On April 14th and 15th, we hosted the ‘Sexual and Reproductive Rights: Social Movements and Legal Battles’ conference, in collaboration with the University of Bergen, Norway and the University of Sussex at the Bangalore International Centre (see the full agenda here). The conference aimed to bring together prominent activists, academics and lawyers to discuss important issues and approaches that have developed in sexual and reproductive rights (SRR) advocacy in India. One of the key objectives of the conference was to shed light on issues and marginalised communities that are at the margins of SRR discourse and action.This blog post presents the key points raised on day 2 of the conference.
Dr. Mohan Rao’s lecture on Surrogacy & Assisted Reproductive Techniques (ART) traced the history of surrogacy in India, within the context of an international “bio-economy.” He critiques reproductive rights arguments which centre on “women’s choice”, warning that they potentially obscure the exploitation of women’s reproductive labour. He highlights how caste, poverty, and rural status inflect women’s reproductive choices and agency.
As part of its Monthly Talk Series the Centre for Law and Policy Research (CLPR), Bangalore on the 24th of June, hosted Ms. Sonali Kusum, a Ph.D. scholar at National Law School of India University, Bangalore for a talk on the legal and ethical issues concerning surrogacy law in India.
