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People with low or no digital literacy may not receive the digital transformation benefits. There are no-cost digital literacy programs to address this gap, whose outcomes need to be studied. Using survey data of 6989 unemployed females living below the poverty line in India, the present paper examines the linkage between the digital skills training program and empowerment. Economic empowerment measured through employment, education and entrepreneurship-seeking behavior, and psychological empowerment are studied. It also assesses the moderating role of perceived value derived from the training and the mediating role of actual skill usage in understanding the linkage. Results show that the moderating role of perceived value is important for economic empowerment and the mediating role of actual usage of learned digital skills is relevant for psychological empowerment. The paper contributes to the ICTD domain by highlighting that digital literacy training may lead to empowerment for poor women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) women in India have relatively lower usage of period products than women of the General category. This paper attempts to understand and uncover the social factors explaining inequalities in the period product usage among these groups. This paper uses data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), conducted in 2019–21, for this study, with a sample of 49,136 SC, 44,392 ST, and 41,045 General caste women in the age group of 15 to 24 years. Using the Fairlie decomposition method, we explain the inequalities in the period product usage between SC, ST, and general categories. Differences in wealth index (SC-Gen: 49.54%; ST-Gen: 46.6%), respondent's education level (SC-Gen: 22.85%; ST-Gen: 17.3%), watching television (SC-Gen: 09.44%; ST-Gen: 10.1%), reading newspaper (SC-Gen: 08.71%; ST-Gen: 05.09%), and toilet facility (SC-Gen: 06.36%; ST-Gen: 03.05%) account for a large portion of the gap in the period product usage among these groups. Government, policymakers, and NGOs should focus on creating comprehensive menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) programmes, including educational programmes and mass media campaigns, while increasing focus on disadvantaged communities, viz. SCs and STs to make the necessary nudge for girls and women to adopt hygienic menstrual practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper looks at the experiences, vulnerabilities and contributions of women health workers during Covid 19 pandemic in India. It elaborates upon their everyday struggles and issues including incidences of violence against them, poor wages, temporariness of their jobs and other labour rights. The paper further discusses the transitioning characteristics of women health workers in the context of corporate globalization in India. The paper offers a critical reading of health worker's rights from a feminist perspective and raises the challenges and opportunities the pandemic provides in rethinking the role of women health workers in India and women welfare workers in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper intends to unravel the idea, the history, the theological understanding and the socio-cultural influences on the idea of "Talaq" in general and "Instant Triple Talaq" in particular. The paper also unearths the possibilities of the misuse, misinterpretation and politicization of the concept which have taken place at various historical junctures. At empirical level, the paper attempts to draw the attention toward the perception and opinion of the Muslim women through the structured questionnaire regarding the Instant Triple Talaq and Triple Talaq Act enacted by the Government of India. The study focuses on how the existing power structure in the Muslim community and the deeply rooted cultural practices that in a way were antithetical to the basic Islamic beliefs have shaped the lives of Muslim women in India. The study does not find the Triple Talaq Act passed by Indian parliament as something constructive, rather regards it as interference on part of state institutions into the religious affairs of a particular community. The study finally draws a parallel between the literate and illiterate strata of Muslim women and their perception toward the Triple Talaq Act. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I use deconstructive theory to analyze the category of "millet" and the endangerment of food grains in India. I argue that "millet" cohered as a sign of difference from the 1960s through India's Green Revolution, which created a national infrastructure for the materialization of colonial and masculinist ideology. In the hills of Uttarakhand and through the food grain regionally known as mandua, we see how India's postcolonial success relied on the ontological-epistemic erasure of women's food/land practices and assaulted the intertwined "rootedness" (place-making faculties) of women and the crops they cultivate. Reading mandua as "millet" under erasure (millet) reveals how mixed crop systems and practices of socio-ecological reciprocity eroded in the face of Green Revolution ideology and functioned as a bulwark against it. I turn finally to the counterhegemonic potential of "millet," as Uttarakhandi seed activists link with decentralized third world networks, which are exchanging seeds and building power across and from marginalized places. This opens a potential space of visibility and belonging for Uttarakhandi women farmers in the national arena at a time when the ecological and alimentary value of "millet" has entered national and global conversations, infusing the sign of difference with new meaning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Literature has established that the alarming female poverty rate is a crucial factor contributing to missing older women in India. Given this, the following research examines the role of an unconditional cash transfer programme (Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme) implemented in India on the household budget share incurred on cereals, pulses, vegetables; fruits and nuts, meat; eggs and fish, milk and milk products when the program recipient is an elderly woman. The paper uses the longitudinal household-level data (2004–05 and 2011–12) released by the India Human Development Survey and utilises a quasi-experimental framework of propensity score matching combined with fixed effects to estimate the effects of the pension on the disaggregated food budget share incurred by the pension recipient households. The findings in this paper suggest that women's access to pension has a positive effect on budget share allocated on vegetables, fruits and nuts and meat, fish and eggs. The positive effects persist for continuous program recipients. Further, to address any concerns on endogeneity, an instrumental variable strategy has been used. This paper provides evidence that female pension recipient households in India do move towards nutrient-rich food items. