PHA-Exchange> Protest against Coercive Population Control Policies and Laws

[PHM Secretariat]

Protest against Coercive Population Control Policies and Laws

Launched on World Population Day
July 11 2004

This year, the World Population Day on 11th July witnessed the protest against the two child norm, coercive population control policies and laws being implemented in the state of Rajasthan as well as at the national level. The protest was launched by voluntary organisations and social activists of the state- MAVJA (Mahila Atyachar Virodhi Jan Andolan), Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, PUCL (People's Union for Civil Liberties), AIDWA, NFIW, BGVS, Vishakha, Prayas and other social organisations/activists. 

About 250 women from the villages of the state took out a rally and demanded from the government to repeal anti-women, anti-poor coercive population control policies and laws. The rally started from Statue Circle and went to the Birla Auditorium where the state government has been organising its official programme. The rallyists marched shouting slogans against the government's coercive policies of two child norm, women as targets of family welfare programme and demanding that there rather be a health policy for the state than the population policy. The police personnel tried to stop the rally from entering the Birla Auditorium's complex. But the women who had come from different parts of the state defied the police and entered the complex shouting slogans against the insensitive and inhuman approach being adopted by the government. A street play was staged depicting the exploitation being faced by women and poor because of the two-child norm applicable at the panchayats, urban local bodies and in the state government. As soon as the health minister came out of the auditorium the protesters gheroed him and the delegation asked him to act upon the memorandum and the set of demands. Other senior officers of the health department of Rajasthan also joined the minister.

Following were the demands put forward to the health minister:

ľ	Repeal Section 19-L iv of the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Act 
ľ	Repeal amendment made in the urban local bodies relating to two child norm
ľ	Repeal the June 2001 amendment in the State Government Services Act pertaining to the two-child norm
ľ	Stop sterilisation (read tubectomy),  targeted population control programmes and instead formulate programmes focussing on raising the women's age at first pregnancy, increasing birth interval, informing about various spacing methods and provide necessary funds for effective implementation of these programmes.
ľ	Formulate a state health policy 
ľ	PCPNDT Act be implemented strictly
ľ	Remove the portion on sharply targeted population control programmes from the section on women and children in the Common Minimum Programme of the United Progressive Alliance

The health minister gave arguments like that the government is doing so much for women and it is in women's nature to sacrifice. He said that it is in women's favour to have small families and therefore even the Chief Minister of the state has appealed to the women to control the population growth. The delegation put forward its point of view that how women are being used to state's interests as they are softer targets. 

After listening to the delegation the minister agreed to have a discussion with the representatives on the issues raised and invited the group to have a dialogue. 

As a follow-up of the protest rally it has been decided to hold a national consultation later this year on the target oriented population control programmes underway across the country and to have a planning meeting next month for the consultation. A suggestion to formulate people's health policy was also discussed  and put on agenda for future work