While tampons, sanitary towels, panty liners, menstrual cups and the like are taxed at 19 percent, cut flowers, quail eggs, crab meat and truffles, for example, are taxed at the reduced rate of seven percent.

"Periods are not a luxury"

Nanna-Josephine Roloff and Yasemin Kotra, who have already collected over 200,000 votes with their online petition "Periods are not a luxury" on the campaign platform change.org, also think it's pretty unfair. "Many people are ashamed to talk about it, but it should be the most normal thing in the world," says Nanna-Josephine Roloff, who works as a PR consultant in Hamburg. "How shamefacedly we sometimes push our tampons across the table." She not only wants to clear up the taboo surrounding the topic, but also wants to campaign for these products to be counted as everyday consumer goods.

Tampon tax must be discussed in the Bundestag

This must now actually be discussed in the German Bundestag. The condom manufacturer Einhorn and the online magazine Neon are also calling for a reduced tax rate for menstrual hygiene products in a current petition. "This is discrimination against menstruating women. We are therefore calling on the Bundestag to tax period products at the reduced rate of seven percent," say the petitioners. Having already achieved 50,000 votes with their appeal last week, the debate is now going to the Bundestag.

In Canada, India, Australia and some US states, the so-called tampon tax has already been abolished.