Das was speaking at a book launch of an anthology “Of mother and Other” at the Indian International Centre here.

“When I was pregnant, no one told me how many difficulties one actually has to face. Everybody is happy and they congratulate you, but nobody shares the issues of motherhood,” the actor said. “The whole journey of motherhood is full of contradictions,” she added. Stating that having a child is a matter of personal choice, the award-winning actress said that being a mother has completely changed her life.

Read: What parents of newborns ought to know

Jaishree Mishra, editor of the book, said: “When I was introduced to the figures of child malnutrition, infant mortality rates, female foeticide, I choked with an overwhelming emotion of sadness. It motivated me to bring about the issues of women and that reflects the realities our mothers face.”

“The most common discourse about motherhood in our society does not usually talk about children with special needs. There are many children in our society which are differently abled but our discourse would generally neglect it,” contributing writer of the anthology Shalini singh said, asserting that the motivation to write was more personal to her, as she herself is a mother of a son with special needs.

Talking about the sensitive issue of gender determination, writer Smriti Lamech said the issue is engraved in the mentally of society and there was an immediate need to change it. “I was a privileged mother. I was determined to have a girl child. But not many mothers are that privileged,” she said.

Journalist Humra Qureshi, who has reported in various conflict areas, said many people in India don’t know about the mothers of disappeared people. Terming her experience with such mothers emotionally exhausting and upsetting, Qureshi said that to understand the helplessness of these mothers, people need to relate to these women.

Source: IANS

‘People have a belief that if they don’t have a male child they will go to narak (hell),’ the court said, asking ‘where is this narak’?

The Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention) Act, 1994, bans determination of the sex of a foetus in womb. The apex court bench of Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan and Justice Dipak Misra while perusing reports filed by Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra said that ‘there is a lackadaisical attitude (in the enforcement agencies). How to wake them up?’ The court said that it would hold quarterly monitoring of the steps taken by state governments to stop determination of sex. ‘Why there is no awareness that girl child is equally loveable as boy,’ the court said, inquiring from counsel. Justice Misra said that at the awareness camps the people should be told that ‘female child is better than male child as girls have neuron which makes them wise’.

Aghast at the submission by Bihar that they were not even aware of female foeticide and sex-determination test, Justice Radhakrishnan said: ‘It is an alarming situation’ that they were unaware of the existence of female foeticide. Taking a dig at Punjab’s poor record on checking sex determination, Justice Misra said that its affidavit was ‘well drafted’, but ‘there is lethargy on the part of the police in enforcing the ban’.

Amicus curiae Colin Gonsalves told the court that states’ affidavits concealed more than they revealed about the actual state of affairs. Gonsalves told the court that the so-called conviction that they have shown in papers was nothing but imposition of a fine of Rs.500-1,000 on the violators of the prohibition. He told the court that ultra-sound machines sealed by enforcement agencies for sex determination at clinics were still lying in their premises. The machines get unsealed after paying a small fine. Haryana health secretary Navraj Sandhu, who was present, told the court that the health department alone could not enforce the ban. Sandhu told the court that it was only through the collective efforts of all the stake holders including police, education department, political leadership and the society that the problem of female foeticide could be dealt with. Describing it as a problem of mind set, Sandhu said in Haryana educated and well-to-do people were going in for sex determination tests.

Adjourning the hearing, the court asked Additional Solicitor General Harin Raval to go through all the affidavits filed by different states and suggest which was the better model to eliminate the pre-natal sex determination tests.

Source: IANS

The event was part of the ‘Meri Shakti, Meri Beti’ (My Strength, My Daughter) campaign of CSR in collaboration with the German embassy to protect the girl child in Delhi. According to CSR, the survey was done in south Delhi, which has one of the most dismal sex ratio figures in the capital. The areas surveyed where Vasant Kunj, R.K. Puram, Dwarka, Chattarpur, Sunder Nagar and Sangam Vihar areas. ‘The illiterate, semi-literate and even highly educated respondents admitted that a son was preferred over a daughter because sons are the ones who carry the family name and lineage. There is no fear of dowry or share in property. It is becoming difficult to secure or maintain the chastity of a girl child,’ the findings revealed.

