Skip to main content

Campaigning for Reproductive Health Rights of Women in UP & Bengal

Ipas Development Foundation (IDF) is working in India since 2000 to facilitate women’s access to safe and legal abortion options by strengthening the public health system to provide safe and quality abortion services. But why is it such an important issue when our country is grappling with countless public health challenges? Here are some data to ponder upon. One pregnant woman dies every two hours in India due to complications related to unsafe abortion. And even if she survives, she may get inflicted with myriad complications, both physical and mental. In other words, chances of her being caught in a state of morbidity are too high. India legalized abortion in 1971 (Medical Termination of Pregnancy or MTP Act), putting the onus of decision-making on the woman concerned, but people are still largely unaware of it and the price of ignorance is being paid by our mothers with their lives! Add to it our socio-cultural environment that is, almost by default, biased towards procreation from a so-called high moral ground. But this is utterly counterproductive and it also deters people from seeking any information about abortion or help or services.


We have been campaigning to spread awareness about safe abortion with IDF in Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra since 2008. The campaigns are designed around key messages like ‘abortion is legal’, the legally acceptable gestation period is up to 20 weeks of pregnancy, and free abortion services are available at public health facilities from specially trained doctors. In May-June 2017, we concluded two parallel campaigns, one of 720 street theatre shows covering 17 districts of Uttar Pradesh and another of 200 such shows in three districts of West Bengal.
But horror stories from the field keep coming: A woman facing a life-threatening situation from excessive bleeding or septicemia after an abortion gone wrong because of untrained hands in inadequate infrastructure; a pregnant widow denied the permission to abort her child despite the fact that she would be sucked into the vicious cycle of poverty with the newborn; an attempted self-induced abortion by a woman by consuming gun powder almost costing her life…. and all this because these women are either unaware that abortion is legal or that such services are easily available or because of the sheer fear of societal backlash! We continue coming across young women with permanently damaged bodies and compromised health owing to too early, too frequent and too many pregnancies. Knowledge and practice of contraception and family planning continue to be poor. The low social status of women and lack of decision-making power keep our women vulnerable.

However, our public health system is getting better and our public outreach and engagement on the issue is also progressing. The ground realities are indeed grim now but, with planned and consistent efforts from all quarters, things can change for the better. The enthusiasm of women and men in even the most marginalized communities and their appreciation of our outreach effort underscore this fact. If a one-hour campaign at one venue can result in 94% correct responses, it is reason enough to continue our initiative!!




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Village Festivals: Celebrating Traditions

Village Melas are the annual festivals of artist villages that work with indigenous art and craft forms. In interest of the artist communities , the melas have been significant in strengthening identity of the traditional artist communities and alongside have been operative in creating market linkages for the art. These melas were initiated as resourceful interacting platforms for artists , visitors and the market . Apart from that the melas also staged for the implementation of social changes within the communities of the artists. Initially these festivals were started to familiarize outsiders with the artist identity and legitimize artists pride conforming the knowledge of the art and craft forms. Eventually the melas became grounds for community development as not only outsiders, but also nearby villages started to acknowledge the abilities of the artists and appreciating the art forms.  This year the Melas were quite successful, some of them like...
Post a Comment
Read more

Leaf 'n' Grass, an Exhibition, Sale and Demonstration of Eco Friendly Handmade Products of Bengal

Leaf ‘n’ Grass Echoes Message of a Greener and Better World Going Green isn’t about a product, it is about a process. It is an ephemeral phenomenon that requires one to become friendly to nature and in the process, friendly to oneself. It involves exploring the intricate details of God’s creations, and using that knowledge of protects them. The words of Robert Swan more than fit in here, “The Greatest Threat to Our Planet is the Belief that someone else Will Save it” Eco friendly or Green products are a manifestation of our distant dream to do away with carbon footprints. Their production, use and disposal does nothing or very little to damage the environment. Naturally, the embrace of such a potential ‘Green Economy’ has created a demand of ‘Green Skills’. Go Green Mission , launched in December 2015, aims to leverage this global trend to promote handicrafts of West Bengal supporting the large craft fraternity of West Bengal, sustain their green skills, and promote a g...
Post a Comment
Read more

Nepal Mahato

After Gambhir Singh Murah the next legendary chau persona was Nepal Mahato . Besides being an Chau artist he was also a Guru. He played a massive role in spreading Chau worldwide. He was born in the Abadan village of   Purulia on 17th June 1954. Nagendra Mahato and Tushtha Mahato were his parents. He showed his competency in all the three traditional Chau forms;   Purulia, Mayurbhanj and Seraikella. His initial exposure to Chau Dance was at a very early age when he was in the sixth standard in Shikshashatra High school. His first guru was Anil Mahato. He had a vast range of interest ranging from Jhumur song, Nachni Dance and cock fighting. He loved to play football but his love for Chau was beyond everything else which led him to his destiny. Nepal Mahato passed his school final examination in 1993. During his academic years in Shikshashatra his cultural talents became exposed in front of the eyes of Secretary Ajit Mitra and Dulal Chowdhury. Under the patronage of...
Post a Comment
Read more