associated Press)