Women's Reproductive Rights In India And Beyond

In general terms, reproductive rights may include an individual's right to plan a family, terminate a pregnancy, use contraceptives, learn about sex in public schools and gain access to reproductive health services. This article examines the reproductive rights of women in India, UK, UAE and Malaysia only and studies different aspects and legal frameworks in these nations.

India

Reproductive rights of individuals and couples in India can be located in laws and polices relating to heath, employment, education, provision of food and nutrition, and protection from gender-based violence. These fundamental rights are guaranteed under Part III of the Constitution of India, but the right to health or reproductive rights are not expressly recognised as fundamental rights.

On many occasions our Hon'ble Supreme Court has interpreted the right to health as an integral part to the right to life. In Suchita Srivastava and Another vs Chandigarh Administration, the Court held that reproductive autonomy is a dimension of personal liberty as guaranteed under Article-21:

"It is important to recognise that reproductive choices can be exercised to procreate as well as to abstain from procreating. The crucial consideration is that a woman's right to privacy, dignity and bodily integrity should be respected. This means that there should be no restriction whatsoever on the exercise of reproductive choices such as a woman's right to refuse participation in sexual activity or alternatively the insistence on [the] use of contraceptive methods. Furthermore, women are also free to choose birth-control methods such as undergoing sterilisation procedures. Taken to their logical conclusion, reproductive rights include a woman's entitlement to carry a pregnancy to its full term, to give birth and to subsequently raise children."

Several provisions under Part IV of the Constitution are also related to issues of health, which are not enforceable in any court, but create an obligation on the State to apply these principles in making laws and policies, such as Article- 39(e), 39(f), 42, 45 and 47.

In the past, the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 (MTPA) regulated access to abortion, when and under what conditions it may be conducted and by whom. However, it has recently been replaced by the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act, 2021. Unless conducted as per by the MTPA, termination of pregnancy is considered to be an offence under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). There are other laws which include provisions related to child marriage, immoral trafficking, etc. which also deal with issues related directly or indirectly related to reproductive health of women.

There are many schemes implemented by the government to address maternal health and related issues, like Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCH+A), Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram (JSSK), Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA), etc. which ensure that contraceptives, hygiene products, awareness are reaching from time to time and helping to some extent in reducing the number of women and girls who are facing challenges related to their health and other concerns.

United Kingdom

The Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Act 2003 (came into force in March 2004) was introduced against the practice of FGM in the UK and in other countries which are residents of UK. The Abortion Act 1967, under which women are able to access abortion services was criminalised in some areas such as Northern Ireland under the old laws. In October 2019, the UK Government's new guidance on abortion in Northern Ireland states that no criminal charges can be brought against those who have had an abortion, or against doctors and others healthcare professionals who provide and assist in an abortion.

The General Medical Services (GMS) Contract (came into force in April 2004) deals with contraceptive advice and care. For Sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, Government introduced the 48- hours target for testing and treatment and in 2005 the Medical Foundation for Aids and Sexual health published a set of ten sexual health standards to improve the quality of sexual health services.

The Teenage Pregnancy Strategy is a cross-government programme aiming the under-18 conceptions and increase the participation of young parents in education and work. For confidentiality purpose in 2004, Government reinforced the right under-16 to confidential advice and treatment and in fact deemed them competent by law for decision-making. The Government started the roll-out programme for teachers as well for sex and relationship education.

Malaysia

The Constitution of Malaysia does not formally guarantee the right to health but gives the federal government an exclusive authority over legislative and regulatory matters relating to it. Currently Malaysia has no government policy or legislation particularly addressing the issue of reproductive health but Eighth Malaysia Plan objectives for women's health including STIs, HIV/AIDS, nutrition, maternal and child health care, etc. such as the Safe Motherhood Initiative in 1989.

For family planning government has formulated strategies related to it and services are provided by the Ministry of Health and the National Planning and Family Development Board (NPFDB). There are no legal provisions governing the use of contraception and generally not provided in the public health system.

The principal source of law on abortion in Malaysia is the Penal Code Act 547 (revised 1997) under Section-312. The term abortion is not actually defined under law in Malaysia but accepts the legal definition of miscarriage from a 1955 Indian court case, In re Malayara Seethu, and in 2002 the National Fatwa Committee issued a setting forth the conditions for permissible abortion and follow the standardised procedure given in Clinical Practice Guidelines: Termination of Pregnancy only when it would result in detriment to the mental or physical health of the women with the confirmation of two doctors who can prove that.

The Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 is there for STIs including HIV/AIDS but does not offer legal protections for the people living with it in case of discrimination. For adolescent reproductive health, the government established the Adolescent Health Program under Family Health Development Division of the Ministry of Health on 1995 and in 2001, introduced the National Adolescent Health Policy, which aims to promote the development towards their health and empowering them with the knowledge and skills to practice healthy behaviour. The Ministry of Education has also introduced the element of family health education to primary school children in physical and health education as school curriculum classes in 1994. FGM is practiced among some communities, and as the custom is largely cultural, there is no law or policy regulating it.

UAE

Abortion is illegal and criminalised under Article-340 of the federal penal code and even an intent is a criminal offence. It is allowed under some conditions only such as when a women's life is in jeopardy/danger or if the unborn child has deformities that will prove fatal for future. The abortion must take place within 120 days of the pregnancy and must approved by an authority medical board. The rules related to abortion are strict in the area, marriage certificate is mandatory for avail the services in the both public and private hospitals. Childbirth can only take place in hospital. The Ministry of Health recommends all birth control pills only under its regulations but the morning after pills is banned.

Sexual health education is not mandatory under laws though some private schools do teach sexual education at their own initiative. It is illegal to be sexually active unless one is married and local healthcare system is based on Islamic laws, sexuality and health are not usually taken into consideration and rarely become a part of healthcare campaigns. FGM is not illegal but it is prohibited in the state hospitals and clinics.

According to the above-mentioned details and the data available on the different sites I have created below a table for a brief comparison between the nations specifically. India and UK have better laws and policies when it comes to sexual and reproductive rights of women than Malaysia and UAE. Laws in Malaysia and UAE are influenced by religion, which prohibits many practices like abortion and the unprogressive mentality perpetuates practices like FGM, due to which women in these areas face problems and have less say in their own health matters. Though we have observed that the government has taken different steps to provide good health and child care in these areas and achieved a positive outcome. On the other hand, I feel that India has good laws and regulations related to the issues of reproductive health and rights of women, but due to the lack of proper implementation does not show the desired results. There are different problems in different regions which restrict the women differently in their respective nations and together make a difficult world for them to live. I have seen implementation problem makes Indian women restricted, UK almost has every possible solution related to reproductive health but still somewhere lacks behind, Malaysia's legal system itself confined their women and UAE's rigid laws makes difficult for women and girls to in fact talk about the issues related to their own body and health.

From the above discussion and the comparative analysis of the sexual and reproductive rights of women in India, UK, Malaysia and UAE, I conclude that there is a need to address this issue in each and every part of the world if we want to make and give a better life to our women and to our future generations as well. We have laws which are helping to reduce the issues related to the matter but we are yet to achieve the desired result. Women in each and every country have faced, and in fact are facing, problems such as domestic violence, female foeticide, etc. and reproductive health is one of the main concerns for them. Despite legal and policy frameworks guaranteeing these rights, women and girls around the world still continue to experience significant barriers to full enjoyment of their reproductive rights, including poor quality health services and denials of women's and girl's decision-making authority in our patriarchal society.

Views are Personal

References

1. Partner for law in Development & SAMA Resources Group for Women and Health, Country assessment undertaken for National Human Rights Commission: Status of Human rights in the context of Sexual Health and Reproductive Health Rights in India, April 2018.

2. Tanvi Mathur, Reproductive Rights for Women in India. http://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-3372-reproductive-rights-for-women-in-india.html

3. Caroline Davey, Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights in the United Kingdom at ICPD+10, Reproductive Health Matters, May 2005, Vol.13, No. 25.

4. Abortion and sexual and reproductive rights, Humanists UK. https://humanism.org.uk/campaigns/public-ethical-issues/sexual-and-reproductive-rights/

5. Malaysia, Laws and Policies affecting their Reproductive Lives, Pg-81.

6. Human Rights Watch Submission to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against

Women Review of United Arab Emirates periodic report for 80th Pre-Session, February 2021.

7. Abubakar Abubakar Usman, Women's Rights in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries: A Comparative Analysis.