Pratigya Connect

The Pratigya Connect brings monthly updates from Pratigya Campaign and our Coalition members straight to your inbox.

Pratigya Campaign for Gender Equality and Safe Abortion is a network of individuals and organisations working towards a singular objective - protecting and advancing women's rights and their access to safe abortion care in India.

Read ahead for news, highlights, and commentary on rights-based events from all over the world.

With memes, important news pieces from around the world, and International Women's Day (IWD), we ensured that each day was a new opportunity to raise awareness and reach the grassroots for better sexual and reproductive health rights and action. For IWD 2023, we brought together people from different backgrounds to share what 'equity' means to them and when it comes to healthcare how are they embracing equity. When we embrace equity, we embrace diversity, and we embrace inclusion.

With the campaign #EmbracingEquity, we aimed to get people to start embracing the process of equity to reach equality.

This month, we also continued our ongoing 'Word of the Week' series and empowering women with our LACE up campaign, in a bid to ensure healthy families and communities, and in turn a healthier nation.

Every day is Abortion Provider Appreciation Day

MSI Reproductive Choices celebrated 'Abortion Provider Appreciation Day': a day dedicated to highlighting the work of abortion providers as stigma and barriers to access abortion care persist, to showcase their love and support for Abortion Providers around the world on not just the day but every day.

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ASAP Turns 15!

As part of Asia Safe Abortion Partnership's (ASAP) 15th year celebration, on International Women's Day 2023 they went down a powerful memory lane to look back at all ASAP Campaigns, contributed and organized over the years by their brilliant Youth Champions from across Asia and the globe!

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Youth solutions - Ab Meri Baari

Dasra has been working on a nation-wide campaign to create normative change and drive strategic engagement by providing adolescents and youth with a platform to support and amplify their voices. The objective of the campaign is to bring about an increase in the efficacy and agency of adolescents, especially girls (between 10 to 19 years of age) and impact their decision making and understanding on education, sexual and reproductive health and early marriage.

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Empowered women, empower women

In line with the 'Sixty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women' (CSW67), Feminist Approach to Technology (FAT) emphasised on how all eyes are on solutions to use technology for Gender Equality and they showed their support for women who are part of the tech-change.

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Using technology for advocacy

The YP Foundation brought together feminists from across the Global South for a virtual parallel event at 'CSW67 - SAFE ABORTION: Education and Advocacy through Digital Technologies' to share perspectives, best practices, and challenges when it comes to using technology to advocate for #SafeAbortionForEveryone.

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Pledging for an equal future

On the occasion of International Women's Day, the Population Foundation of India has taken several pledges to amplify their commitment to advancing women's rights, and ensure a future where young girls and adolescents can thrive.

Word Around The World

FRHS India's MTP Study goes Global

FRHS India's recent MTP Study revealed that over 95% of women are unaware of the amendments in the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act in 2021. The study also brought to light many astonishing perceptions of MTP, preferred forms of communication and other such facts, across the four states of Delhi, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

Addressing the silence around safe abortions

With the attached social stigma and conflating laws, abortion is still considered a taboo in the orthodox Indian society. Writing for Forbes India, Debanjana Choudhuri, Director of Programmes and Partnerships, FRHS India, talks about the amendments in the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, its perception in India, and the need to address the silence around safe abortions for healthy women and communities.

Taking FemTech to the grassroots

Youth- and women-led organisation Baithak—Challenging Taboos, a Generation Equality Commitment Maker, launched Gul, an AI-powered voice assistant that will use WhatsApp to help educate young people on reproductive health issues in local languages, ensuring that sexual and reproductive health awareness reaches marginalised groups.