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indigenous women in India struggle to maintain their traditional knowledge, education and livelihoods in the face of colonization, neoliberalism and development. The paper analyzes the vocational education and skills training programmes implemented for indigenous women in India by the national government and local agencies. It considers the experiences of indigenous women from two different geographical locations and two distinct communities. The qualitative findings from the study indicate a mismatch between the requirements and desires of indigenous women and the policy objectives. By integrating self-determination into a subaltern framework, the paper suggests taking a participatory planning approach to VET for indigenous women. It brings attention to and draws practical suggestions for representation and inclusion of indigenous women in skills development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indian Hindi language sports drama films centered on cricket function as performative documentaries depicting the lives, accomplishments, and trajectories of cricketers playing for the India men's national cricket team, also known as Team India or the Men in Blue. These films, as cultural artifacts, are embedded in the establishment of a homogeneous episteme that consistently fails to offer alternatives to unsustainable development and pluralism of knowledge. Their persistent renditions of hegemonic masculinity and the gendered structure of cricket shape the politics of representation, positioning women of all classes, castes, and ethnicities as "others" in the sphere of mediated sport. In this regard, the Indian Hindi-language biographical sports drama film Shabaash Mithu (2022), directed by Srijit Mukherji and streaming on Netflix, serves as the first feasible approach to display the inspirational and empowering journey of Mithali Dorai Raj, the former Test and ODI (One Day International) captain of the India women's national cricket team. In this paper, we argue that delinking and unlearning the dominant episteme associated with the representation of cricket in Indian Hindi films brings forth an episteme that can make the cultural representations comprehensive. In doing so, we analyze the multifaceted visual epistemic representations and establish that Mithali Raj and her team not only experience the subjugations of epistemic hegemony but also delink those and make their episteme visible in layered ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the findings of a research study in Thane District, Maharashtra, India, on access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) for women and girls of Nomadic and Denotified Tribes (NT-DNT). NT-DNT communities face stigma and violence due to their historically criminalised status and nomadic lifestyle. Their precarious legal, social, and economic status has a negative impact on women's SRHR. Existing literature on this subject is sparse, and studies by researchers from within the community, which could bring about organic and community-led change, are almost non-existent. This study, carried out by a woman from a Nomadic Tribe, presents an insider's perspective on the experiences of and factors underlying the violation of the SRHR of girls and women of NT-DNT communities. The study used a human rights-based participatory methodology with qualitative methods including three focus group discussions with 21 women and 10 in-depth interviews with women and key informants from NT-DNT communities. The findings describe the gender, community, and health system barriers which hinder women's and girls' access to SRHR. Issues such as language barriers between the women and medical fraternity, criminalisation by the police, and extreme deprivation – more intense than faced by the general poor – are unique to women of these communities. The NT-DNT communities face extreme deprivation of basic resources such as identity documents, shelter, sanitation, education support, workplace safety, and transportation, which further deny women their sexual and reproductive rights. The paper aims to amplify these women's voices to advocate for better SRHR services for women and girls of NT-DNT communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors of this article explore the relationship between the cultural, unconscious and conscious dynamics in setting up infant observations in Delhi. The specific focus of the paper is the concept of 'Nazar', Evil eye, in India. The paper presents the experiences of a young woman observer in India, going in to observe an infant as a requirement of her psychotherapy training. The paper is an attempt to make sense of what happened five years ago in setting up the observation. It sheds light on how a cultural artefact such as 'Nazar' becomes a barrier to being able to undertake baby observation. The article also extends its understanding of what 'Nazar' can symbolise, both in the internal and the external world of both observer and observed. It goes on to explore the link between mother's ambivalence both towards her child and towards the young female observer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The #Metoo movement spread globally to include women in India who were employing social media platforms to discuss their experiences in sexual abuse and harassment. This paper investigates through literature review and data collection, why #MeTooIndia demonstrates a non-inclusivity towards marginalized, and gendered bodies and narratives on the Twitter platform. This exclusion is primarily the product of increased attention to issues of sexual abuse among the Indian elite including Bollywood celebrities, journalists, politicians, and well-known media personalities who employ Twitter as a space for "coming-out." Secondly, non-inclusivity is evidenced through lack of discussion on the question of sexual abuse, and harassment in the daily lives of Dalit, trans women, women of lower caste and class, and other marginalized and gendered communities that have vastly different experiences of sexual abuse than the elite, urban woman. Finally, exclusion is exposed through the sparsity of personal narratives under the same hashtags owing to