The survey also said that the sex ratio is the worst in Vasant Vihar of south Delhi, where some of the most affluent live. According to the 2001 census report, the child sex ratio Delhi in the age group of 0-6 years was 868 per 1,000 boys. This figure dropped marginally to 866 in 2011. ‘It is an utter shock. Laws should be made more stringent to check and curb sex-selective abortion. A collective force of medical fraternity, citizen partnership and stringent laws are needed. There has been no change in the mind-set of a majority of the city’s population. The preference for a boy child will push Delhi on the brink of social and law and order challenges in the near future,’ said Ranjana Kumari, director, CSR. According to a UNICEF report, India has lost over one crore girls to abortions and infanticide since 2007 and there is a dramatic decline in the sex ratio.

Source: IANS 

A survey by Centre for Social Research (CSR), an organisation working for women empowerment and welfare, has revealed that sex-selective abortion is rampant in Delhi, particularly in south Delhi. ‘CSR took this survey in southwest Delhi where the problem is more pronounced. About 900 households were surveyed for over a year from Feb to Dec 2012. We found that most people still prefer sons than daughters, fearing dowry, security of a girl child and sharing of property,’ Manasi Mishra, a CSR official said.

The event was part of the ‘Meri Shakti, Meri Beti’ (My Strength, My Daughter) campaign of CSR in collaboration with the German embassy to protect the girl child in Delhi. According to CSR, the survey was done in south Delhi, which has one of the most dismal sex ratio figures in the capital. The areas surveyed were Vasant Kunj, R.K. Puram, Dwarka, Chattarpur, Sunder Nagar and Sangam Vihar areas.

‘The illiterate, semi-literate and even highly educated respondents admitted that a son was preferred over a daughter because sons are the ones who carry the family name and lineage. There is no fear of dowry or share in property. It is becoming difficult to secure or maintain the chastity of a girl child,’ the findings revealed. The survey also said that the sex ratio is the worst in Vasant Vihar of south Delhi, where some of the city’s most affluent live.

According to the 2001 census report, the child sex ratio Delhi in the age group of 0-6 years was 868 per 1,000 boys. This figure dropped marginally to 866 in 2011. ‘It is an utter shock. Laws should be made more stringent to check and curb sex-selective abortion. A collective force of medical fraternity, citizen partnership and stringent laws are needed. There has been no change in the mind-set of a majority of the city’s population. The preference for a boy child will push Delhi on the brink of social and law and order challenges in the near future,’ said Ranjana Kumari, director, CSR.

According to a UNICEF report, India has lost over one crore girls to abortions and infanticide since 2007 and there is a dramatic decline in the sex ratio.

Source: IANS

2012 was quite a year for India’s healthcare sector. While we finally managed to eradicate polio, incidents like Baby Falak’s torture and female infanticide shook us to the core. Also finally the government promised to increase its healthcare spends, collaborate with the private sector and provide more security and inclusiveness to People with Disabilities. While multinational pharmaceutical companies slugged it out over patent rights and compulsory licences, a TV show made the entire nation sit up and introspect. All in all 2012 was quite a memorable year with good, bad and some downright ugly incidents. Here are top health newsmakers of the year: 

 1. Universal Health Coverage

India’s healthcare system has often been derided for being one of the most inefficient in the world. We have a shocking record with over 78% out-of-pocket expenditure and Universal Health Coverage became the byword as the government promised to provide better healthcare services and free generic drugs to all.

• Govt intends to provide better healthcare for all
• Planning commission to rethink corporatized healthcare proposal
• President Mukherjee wants healthcare for all                      
• Free drugs for all – is it feasible?
• What ails India’s healthcare system?

 2.  India VS Big Pharma

India has long been heralded by other developing nations as the torchbearer of generic drugs, big multinational pharmaceutical companies on the other hand feel this is a blatant violation of their intellectual property rights. Indian generic companies, the Patent Body and international pharmaceuticals slugged it out throughout the year raising various medico-legal debates about the price of drugs, its affordability and the sanctity of intellectual property rights.

• India VS Big Pharma in Supreme Court
• Roche’s hepatitis drug patent revoked
• Compulsory licence to NATCO brings down cancer drug price by 97%
• Despite compulsory licencing generic drugs too costly for the poor

  3. Medical fraternity VS Health Ministry

 The medical fraternity led by the IMA and the Health Ministry had some major showdowns throughout the year. The doctors felt they were being dealt and unfair hand with the Health Ministry’s controversial compulsory three year rural bachelor course and plans to plug the brain drain. The final showdown however was reserved for the NCHRH bill – a controversial move that looked to dissolve the Medical Council of India and other professional medical bodies.

