Women’s Rights, Reproductive Health, and Feminism

Women’s rights as human rights took a lot of struggles to come to the fore. What has been plated up today and which many young generations take for granted has been the outcome of fierce and gutsy battles waged stealthily by women, many times under the guise of men. Women’s lives had been so routinised and trivialised that it was not felt record-worthy. Women were confined to the private sphere, which comprised of child birth, rearing and caring; caring for the aged and infirm; caring for the male members of the household; cooking and cleaning and such other mundane activities. However, multiple challenges and complex labour issues abounded here too. It was worsened by the invisibility of such work and the absence of an economic remuneration for it. This paper aims to highlight the struggles of women over millennia to unshackle themselves from being consigned to their biological roles. Moreover, it underlines that this very biological role of reproduction is undermined since it is assumed to be the inherent role of a woman in society. National policies and affirmative action many times also serve to create gender discrimination. The paper argues for rejigging the concept of reproductive health and makes the case for women’s rights as paramount, and overcome gender blindness in healthcare.