#dnaEdit: Bereft of choice

The stark contrast between the numbers of female and male sterilisations in the country tells an alarming story. As an increasing number of women undergo birth-control procedures, their spouses show little interest in family planning. Such a trend underscores gross gender discrimination, where women have little choice but to comply with the diktats of the family and the government. The recently released Union health ministry figures, in response to an RTI query, reveal frightening disparities. While female sterilisation cases have gone up by 36 per cent in 2013-14 compared to the 2012-13 figures, the percentage of men undergoing surgery has dropped to 24 in 2013-14. In terms of actual numbers, around 41.20 lakh women were sterilised in 2013-14 while only 91,652 men opted for the procedure during that time.

A state-wise break-up shows Maharashtra topping the list of 10 states with 5.49 lakh women undergoing sterilisation in 2013-14, followed by Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Men, however, shied away from the surgical knife, with only 17,235 of them in Maharashtra, 3,294 in Bihar, 6,396 in MP, 1,384 in Tamil Nadu and 9,058 in Andhra Pradesh opting for sterilisation.

This is only to be expected in a deeply patriarchal society where women are denied reproductive rights and have little control over their bodies and sexuality. What have further contributed to the crisis are limited access to modern contraceptives and the government-conducted sterilisation camps, which have turned out to be death-traps. Recall, the incident late last year where 11 women died in a Chhattisgarh camp due to criminal negligence of the doctors and staff. Barely 10 days ago, the Supreme Court asked the state government whether the families of these women had been paid suitable compensation in accordance with its 2005 order. A total of 1,434 women have died from such procedures in India between 2003 and 2012.

Despite the national policy of promoting voluntary family planning, state governments often adopt coercive techniques or lure women with cash incentives. The overwhelming majority of those who undergo tubectomy come from the poorest sections. For them even a measly Rs600, the money a woman takes home after the procedure, is a significant amount. They have to grapple with poor nutrition, low levels of education, unhygienic living conditions and a public health system that has consistently failed to provide facilities for antenatal and postnatal care and abortion. A worldwide survey carried out by World Health Organization between 2005 and 2012 shows that India has the highest number of unwanted pregnancies. 

The issue of sterilisations and women’s health cannot be viewed in isolation because of other factors like religion, class, and cultural values, which continue to determine the woman’s position in society. True, population control is a major concern for a developing economy, but it cannot produce a long-term impact without empowering women and respecting their reproductive choices. There is also the dire need to revamp the government’s health policies that have consistently failed to cater to the grass roots in both urban and rural areas. It is evident that the years of planning and allocating money for the improvement of the health system, specifically reproductive and child health, under the, National Rural Health Mission have failed to deliver at the ground level.