From buying condoms to family slut shaming them for using contraception, Indian women struggle to take charge of their sexual and reproductive health.
Rohini*, a 22-year-old writer and journalist, remembers a friendly conversation with her sister-in-law that took a baffling turn – all because she said she had used contraception.
About a year ago, Rohini met her newlywed 25-year-old sister-in-law and the two started bonding.
“There wasn’t much age difference between us, so it was easy to speak to her. She was telling me about the romantic things my brother would do for her… and then the conversation turned to sex,” Rohini recounts.
Rohini’s sister-in-law said she was worried about her irregular menstrual cycle. She also mentioned that she had taken the 'morning after' pill (emergency contraceptive) on two occasions in the month before.
“I’ve generally read about these things, so I reassured her that her periods weren’t irregular because she was more sexually active, but because she had taken the emergency contraceptive. And because we were talking about sex, I told her that even my period had been delayed by 10 days when I had had to take an i-pill once,” Rohini says.
The easy, comfortable atmosphere in the room changed dramatically. Rohini’s sister-in-law seemed visibly rattled and the conversation ended there. Rohini did not think much about it until she received a call a few days later from her elder cousin.