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| Sunday, May 9, 2004 |
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| Sunday, May 9, 2004 |
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The Unheard Scream: Reproductive Health and Women’s
lives in India
Recent population policies framed by some state governments reflect a coercive approach through the use of incentives and disincentives prompting the National Human Rights Commission to declare in 2003 that some of these are violative of human rights. Yet, the Supreme Court upheld a Haryana law mandating a two-child norm for panchayat-election contestants to "to control the menace of population explosion". In a discourse based on demography, the voices of the marginalised sections like the Dalits, Adivasis and women go unheard. Unheard Scream, a compilation of 13 essays by media professionals who were recipients of the Panos Institute fellowship, explores issues related to reproductive health. Rich in narrative and based on extensive fieldwork, the essays make for easy reading. The introduction by Mohan Rao urges the reader to move beyond a narrow perspective that limits reproduction to the biological and neglects the broader social, economic, and political contexts shaping reproductive behaviour. The focus on reproductive rights and voluntary informed choice signalled a paradigm shift for India’s family welfare programme. A target-free approach was heralded, but as many of the essays show, little has changed in the way the programme is being implemented. Be it in UP or Madhya Pradesh, the ANM is under tremendous pressure to achieve sterilisation targets. While allocation for health as part of GDP is declining, the public health system has virtually collapsed in many parts of India. The irony is that even the Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) programme cannot be implemented under such circumstances. The focus on population control has meant that the concerns of infertile woman and menopause get short shrift. The essays show that in the absence of any regulation by the government, decisions in the private sector are guided solely by profit. Many infertile couples are taken for a ride. Rajashri Dasgupta sheds light on the links between neo Malthusian groups advocating population control to stem migration and illegal Quinacrine sterilisation trials in West Bengal. Manisha Bhalla examines how new technologies, dowry and tradition aid the masculinisation of the sex ratio in Punjab. Dhirendra Jha and K. P. M. Basheer write about the travails of wives of migrants in Bihar and Kerala, respectively. Vasant Bhosale finds that woman with HIV/AIDS are doubly discriminated against. Women in prostitution possess some bargaining power and have a degree of equality within the sexual act. She can at times insist on the use of condoms. In rural Maharashtra, HIV/AIDS is used as an excuse to deny woman their right to property, children, medical treatment, alimony and work. Swati Bhattacharjee observes that while the national AIDS control policy of 2001 shies away from using the word "adolescent", current adolescent reproductive health programmes focusing exclusively on health, but neglecting sexuality hardly empower a girl to take decisions about her body, her sexuality and her life. While all the essays provide a critique of patriarchy and shed light on its implications for woman, only Swati Bhattacharjee writes: "Adolescent boys, too, are victims of patriarchal norms of sexuality". The essays provide a rationale for integrating gender awareness into health programmes, but are silent on the matter of involving men. At international levels, gender friendly male networks like CORIAC and White Ribbon Campaign (www.whiteribbon.ca) are actively campaigning to change male roles. The essays, by highlighting male privileges, entitlements and existing power have the potential for triggering a discussion about male roles and gender relations. And that would be no mean feat. |
ONE area where the media has been truly successful is
in communicating the Malthusian idea that the cause of all problems in
the country is related to unbridled population growth. Even today, the
ruling political class uses population as an alibi for their failures on
the development front.
