India's Forced Sterilization Practices Under International Human Rights Law

Ramya Jawahar Kudekallu, Fachinformationsdienst Für Internationale Und Interdisziplinäre Rechtsforschung
2022 Völkerrechtsblog  
Raji Kevat (story originally found here) consented to a procedure in 2014 that promised her the possibility of spacing the birth of her children. Her sister-in-law suggested it because she had heard that the government was offering the procedure for free. Raji was one among almost 100 women, herded to an old government hospital, where a single doctor with only one set of surgical instruments then began to perform tubal ligations on each of them. Raji was not sure if the local anesthesia was
more » ... ing but felt the terrible pain of the procedure and was then asked to lie down in the corridor, on the floor of the hospital, to recover. She was led to believe that sterilization was the only contraceptive option. This piece explores ongoing harms of state sponsored health programs that force or coerce sterilization in India and how the State's actions are in violation of international human rights law.
doi:10.17176/20220310-120951-0 fatcat:4nw6qgsybbag3pegs5pdddshbu