With couples home-bound during the COVID-19 pandemic, the possibilities of unplanned pregnancies have heightened. As women are most likely to suffer the consequences of such an event, the Women and Child Development Department conducted community-based events to create awareness of sexual and reproductive health and rights of women on World Population Day on Saturday.
Online awareness classes were held through the 33,115 anganwadis in the State to create awareness among the public of the need for population control as responsible citizens and how to go about it.
Bindu Gopinath, Assistant Director, Women and Child Development Department, says there is a women’s rights perspective to the initiative — if a woman needs access to contraceptives for family planning, it should be available to her.
There is also a child rights perspective — by adequate spacing between children, not only is the health of mother and children ensured but also that the children get optimal care of parents.
Ms. Gopinath says this is the right time to talk about the issue. Unplanned pregnancies may affect a couple’s children and the family’s economic prospects. Older women with children may find another pregnancy daunting or be worried by lack of contraceptive availability during such times of crisis or what to do if they do become pregnant.
As part of the community-based events, anganwadi workers reach out to women in the age group of 18 to 49 to get them to open up if they have any such concerns. Besides providing a platform for discussions, these also provide avenues for rapport building with anganwadi workers.
The awareness creation is done either through WhatsApp group video call or conference call on phones, depending on the convenience of beneficiaries.
Ms. Gopinath says the anganwadi workers have been asked to contact the women individually too as there is no other way to ascertain other problems faced by women during the lockdown and get them to open up about these without intruding on their privacy.
T.V. Anupama, Director, Women and Child Development, says the theme of World Population Day this year is safeguarding health and rights of women and girls amid the pandemic.
It recognises that women comprise half the world’s population but even during crises such as COVID-19, they are more at a disadvantage than men. For instance, women are more malnourished. There is generally disparity in reproductive health and mental health too. These areas are the focus of the Women and Child Development Department.