Reproductive Right of Women in India

Reproductive Rights

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines reproductive rights as the

"recognition of the basic right of all couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children and to have information to do so, and right to attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health. They also include the right of all to make decision concerning reproduction free of discrimination, coercion and violence."

The basic reproductive rights are

1. Right to control ones reproductive function
2. Right to access in order to make reproductive choices free of coercion, discrimination and violence
3. Right to access education about contraception and sexually transmitted diseases and freedom from coerced sterilization and contraception
4. Right to protect from gender based practices such as female genital cutting and male genital mutilation

Within India, reproductive rights are considered a collective decision of the family, not the decision of the individual women it affect. Many clinics require spousal consent in order to perform various procedures, impacting women's rights to privacy and freedom of choice. In 2011, TrustLaw, a Thomson Reuters Foundation legal news service released a ranking of the G20 countries based on women's rights, wherein India ranked last. The Gender Inequality Index (GII) which ranks countries based on reproductive health, the labor marker and the empowerment of women through education and politics, ranked India as the second worst country for women, next to Saudi Arabia. However, this index does not take into consideration gender based violence and gender roles.

Abortion

Unsafe abortions

Unlike in western societies where the abortion debate is focused on pro life vs pro choice, the debate in India is more focused on women's knowledge of legal rights and adequate implementation of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act.In 1971, The MTP made abortion legal in India, yet very few women in India know this. The majority of abortions are performed in unsafe conditions; it is estimated 8% of maternal deaths are due to complications related to unsafe abortions. In the state Madhya Pradesh, only 15% of women reported that they knew abortion was legal throughout the country. Many women have to travel eight or more hours on a bus to access safer health services, and do not have the resources or support to make the journey. The stigma of abortion, lack of knowledge about safer services, and the scarcity of accessible and trained health care workers have led many women to undergo abortions in unsafe environments. Unsafe abortions use methods such as intrauterine insertion of a foreign object (sticks, roots wire), vaginal abortification (herbal preparations or misproscribed medication), or sharp curettage.

Social factors impacting women's choices surrounding abortion

Social and domestic constraints play a major role in a woman's decision of whether or not to abort their pregnancy. Early marriage, pressure for early childbearing, lack of decision-making power within the family, physical violence, and coercion in sexual and family relations are some major factors that could affect a woman's decision and perception of choice.. Conservative relatives in patriarchal families are likely to urge abortion if it is revealed that the fetus is a girl. In such instances, the woman often has no option but to abort the fetus. If she chooses not to, she may be beaten or even killed by her family for giving birth to a female rather than male child.. Unwanted pregnancies are a social taboo in Indian culture. If an unmarried woman becomes pregnant, she may choose abortion in order to avoid the shame of giving birth outside of wedlock. Due to fear of shame if people find out she is pregnant, a woman may be forced into undergoing an abortion under unsafe conditions.

Sterilization

Sterilization is a medical procedure that makes an individual incapable of reproduction. For women, sterilization usually consists of tubal ligation, sometimes referred to as "getting your tubes tied". In order to stabilize the population, the Indian government offers incentives for sterilization, usually in the form of cash. Some states in India have a sterilization quota. In order to meet this quota, health care workers target poor and uneducated women. Most of these women do not know that sterilization is permanent and that they will no longer be able to have kids following the procedure. Many newlyweds undergo sterilization to refrain from having children for a few years so that they can receive benefits, but again, do not realize that it is permanent. Health care workers are often paid to bring in women to be sterilized. One health care worker was paid $10 for every woman she convinced to delay the first pregnancy for two years after marriage, and another $10 if she convinced the women to wait two years after their first child to have another. However, many health care workers do not provide information regarding contraceptives to avoid pregnancy, which leads to them seeking sterilization as a means of birth control.

Dangers associated with sterilization in India

Those who have children, and undergo sterilization, will sometime have to reverse the operation which is a rare and unsafe procedure often leading women to bleed to death in the event that one of their children dies. Unfortunately, infant deaths are common in some rural areas of India. Worse still, when a mother loses her child, she may subsequently be no longer accepted in the family. She will either have to produce another child or be removed from the family. Most sterilizations occurring in rural areas are performed at camps where dozens of women are sterilized under unsafe conditions. In 2012, a doctor sterilized 53 women on a bench in a school with no electricity in Kaparfora, risking their lives. Despite the recognized dangers associated with the doctor's actions, no charges were laid.

The Two Child Norm

In 1992, a two child norm was implemented. This policy was established to stabilize India's increasing population. Although it is not a law, it provides rewards for families with no more than two children, and many disadvantages for those who have three or more children. Those who have three or more children are denied a subsidy for babies born in hospitals, school bursaries, access to subsidized food, certain public services, and government welfare. The implementation of the two child norm has resulted in many women undergoing forced abortions, sex-selective abortions (in favour of male children), divorce, and desertion or disowning of kids. By preventing individuals from exercising their right to decide how many kids they want to have, this government policy infringes on the reproductive rights of women.

Sexual Education

Sexual Education is not commonly provided to youth within many rural parts of India. One study revealed that only 40% of women remember ever discussing family planning with a health care worker, and only 10% have discussed using the birth control pill.. There is an even greater lack of knowledge regarding sexually transmitted infections (STIs). A study of adolescents in Delhi found that more than a third of adolescents do not know about the signs, symptoms and prevention of STIs. According to National surveys, which do not include unmarried women, only 22% of symptomatic women will seek treatment due to a lack of resources, a lack of access to clinics and a lack of sexual education. The legal age of marriage is 18, but 60% of women are married before they have reached the legal age. Of those women, 73% have had a child before the age of 18. Those who were married at the age of 14 or younger had a mean age of first pregnancy at 16. Girls entering marriage, especially those who are younger then the legal age, are given very little information on sexual intercourse, contraception or pregnancy. These girls have an increased risk for anemia, unplanned pregnancies, complicated pregnancies, complicated deliveries, premature deliveries, spontaneous abortion and death during pregnancy. The two major factors for the high rate of adolescent pregnancies in India are due to early marriages and lack of birth control/unprotected sex.

Menstrual Taboo

In rural parts of India, where there is a lack of knowledge and resources for young females, there is a social taboo surrounding menstruation. Girls are rarely educated on pubertal changes and menstrual hygiene. The stigmatization of menstruation and puberty in India has led to many mothers avoiding conversations with their daughters regarding these topics; instead, mothers may only teach young girls to rely on cultural traditions. Menstruation is considered unclean in the poorer areas of India, resulting in various restrictions and rules for menstruating females to follow, including:

• No bathing
• May not eat certain foods
• No physical activity
• No entering places of worship
• Staying home from school
• No attending family functions

Often the rags that are used to absorb the blood are washed and dried in a dark room to avoid being seen by others. The rags are then reused, which can then lead to infections. The widespread misinformation surrounding menstruation is generally attributed to three major factors: influences of religion, cultural norms, social taboos, and myths; lack of education; and inadequate resources.