By Mayank Jain:
Women are baby loving creatures who walk on the earth only to cuddle with cute babies and bring new ones into the world, right? Or if they are Indian women, they are bound to produce only males because who wants a female child?
We don’t do very well at respecting women and children, and it is partly due to the social stigmas we attach to everything a person does. The choices they make are turned into judgement about their character and intentions. Some take it further and link it up to their personalities. “She wants an abortion? She is so self-centred and irresponsible about her husband’s wishes.” Why does it make us uncomfortable to think of women as human beings who enjoy sex and might use birth control for the same?
Cartoons can serve as powerful and effective means of communication for social change. This comic is a reality check for all of us, as it exposes our own stereotypes and regressive biases.Â
It’s their body and the right to make babies with it or not rests with them. Birth control is meant to control child birth and a woman is free to use it however she wishes.
Thumb rule: Her body, her choices.