Chennai: Despite a large population of women in the country receiving education and having good jobs today, the right for a woman to make reproductive choices continues to be lacking in most families.
On the eve of Women’s Day on Tuesday, Cloudnine, a mother and child care hospital, conducted a panel discussion under the theme ‘It’s Your Choice: Take Charge of your own Reproductive Health’, with the objective of empowering and encouraging women to make their ‘reproductive’ choices.
“The issue of reproductive choice is critical in a country like India, where patriarchal mindsets are very strong and gender equity is low. Most decisions related to marriage, when and how many children to have, are largely decided by the extended family, and this needs to change. Women should be able to make their choice of when, how, and how many children they want to have and what contraception they wish to use. Women have the right to decide whether to have,” said Nitin Nag, Regional Director- South, Cloudnine Group of Hospitals.
The absence of laws to safeguard a woman’s reproductive choice is a major setback to uphold her ‘Right to equality’. “We would really need to fight it out to even bring in such a law. To add to it, we would then have to explain this to the general public,” said Dr Kanimozhi Somu, Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Cloudnine Hospital.
“A woman will undergo many changes during child birth. She has the right to choose when to have a child based on whether she is ready or not. Both the husband and the wife should decide equally with adequate counselling,” said Dr Deepa Ganesh, a Cosmetic Gynaecologist.
With not more than five percent schools focusing on sex education, and the rights surrounding it, children end up learning more from google and movies.
“Sex education is a must in schools where both boys and girls should learn,” added Dr Kanimozhi.
“Both the husband and the wife should have equal rights in making such choices. More focus must be laid at the college level,” says Jessy Elizabeth, a school teacher.
