Times of India
7, March 2010
By Pratibha Masand
Jaipur, India

As the new woman rises to career opportunities and exercise a better control over her life, advancement in contraceptive techniques too has given a major boost to women empowerment. Awareness towards reproductive rights among the women is on the rise as more and more voluntarily choose their contraceptive methods.

“A major change has been noticed among women when it comes to contraceptive behaviour. Nearly 30–40 per cent of the urban women are now voluntary adapting to contraceptive techniques,” said Dr Ritu Joshi, during an international conference on contraceptive techniques held in the city.

According to doctors, women are now more open to contraceptive methods thanks to professional needs and economic independence. The role of women in family planning has also grown with the increased availability and awareness towards contraceptives.

Their attitude towards pregnancy has also undergone a change. “Pregnancy remains a major incidence in a woman’s life and she has the right to take an independent decision,” added Dr Ritu.

More than family planning, availability of female–oriented techniques is also being hailed by several feminist organisations as an acceptance towards women’s sexuality. Various government and non–government agencies have also been working to promote awareness among women on this front.

“Women have traditionally faced suppression on the issues of sexuality, it has taken considerable change in the socio–economic scenario that has enabled women to demand contraception,” said another doctor at the conference. “But even today in more serious issues like abortion, the females are often expected to behave under family dominance. Despite male vasectomy process being much simple it’s mostly the female patients who have to undergo a contraceptive operation,” she added.

The doctors, however, also expressed concern over the unregulated usage of emergency contraceptive pills. “The emergency pills have registered a steep incline in sales. These pills are not meant for frequent use, even as contraception remains their right the consumers should choose the options judiciously,” said Dr Shyam Sharma.