Fertility, Health and Reproductive Politics: Re-imagining Rights in India

This book explores the institutional exercise of power by the state, caste, and kin groups in the context of human reproduction and reproductive health in Northern India. It contributes to developing analytic perspectives on reproductive practice, agency, and the body-self as sites of vital power and politics. Rajasthan has been among the poorest states in the country with high levels of maternal and infant mortality and morbidity, and the author examines how social and economic inequalities are produced and sustained in discursive and on-the-ground contexts of family-making.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 234 pages
Publication date: 31 March 2021
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Set within the intricate tapestry of human reproduction and reproductive health practices in Northern India, this book delves into the profound exercise of power by the state, caste, and kin groups. Through extensive ethnographic research spanning eighteen years, the author has intricately examined the lives of poor Hindu and Muslim communities in Rajasthan, as well as the interactions between development and health actors within the state. This groundbreaking work not only contributes to the development of innovative analytic perspectives on reproductive practice, agency, and the body-self but also sheds light on their unique and vital roles as sites of power and politics.

Rajasthan, unfortunately, has been ranked among the poorest states in the country, plagued by high rates of maternal and infant mortality and morbidity. The author takes a close look at how social and economic inequalities are perpetuated and reinforced in the discursive and practical contexts of family formation, how authoritative knowledge and power in childbirth are wielded across a landscape of development institutions, how maternal health becomes a category of citizenship, how health-seeking behaviors are profoundly shaped by social and emotional factors, how the health sector operates as a biopolitical system, and how diverse moral claims over the fertile, infertile, and reproductive body-self are asserted, contested, and often realized.

A compelling analysis, this book presents both fresh empirical data and novel theoretical insights. It skillfully weaves together the practices, experiences, and discourses surrounding fertility and reproduction (childbirth, infertility, loss) in Northern India into a comprehensive analytical framework focused on power and gender politics. This work will captivate scholars across a wide range of disciplines, including medical anthropology, medical sociology, public health, gender studies, human rights, and sociolegal studies. Moreover, it holds particular appeal to those with an interest in South Asian studies.

Weight: 458g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367786601