•  Why the NCHRH bill is a bad idea
• IMA doctors’ strike: Why are the docs striking?
• ‘That’s no way to plug the brain drain Mr Azad’
• Compulsory three year rural service for medical students

4.  Polio-free India

If India remains polio-free for the next whole month, it will have maintained a zero-polio cases record for an astounding two years.  To put this in perspective, India was one of the most polio-stricken countries in the world and even as recently as 2002 most of the cases in the world were from India but by the end of 2012 it had gone almost two years polio-free. However, India shares its borders with two polio-endemic countries (Bangladesh and Pakistan) and the only way to keep the deadly disease at bay is a relentless vaccine drive.

• Tireless vaccination only way to keep disease at bay
• Big B ecstatic that India is polio-free
• India declared polio-free by WHO

5. Gutka ban

On April 1, Madhya Pradesh became the first state to ban the sale, manufacture and production of gutka. 15 states and three Union Territories followed suit and there’s a call to ban gutka throughout the country. Unfortunately even after the ban, gutka is still easily available in all banned states.

• Madhya Pradesh becomes the first state to ban gutka
• Various states ban gutka
• Kerala CM asks PM to issue a nationwide ban

 6. People with Disabilities (PwD)Act 2012

 A new draft of the PwD act was proposed to improve lives of people with disabilities. It includes the most inclusive definition of disability which has been broadened to include people suffering from  autism, cerebral palsy, chronic neurological condition, dwarfism, haemophilia, intellectual disability, leprosy cured, low vision, muscular dystrophy, specific learning disabilities, multiple sclerosis and thalassemia. While it’s good that the powers-that-be are looking to improve the lives of PwDs it’s still to be seen if it can help the concerned in the real world.

How inclusive and accessible is our society

7. ART – Assisted Reproductive Technique

ART was in the news for three separate incidents -

• Aamir Khan and his wife Kiran Rao decided to have a baby through in vitro fertilisation.
• Vicky Donor sparked a nationwide craze to donate sperm
• India’s position as the unofficial surrogacy capital of the world was cemented

 8. Satyamev Jayate

It is indeed strange that a television show is described amongst the most definitive moments of the year but the impact of Aamir Khan’s (he just can’t stay away from our list)  TV show is not even debatable. The show didn’t shy away from discussing taboo topics like female foeticide, child sex abuse, medical malpractice and alcohol abuse among others and ruffled quite a few feathers. Esoteric topics like generic drugs, pesticides and patient rights actually became nationwide obsessions. It’s safe to say that Satyamev Jayate changed television and the very concept that mass media is only for entertainment.

•  Satyamev Jayate: Retrospective
• Satyamev Jayate episodes
• SJ Impact

 9. Baby Falak and the plight of the girl child

 Baby Falak’s plight coupled with cases of abandoned baby girls and female infanticide showed the hitherto unknown side of modern India’s face – a very chauvinist and patriarchal one at that. Baby Falak’s unfortunate demise coupled with the ugly practice of female foeticide dominated headlines throughout the year.

•  Baby Falak: Gruesome story of an innocent life which ended
• Satyamev Jayate highlights the issue of female foeticide
• Centre frames more stringent rules to curb female foeticide

10. UP – A land where sweepers, ward boys and drivers play doctor

The nation was shocked a TV channel expose showed that non-medical personnel in Uttar Pradesh were regularly assisting doctors with skillful paramedic work by applying stiches, carrying out post mortems and attending to patients in emergency wards. Similar news filtered in from West Bengal resulting in serious questions being asked about the healthcare services provided in this country.

