Just watched an inspiring film about the work of an organization called Janani which focuses on promoting women’s reproductive rights and health through a new approach using married rural couples to counsel women in villages where women often have no voice, and thus no means to discuss sexual matters with their husbands (or anyone else for that matter) or to prevent unwanted pregnancy. It is directed by Dorothy Fadiman and is called, “Woman by Woman:
New Hope for the Villages of India.” Here’s the web page about the film:
There are several observations that tie in with my book:
- the need to involve men as equal partners – so married couples are trained together and work together to counsel women
- the importance of girls’ education, but also of meaningful employment
- the empowering feeling women get from rewarding employment and recognition by their fellow villagers
- opening up the ‘black box’ of discussion on sexual topics and giving women the tools to choose their paths to reproductive wellbeing
- creating scope for other birth control methods (and thus for child spacing) beyond sterilization, the main method used in rural India
- emphasizing the need to value girls as much as boys and open the door to son preference reduction!