Shying Away From Sexuality: Government Reproductive Health Programme

Abstract

While it is laudable that the Indian government has made the effort to initiate a holistic reproductive health programme, its failure to address issues of sexuality that arise in this context is puzzling.

When the government announced its intention to initiate a comprehensive reproductive and child health (RCH) programme in India, there was little debate on the long term implications of this 'paradigm shift' (as it is referred to by the government). In the post-Cairo period the international development community signaled its intention to support a more holistic reproductive health (RH) programme in which the RH needs of people in all age groups is addressed. This 'life cycle approach' starts with adolescents and goes on to the RH problems of postmenopausal women