•  Uttar Pradesh – a land where sweepers, ward boys and drivers play doctor
• After UP sanitation staff in WB found stitching patient wounds
• Non-experts performing medic duties the norm in UP

Bhatnagar sought to know the total number of abortions in Delhi in order to determine the number of female foeticide cases. Bhatnagar told IANS that he was also looking for the sex of the aborted foetus. He said while the government had revealed the total number of abortions, they provided no other details. According to the RTI reply, Delhi’s west district reported the maximum cases of abortions (43,631 cases).  The south district accounted for 37,664 cases. East Delhi came next with 27,257 abortions, followed by north-east district (21,170).Central and New Delhi districts together accounted for 19,081 abortions. South-West district saw 15,301 cases, North-West 10,449 and North district 5,748 abortions. According to gynaecology expert Rinku Sengupta Dhar, abortion is legal up to 12 to 20 weeks of pregnancy but with the recommendation of a doctor.

Dhar, attending consultant at the Sitaram Bhartiya Institute of Science and Research said, ‘Up to 12 to 20 weeks, a woman can undergo an abortion process only for specific reasons – like if a pregnant woman has a serious medical disease and continuation of pregnancy could endanger her life, if continuation of pregnancy could lead to substantial risk to the newborn leading to serious physical or mental handicaps or if pregnancy resulting of rape.’

‘Abortion can be said to be legal if recommended by doctors in a specific situation but only up to 12 to 20 weeks (after pregnancy). After 20 weeks, abortion is illegal in India. ‘Only adults are allowed to go for abortions. But in some cases like unwanted teenage pregnancy and rape, abortion of minors can be done with guardian’s permission,’ she added.

Source: IANS

According to Retail and Dispensing Chemists Association (RDCA) president Damji Palan, over 2,100 of their members have been at the receiving end of the FDA officials since the past three months when a drive against female foeticide was launched in a big way.  ”The FDA have lodged police complaints against at least 35 chemists and another 2,100 have been slapped with show-cause notices prior to action,” Palan said.

In a bid to check the incidence of female foeticide, FDA officials have also been carrying out regular raids and searches in chemist shops or pharmacies to check whether they had been selling abortion pills without prescription. Some pharmacists and medicos have started advising patients in Mumbai to replenish their stock of essential medicines to avoid problems during the shutdown.

It was not clear whether pharmacies run or managed in public and private hospitals would also join the RDCA strike.

Source: IANS

The state government has now decided to trap doctors and health centres that continue to perform prenatal sex determination tests, state health secretary P.K. Mohapatra told IANS. The health secretary said that decoys would be sent to approach health centres and nursing homes. A spy camera could be used for the purpose of recording the conversations and activities that occur inside nursing homes suspected to be conducting prenatal sex determination tests. The recordings could later serve as evidence, Mohapatra said. 

While the government has decided to form five special teams at the state level, district collectors have been asked to form their own teams to conduct such operations, the health secretary said.  Mohapatra said the government had also made budgetary provision to reward the people who help it to trap offenders. ”We have already trapped some people. In the last two months, at least 20 ultrasound machines that were used for prenatal sex determination tests were seized from different places of the state,” Mohapatra said. 

Source: IANS

Then we met Miss Naseema Hurzuk, a wheel-chair bound lady who runs Helpers of the Handicapped, an organisation that looks to help the disabled. Since it was set up in 1984, the organisation has provided rehabilitation to over 17 thousand people with disabilities.

We also met the Subasini Mistry, a lady who had lost her husband because they couldn’t afford the healthcare bills. This incident made her took a vow to provide for the needy. Her son, who grew up in an orphanage went on to became a doctor and with his mother set up the Humanity Hospital. Starting from a small hut, the hospital now caters to thousands of patients every day. The hospital stays true to its original ethos, ‘For the poor, by the poor’.

 That Aamir Khan’s Satyamev Jayate is more than a TV show is unquestionable. A unique tour de force, the show covered various issues that were controversial to say the least and ruffled quite a few feathers. And it wasn’t just a medium that asked questions. It actually forced people to look within themselves discussing topics like female foeticide, medical malpractice, disabilities, and child sex abuse. Here we look back at some of the episodes and the impact he had on society at large – civil and political.

Female Foeticide

The very first episode dealt with the issue of female foeticide, highlighting the ugly face of a society which was willing to go to any lengths to have a boy. This included illegal practices like prenatal sex determination, illegal abortions and even abandoning new-born female infants.

Impact: The episode had quite an impact on the various state and central government leading to a clampdown on illegal sex determination practices and fast-tracking of female foeticide cases.

Click here to read more about the episode.

Child Sex Abuse

The episode on child sex abuse highlighted the cases of various child sex abuse victims and how these incidents were often shoved under the rug. The show showed how child abuse victims were victimised.

