08 July 2021: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

E. Editorials

Category: SOCIAL ISSUES

1. Challenging negative social norms

Context:

• In the context of the upcoming World Population Day on July 11, the article analyzes the challenges for India in terms of demographic management and suggests certain measures in that direction.

Background:

• India is currently enjoying what is referred to as a demographic dividend. Half of India’s population is under 29 years of age. This significant proportion of young people in the total population will help drive India’s economic growth.
• However, for India to be able to enjoy the fruits of this demographic dividend the young population must not only be healthy, knowledgeable and skilled but must also be provided with the rights and choices to develop to their fullest potential, including, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).

Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR):

• Sexual and reproductive health and rights or SRHR is the concept of human rights applied to sexuality and reproduction.
• Apart from ensuring good sexual and reproductive health via access to quality healthcare facilities, the definition of SRHR would also encompass a broader range of issues such as violence, stigma and respect for bodily autonomy.
  • SRHR include issues like abortion, HIV and other STIs, maternal health and rights, contraceptive access, gender-based violence, discrimination and stigma, and more.
• SRHR is a critical aspect of human well being given that it greatly impacts the psychological, emotional and social well-being of individuals.

India’s progress:

• India’s population growth has been stabilizing. The overall fertility rate has been decreasing. The Total Fertility Rate (TFR), presently at 2.2 children, will soon reach replacement level (2.1).
  • Notably, despite the decline in overall fertility, the population will continue to grow because of the effect of ‘population momentum’.
• In the last two decades, India has made substantial gains with SRH indicators.
  • There has been a marked improvement in the rate of institutional delivery.
  • There has been a decline in maternal mortality ratio (MMR) from 327 in 1999-2001 to 113 per 100,000 live births in 2016-18.
• Data from the National Health Family Survey 5 for the year 2019-20 (NFHS-5) notes improvement in contraceptive prevalence in most States. This marks a significant shift in family planning methods considering the earlier emphasis on forced sterilization efforts.

Concerns:

Lack of universal access to SRHR:

• Pervasive negative social norms, health system barriers and gender inequality have hindered universal access to SRHR.
  • As per a 2021 report from the Guttmacher Institute, around two million adolescent girls (15-19 years) each year had a pregnancy, and of these, nearly 63% were unwanted or unintended. This points to inadequate information and access to SRH services for this age group.
  • According to NFHS-4, in girls aged 15-19 years, 22.2% had an unmet need for contraception.

Uneven progress:

• The TFR remains higher than the national average of 2.2 children among women who live in rural areas and a majority of them living in the poorer States.
  • This is indicative of the poor social status of rural women who have very little formal education and economic power given their poor income levels.

Social norms as an impediment:

• Early marriage of girls is a big challenge in India. 26.8% of women aged 20-24 years are married before they turn 18.
• Many girls and women face gender-based violence and harmful practices that are socially sanctioned and rooted in social norms, beliefs and practices that deny women their bodily autonomy.

Challenges posed by the pandemic:

• The COVID-19 pandemic has led to serious gaps and challenges in the provision of information and services on sexual and reproductive health (SRH).

Recommendations:

Universal access to SRHR:

• There is the need to ensure universal access to SRHR as envisioned under the Programme of Action of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD).

Avoiding coercive methods:

• Prescriptive or coercive methods, such as one- or two-child norms, have rarely worked well anywhere for long as is evident from the experience of China in demographic management. Rather, the people should be empowered to take suitable measures.

For related information refer to:

UPSC Comprehensive News Analysis of 2nd June 2021

Placing the youth and women at the centre of policymaking:

• Youth, women and girls must be placed at the centre of policymaking and services given the positive ripple effect that it can generate. Turning the focus on women and youth could lead to better health outcomes.
  • Young people, and adolescent girls, in particular, must be provided access to education, relevant skills, information and services to make healthy choices, including those related to SRH.
  • Women must be empowered to make informed choices about their sexual and reproductive health.

Recognizing women rights:

• India’s population stabilisation strategy must be formulated keeping in mind the rights of women and girls. Women must have a greater say in choosing their family size.
• Empowerment to make their own choices will lead to better health outcomes among women and girls as this will allow them to prevent unintended pregnancy or give birth with the help of a skilled birth attendant.
• Changing social norms would be the biggest challenge to address in this direction.
• Governmental programmes like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP), has played a significant role in challenging the existing regressive social norms and similar efforts should be taken going ahead.

Additional information:

• India has slipped to 140th rank among 156 countries in the World Economic Forum’s 2021 Global Gender Gap Report.