Aspirant's Corner

 Roadmap for Combating Cervical Cancer  This year, in 2024, Union Finance Minister of India, Nirmala Sitaraman announced the government’s plans to focus on vaccination against cervical cancer for girls aged 9 to 14 as part of her Interim Budget 2024. So in this article we will talk about cervical cancer, and understand why this is an important issue. What is cervical cancer? Cervical cancer starts in the cervix, the gateway to the uterus. Caused by persistent infection with certain human papillomavirus (HPV) strains, it's largely preventable through vaccination and regular screening. Early stages often have no symptoms, but later might include abnormal bleeding or pelvic pain. Thankfully, cervical cancer is highly treatable when caught early. Regular Pap tests and HPV screenings are crucial for early detection and successful treatment, making prevention and awareness key in the fight against this disease. How common is cervical cancer? Cervical cancer ranks as the 2nd mos...

  Abortion Rights in India: Associated Issues and Ways to Address Them  In India, women's right over her bodily autonomy and reproductive freedom is recognised by Supreme Court of India under Article 21 of Indian constitution, and the abortion right is guaranteed under Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act, 2021. However various conditionalities of laws and the societal stigma associated with women's reproductive freedom act as an impediment to women's access to safe and legal abortion in India.  Issues Associated with the Right to Safe and Legal Abortion in India   1) Issues with Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act: There are some issues with India's MTP act which restricts its effectiveness to give women the required autonomy, and these issues are  M TP act doesn't recognise situation of transgenders. This act doesn't have any provision for abortion at will or socio-economic situation. This act doesn't mention any time lim...

  Reasons for Increasing Cases of Suicides Among Women in India The 2021 NCRB data shows an alarming situation of India where cases of suicides among women has increased to 64.5% in 2021 and around 45,000 women committed suicide. This has happened due to several complex and interconnected factors.  Reasons for Suicides Among Women   1. Domestic Abuse: According to 2021 NCRB data, over 50% cases of female suicides were of housewives which indicates mental stress among housewives due to domestic violence, financial dependency, restrictions on movement and taunts due to impotency, dowry, etc.  2. Educational Pressure: Suicides cases among students have also increased due to increased competition, high expectations, ragging, failure in exams or societal pressure to drop out. 3. Societal Pressure: Societal pressure to suppress mental health issues, continue suffering in an unhappy or abusive marriage, restrictions on choices and stigmatisation of victims of sexual abus...