Impact: The child sex abuse bill was passed in both houses. A gender neutral bill, it seeks harsher punishment against offenders and anyone under 18 is to be treated as a child.

Click here to read more about the episode.

Medical Malpractice

This episode dealt with the medical malpractice and raised quite a hue and cry, particularly from the medical community, who felt they were being unfairly targeted and misrepresented, and demanded an apology. Aamir refused to do so, stating that his aim wasn’t to misrepresent doctors but to highlight the healthcare woes in the country. It also highlighted how the government had failed to provide healthcare to its citizens.

Impact:  Though the medical community was suitably miffed, the show did highlight the existence of generic drugs and the increased patient awareness about their rights. The government too launched a plan to provide free drugs for all and reduce out-of-pocket expenditure on drugs and healthcare. Aamir and the Satyamev Jayate team were also invited by the parliamentary standing committee to discuss the issue.

Click here to read more about the episode.

 Enabling our disabled

Satyamev Jayate’s sixth episode highlighted the trials and tribulations of people who are disabled. It highlighted the various problems people with disabilities face and how easily it can be overcome only if society were a little more considerate and aware of their needs. The show went on to highlight the indomitable human spirit and how anything can be achieved with determination.

Click here to read more about the episode.

Impact: It opened people’s eyes to the trouble faced by the disabled – physical or mental – and went on to show various ways we could vanquish their hurdles.

Pesticides and fertilisers

This episode dealt with the harmful and long-term effects that pesticides and fertilisers have on people, flora, fauna and the environment in general. They became part of our staple during the Green Revolution with genetically modified crops. It also explored organic farming and how it was a feasible alternative for a healthier life style.

Impact: It highlighted the various organic farming initiatives across the country and also the harmful practise of over-using fertilisers.

 Click here to read more about the episode

Alcohol Abuse

The episode on alcohol abuse highlighted the effect of alcoholism and binge drinking on individuals and society in general.  It was also explained how alcoholism was more of a disease and there was a need to support and rehabilitate alcoholics. We also bore witness to the struggle that ex-alcoholics went through to beat the booze and the dangers of drunk driving.

Impact: It raised awareness about alcoholism, drunk driving and even the issues of occasional binge drinking.

Click here to read more about the episode.

Watery Woes

Dealing with the water situation on the country, this episode dealt with various issues like water scarcity and the health hazards of consuming toxic water. The show highlighted how water was indeed a non-renewable resource and we wouldn’t survive without it.

Impact: The show highlighted various individuals who had taken matters into their own hands with alternative solutions like rainwater harvesting and building reservoirs to renew our most important resource.

Click here to read more about the episode.

13 episodes later, Satyamev Jayate has changed the face of television and reiterated the belief that we can make a difference. Wrapping up the season by reciting an Urdu version of Tagore’s ‘Where the mind is without fear’, Aamir urged the people of this country to fight on, to believe, to know that we can make a difference. We from India.com Health are seeped in this belief that each of us can make a difference. So we ask our readers – What did you think of the series? What other topics would you like the show to cover in upcoming episodes? Do you think the show has made a difference?

And oh yes –  Satyamev Jayate. Jai Hind

Sharma said: “One of the main steps required to curb the menace is to stop illegal sex determination in various ultrasonography (USG) centers across the state. For this government has enhanced the reward for the whistleblowers providing information about such activities from Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,000.” The health minister said this while chairing a thematic workshop on public private partnership to restore gender balance Sunday.

The workshop dwelt at length on declining sex ratio and measures to capture the trend in light of pre-conception and pre-natal sex determination techniques (PCPNDT) act and public private partnership to restore gender balance, social aspects of PNDT and other related issues in implementing the act in letter and spirit.

Sharma appealed to all the sections of the society to help in curbing the menace of female foeticide. “The recent figures of census are eye opener for all of us. We have to give serious thought on this issue and take corrective measures to improve the ratio,” he added. The sex ratio in Jammu and Kashmir is at 883/1,000 while the national average is 940/1,000.

He asked the people to create awareness among the masses against the female foeticide and gender inequality. He said there was a need to act tough on perpetrators of female killing and besides, punishment, registration of such clinics can be cancelled who violate the PCPNDT Act, he added.

Source: IANS