KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 25
Former chief justice Kalyan Shrestha said decriminalisation of abortion was necessary to ensure women's reproductive health right.
Addressing an interaction on reproductive health right organised by Forum for Women, Law and Development and Center for Reproductive Rights here today, Shrestha said that there was male bias in the prevailing laws that dealt with couples' rights, sexuality and reproductive health rights. He said women were still not able to enjoy their body autonomy and integrity. The former CJ said that he had adjudicated a case where a rural woman felt compelled to carry on her unwanted foetus just because she did not have Rs 1,100 to seek abortion.
Shrestha said women had peculiar needs of reproductive health which could be addressed if looked from male's point of view.
Executive Director of FWLD Sabin Shrestha said that media still depicted abortion as bad thing which adversely affected women's right to reproductive health.
Prabina Bajracharya, senior manager for Asia, Center for Reproductive Rights, said that violation of reproductive right leads to violation of women's multiple rights, including right to life and right to dignity. She said women should be able to use their reproductive health right without any coercion or discrimination.
A version of this article appears in the print on February 26, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
