Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG) announced today (8) that the consideration of the veto of the bill that provides for the distribution of sanitary pads to women in public schools will take place at the next session of the National Congress on Thursday ( 10). The scheduling for the next session of Congress was, according to Pacheco, a demand from the women’s bench in the Senate.
The project, which provided for the free distribution of sanitary pads to low-income students in the public network and to women in a street situation or social vulnerability, was approved in the Senate in September 2021 and proceeded to presidential sanction. However, President Jair Bolsonaro vetoed parts of the project.
According to the government, the law establishing the Menstrual Health Protection and Promotion Program was sanctioned, but the distribution of the item, the main point of the program, was vetoed. In the justification of the government team, the project would go against the public interest. According to the Ministries of Economy and Education, to whom the President of the Republic consulted, there is no compatibility with the autonomy of educational networks and establishments and, in addition, the project does not indicate a source of funding or compensatory measure.
Decree
This Tuesday, the president issued the decree which regulates Law nº 14.214/21 and institutes the Menstrual Health Protection and Promotion Program. The text should be published in tomorrow’s edition of Official Diary of the Union.
According to the decree, the objective of the program is to combat the lack of access to hygiene products and other items necessary for the period of menstruation or the lack of resources that allow their acquisition, to guarantee basic health care and to develop means for inclusion. of women in menstrual health protection actions and programs.
It will be the responsibility of the Ministry of Health to strengthen, promote, prevent and care for the health of women in precarious situations and promote health education actions in the area of menstrual health; in addition to offering free access to feminine sanitary napkins to women who need them.
The Ministry of Justice and Public Security will be responsible for implementing actions aimed at providing sanitary pads for women deprived of their liberty and the Ministry of Education will contribute to the promotion of an information campaign in public schools on menstrual health and its consequences. for women’s health.
According to the General Secretariat of the Presidency, the execution of the Menstrual Health Protection and Promotion Program is subject to budgetary and financial availability.
veto vote
The veto of the bill has already entered and left the agenda of congressional sessions twice, under criticism from parliamentarians. With today’s confirmation, the trend is for your vote without further delays. In October, the day after the veto, Pacheco, who also presides over the Congress, signaled that he would work for its overthrow.
“This I consider urgent. This is a promotion of health and a promotion of education, since, in every four children, one does not attend classes during the menstrual period because they do not have a sanitary pad”, said the rapporteur of the project in the Senate, Zenaide Maia (PROS-RN) , at the time of the vote on the text in the House.
Speech against sexism
At the opening of today’s session, Pacheco gave a speech in honor of women, as a reminder of International Women’s Day. In his speech, in a critical tone, he affirmed that society inferiorizes women and inflicts violence of various types and that it is not appropriate to place women on a lower level than that occupied by men.
“Sometimes it is necessary to state the obvious: there has never been any justification for violence, discrimination and attacks against women. But today, such postures are even more intolerable. The time of hate has to end. There is no more room for the inferiorization of the female gender. Women today rightly claim the position of equality and dignity that they should always have had by right”, said the president of the House.
