Wednesday, Nov 10, 2004
Wednesday, Nov 10, 2004 |
| New Delhi | ||||
|
News:
Front Page |
National |
Tamil Nadu |
Andhra Pradesh |
Karnataka |
Kerala |
New Delhi |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | New Delhi
By Our Staff Reporter
NEW DELHI, NOV. 9. Alarmed at the Union Government's plan to launch a National Rural Healthcare Mission under the garb of "population stabilisation", women's groups came together here today to talk about the rights of those most effected by these policies: women. From the two-child norm to injectible contraceptives and finally to the recent plan to launch a National Rural Healthcare Missions, activists believe that these policies often don't take into account the rights of women or the havoc that they cause in their lives. "We have done surveys in the States that have adopted the two-child norm. We found that these place the responsibility of the small family on the woman and not on the Government. The law doesn't take into account that people who want a small family don't have access to contraception, which should be provided by the Government. There is also no guarantee for the poor that their two children will survive, since there is no health care or nutrition available. Early marriages and son preference in India are also factors that this law really has to keep in mind,'' said Nirmala Buch of Mahila Chetna Manch. Pointing out that population can't be controlled through law, Ms. Buch added: "We have found that this law is often used against the poorest people. It has a direct impact on the gender imbalance as people prefer to go in for sex selection so that they can have a small family. It also forces women to go through humiliation in court and we have found cases in which parents deny the existence of their children. They don't send them to school or for polio drops afraid that they might get caught.'' A reality check to see how effective these population policies are at the grassroots level, activists are determined to fight this assault on their Constitutional right. And with most of these policies directed at poor women who have no control over their fertility, it leads to a further gender imbalance, they fear. "The poor are being punished for being poor. It is also a matter of great concern that the Common Minimum Programme of the United Progressive Alliance mentions that they will target the 150-odd high fertility districts in the country for population control. Unfortunately, the Union Health Ministry talks about globalisation but does not want to take into account the global experience. They have used our demand to strengthen primary health centres to include their plans on population control. These centres will be known as first referral centres and they will include methods to stabilise population,'' said Brinda Karat, general secretary of the All India Democratic Women's Association. There is also a plan to rope in women in villages who will be given salaries as commissions to rope in more women to adopt sterilisation, she said.
Printer friendly
page
News:
Front Page |
National |
Tamil Nadu |
Andhra Pradesh |
Karnataka |
Kerala |
New Delhi |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
|
|
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | The Hindu eBooks | Home |
Copyright © 2004, The
Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu
|
