Bolsonaro blocks free tampons and pads for disadvantaged women in Brazil

Campaigners say president's veto is absurd and inhumane' in country where period poverty keeps one in four girls out of school

President Jair Bolsonaro's decision to block a plan to distribute free sanitary pads and tampons to disadvantaged girls and women has been met with outrage in Brazil, where period poverty is estimated to keep one in four girls out of school.

Bolsonaro vetoed part of a bill that would have given sanitary products at no charge to groups including homeless people, prisoners and teenage girls at state schools. It was expected to benefit 5.6 million women and was part of a bigger package of laws to promote menstrual health, which has been approved by legislators.