Indian women cry foul
Newsletter 1993(44): 13-14
1993
PMID: 12290478 Document Number: 342152
Thirteen organizations in Bombay issued a position statement on women's reproductive health and family planning as part of a national Planned Parenthood Foundation 1990's meeting on new contraception. The statement asserted that women needed to have an understanding of their bodies, wanted contraceptives that would not harm physiological functions, and desired men's and women's joint responsibility for reproduction. Women's groups voiced a concern about women gaining awareness of their ability to control their own health and contraception. The Indian government has been concerned with population control since 1952 and has stressed reducing the birth rate rather than providing for people's needs. The Indian government has followed the advice of Western nations and promoted the IUD during the 1960s, vasectomies during the 1970s, female sterilization during the 1980s, and long acting contraceptives during the 1990s. Government policy after the 1970s that focused on women's methods was viewed as coercive. Women's groups such as Stree Shakti Sanghatana, Saheli, and Chingari and the Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Union protested the Indian's governments promotion of injectable contraceptives such as NET-EN which were considered hazardous to women's health. Women's groups asked for legislative action, which helped to focus discussion and debate on the issues of the side effects of contraception. The concern was raised that people needed to be made aware of the issues and that the NET-EN campaign was only a dialogue among experts. Women's groups have focused on creating understanding about family planning rather than on simplistic labeling of harmful contraception. Demands should be put in a positive framework that redefines couple relationships, explores a variety of expressions of sexuality, and asserts the primacy of women's decision making about reproduction.