Reproductive health [1] practices among Muslim women in India have been little researched perhaps because of the widespread notion regarding the tight Islamic control over sexual behaviour and the sanctions against contraceptive use.

Every year, as millions of women marry, they dream of starting a family, of having their homes filled with tiny cries and the happy laughter of gurgling babies. In India however, pregnancy is too often followed by the question of
whether the unborn child is a girl or a boy.

The high female infant mortality rates (Miller, 1985), the practice of female infanticide (Krishnaswamy, 1988), the neglect of female children with regard to access to health services, nutrition (Sen and Sengupta 1983) and education (Mankekar, 1985), and the sexual abuse of girls (Bhalerao, 1985)

Scrutiny and control of women's sexuality and women's reproductive role by the state are well recognized in the history of societies [Sarkar 1993]. Tribal wars over possession of women were rooted in the struggle for survival of the tribe itself.

How does one analytically locate the social phenomenon manifested in India during the last few years since the advent of sex-selection technology in the mid- 70s?

The RUWSEC case study is useful and inspiring, for it provides in-depth information and insight into what a women-centered reproductive health approach actually means at field and organizational levels.