By Madhav Menon, Smitha K & Salineeta Chaudhuri
"The decision whether or not to bear a child is central to a woman's life, to her well-being and dignity. It is a decision she must make for herself." — Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Every person is entitled to certain rights simply by virtue of their birth. These rights cannot be denied to anyone on the basis of their religion, gender, place of residence, race, caste, creed, or any other distinction. However, due to their status as the weaker gender in society, women are denied these rights ubiquitously. "Attaining equality between men and women and eliminating all forms of discrimination against women are fundamental human rights and United Nations values." Within this framework, reproductive rights represent the recognition of everyone's inherent right to the best possible state of sexual and reproductive health, along with their autonomy and responsibility to determine for themselves when and how many children to have.
The Centre for Reproductive Rights defines “reproductive health services that primarily women need, due to their different reproductive capacities, ensuring access to reproductive health services such as contraception, abortion, and maternal health services is essential to ensure that women can equally exercise their human rights”.
The idea of reproductive rights began to emerge at the United Nations Conference on Human Rights (1968). Building on the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the family is described as the natural and fundamental unit of society, and decisions with regard to the size of the family must inevitably rest with the family itself and cannot be made by anyone else.
Yet this freedom is meaningful only when parents have access to information and services that allow real choice. Hence, the right of every family to receive information and access essential services is now widely regarded as a fundamental human right and a vital component of human dignity. Factors, like education, occupation, profession, conditions of living, economic independence, authority over decision-making, and so forth, are taken into consideration while evaluating the status of women. Women’s authority in decision-making plays a crucial role in maternal and child health, employment, and productivity, particularly regarding reproductive issues.
Empowering women to use their reproductive rights will enable them to lead healthy lives and establish prosperous, happy families. Contrarily, there is a great deal of sexual and reproductive health breaches against women, which can take many different forms. These include denying them access to legal services or needing their authorisation before performing sterilization, abortions, virginity tests, and other procedures without their knowledge or consent.
Unplanned or forced pregnancies, maternal morbidity and mortality, unsafe or forced sex, and unsafe or forced abortions are the most prevalent types of violations that are regarded as normal. Early marriages and genital mutilation of women undermine their sexual and reproductive health rights.
The Indian scenario
The International Conference on Population and Development (1994) recognized reproductive rights as basic human rights. Every individual and couple should have the choice to properly choose the number and spacing of their children. India, being a signatory to it, and many other international conventions on women's issues, such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW); the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR); the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) has the obligation to ensure ethical and professional standards in family planning services, including the right to personal reproductive autonomy and collective gender equality (ICPD, 1994). Many of these rights, meanwhile, are already acknowledged as fundamental rights in India.
India has always been intent on implementing various policies and plans to ensure its obligations. The introduction of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) in 2005 marked a watershed moment in such initiatives. Until then, many initiatives, such as Child Survival and Safe Motherhood (CSSM) in 1992 and Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) programs in 1997, were scattered. Although NRHM has a broader reach, its primary focus is on lowering mother and child mortality rates. The Supreme Court and different Indian high courts have also made efforts to recognise and address reproductive rights breaches. India has also aimed at significantly reducing maternal mortality over the past two decades.
According to UNICEF India (2017), the annual number of maternal deaths decreased from 1,03,000 deaths in 2000 to 30,000 deaths in 2017. Despite these success stories, India still needs to go a long way until its women's reproductive rights are fully realised. According to the UNFPA (2017), India accounted for 12% of global maternal deaths.
In India, 14 per cent of pregnancies amongst women aged under 20 are unplanned (FPA 2019). It posits further that over 34 per cent of adolescent married girls admitted to being physically, emotionally, or sexually assaulted. Apte (2019) highlights a critical concern in adolescent reproductive health, reporting that fifty per cent of maternal deaths among girls from 15-19 years
of age occur due to unsafe abortion practices.
Despite numerous initiatives, women and girls in India continue to be unable to fully exercise their reproductive rights. Various socio-cultural, economic, and legal problems impede women and girls in achieving their rights. Indian patriarchal views prevent them from recognizing and implementing women's rights, notably reproductive rights. Most Indian women consider their subordinate social status and difficult personal histories to be the norm. These behaviors are encouraged by the religious values and beliefs in India. Many women in India believe that their husbands are in total control of them, which makes abusing wives acceptable. According to the findings of the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5), at least 30% of the women respondents
from 14 states and Union Territories justified their husbands' aggression in certain conditions.
Women's rights are not the primary emphasis of reproductive health and rights policies and initiatives in India; rather, they are aimed at fulfilling demographic targets. These policies and programs restrict women's autonomy by requiring their spouses' consent in many important areas. The Fourth National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4) reports that 6% of women's needs for spacing techniques are unmet, while 13% of women have unmet family planning needs.
State governments nevertheless carry out target-oriented plans that emphasise permanent methods, even though the National Population Policy allows for voluntary access to family planning methods. “The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act (MTP Act)” permits abortions for a variety of reasons up to 20 weeks of gestation and throughout the duration of the pregnancy, if necessary to preserve the health of the expectant mother. However, several studies reveal that 80 per cent of women are unaware of abortion laws. Women are unable to receive competent abortion services because of a lack of education, a lack of qualified people, and an unwillingness to approach. These factors also contribute to increases in maternal mortality and morbidity rates.
Thus, women are deprived of their reproductive rights and ultimately their right to health and right to life. There are numerous schemes and initiatives relating to reproductive health that cover a wide range of topics, including family planning, maternity and child health, adolescent health, and so on. However, an examination of these programmes consistently reveals a lack of implementation of a rights framework, as well as discrimination and exclusion of a variety of
people, which creates long-term barriers to access and quality of care and exacerbates the marginalization of reproductive health and rights.
Women’s sexual and reproductive rights are shaped by the cultural norms, moral codes, religious beliefs, and social context in which they live. As Mullatti (1992) observes, Gender inequality is firmly ingrained in the socioeconomic structure, not just in seemingly meaningless traditions and outdated religious beliefs. No society can thrive and progress if half of its citizens are ignored and excluded from planning and development endeavours. Women are always stereotyped because of their biological differences and reproductive functions, and are expected to be restricted to the four walls of the house, with no voice, even in personal concerns. So in patriarchal civilizations, the biological features that only females can bear children explain why women are treated differently in household and public settings. Women with the autonomy to make personal and reproductive decisions are more enabled to raise healthy and educated children, as well as flourishing households, which contribute to societal growth.
The realizations of reproductive rights are essential in this regard as they safeguard people from discrimination and violence. Despite numerous international and national measures, women’s rights continued to be denied. A more pragmatic solution is therefore urgently required. The government should implement programs that prioritize women's rights over target accomplishments. Changing people's societal standards, attitudes, and patriarchal mindsets should be a top focus. No plans or programs will generate the desired results unless the members' attitudes change. Women's reproductive rights cannot be achieved in isolation. It’s essential to educate the male counterparts, gaining their confidence, and actively including them in planning and implementation. The government must invest significantly to improve infrastructure and make services more accessible and affordable.
(Madhav Menon is a student of Economics and Dr Salineeta Chaudhuri is an Associate Professor, Economics at Christ University, Delhi-NCR. Dr Smitha K is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Lloyd Law College, Greater Noida)
The views expressed are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times