masculine toxicity as well as the creation of unsafe spaces for gendered minorities to recount their experiences. This research employs theory of intersectionality to ultimately rethink how to design and organize feminist movements online in order to create safer, more inclusive, and intersectional spaces for feminist activism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper constructs long-run estimates of total missing women (including missing girls at birth and excess female deaths) in China and India over seven decades from 1950 to 2020. We find that the number of missing women in India has been higher than in China throughout the seven decades. Over time, missing girls at birth grew faster in China than in India, but China has made more rapid progress in reducing excess female deaths after birth. While the share of missing girls at birth in total missing women has risen since the 1980s, there has also been a shift in excess female mortality from younger to older age groups. Our estimated trends are consistent with key economic, social, demographic and technological events and developments in the two countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tribal population is scattered throughout the world, but, though their varied cultures are highly talked about, their rights are often ignored. Tribal women, living through two degrees of vulnerability, one due to their tribal roots and another due to their biological sex, receive an even rawer end of the deal. The Commonwealth nation of India has a substantial tribal population. This paper analyzes the international and national safeguards available to India's tribal women, and compares the extent of the justiciability of these legal instruments. The resources used for this purpose are mainly primary, as the focus has been on the text of these instruments and some landmark cases. It was found that there is a shocking absence of international legal instruments specifically for tribal women, and the applicability of those for tribal population or women is limited since India has not ratified their Optional Protocols. Though, on the national level, India's dedication towards protecting its tribal population is apparent in the presence of specific statutes, and there are ample legal provisions specifically for safeguarding the rights of tribal women. Lastly, the paper suggests that India should deliberate on ratifying the international instruments that it has not ratified already. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 has emerged as a crisis that has impacted all spheres of human life. The pandemic has disproportionately impacted the world's poor population in terms of livelihood and survival. India witnessed a massive crisis among migrant workers. In this context, this paper explores the impact of COVID-19 on women migrant workers and their families, analyzing qualitative interviews in two localities in Delhi and in Gurugram in Haryana State. Six themes were developed from the interview data about the impacts on, and experiences of, women migrant workers: loss of livelihood and resulting debt; compromises; captivity and the burden of responsibility; disrupted access; emotional geographies of COVID-19; and insufficient support. The study underlines the dismal state of women migrant workers and their families and argues that urgent policy interventions are required to address the impoverishment they are experiencing. The strengthening of social security measures is of the utmost importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we assert the critical influence of education on health-beliefs among women from India, an emerging economy. We further examine the urban vs. rural differences and the role of social capital in shaping health-beliefs of women. Using nationally representative data of eligible women from India, we find education to have a positive influence on health-beliefs. We find this effect to be higher in rural regions. Further, we find social capital to negatively moderate the effect of education. Our findings stress the importance of education, especially in rural regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As middle-class Indian women become economically more active, it is worth exploring who is doing the housework. Are gender roles shifting within the household across the board in urban India? This paper shifts research attention away from the metropolitan cities to a smallmofussiltown, a relatively conservative urban centre where gender roles have so far been more resistant to transformation than in metropolitan cities that are undergoing radical changes about which much has been written. The methodological tool used in the study is a time-use survey, aimed primarily at extracting quantitative data, to make visible the unseen, unpaid and underpaid work and activities undertaken by women. Individual interviews were used to measure the actual workload of the women as a proxy indicator of gender disparities at the intra-household scale. The paper concludes that conventional sex segregation in household tasks has not changed significantly, and that women's various engagements in the public sphere have doubled the burden of responsibilities. The conceptual and methodological implications of the investigation lie in a reinterpretation of what constitutes ‘work’ for middle-class women, offering renewed understanding of the ways in which women (re)negotiate gendered responsibilities at home and outside of it in rapidly changing times. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the use of social media hashtags by activists in India protesting the proposed taxation of sanitary pads of luxury products. Topics include social and medical consequences of unhygienic menstrual practices in India, the social influence of the activist campaign, and elitist aspects of political campaigning using social media.

Based on the keynote address the author gave at the ISCHE conference in Turkey in June 2015, this article examines how female identities, in a predominantly non-white colonial setting, were variously constructed over a 145-year time period. The paper also sees some resonance with the power structures that drive female oppression in former non-white colonial domains today and begins with that discussion. The author then turns to develop a largely historical perspective concerning this issue and is interested in the changes in the interaction between females living in India and the colonial state over this extended time period. In so doing, the article illustrates the activism of females who were caught within the imperial ambit as they responded, with varying degrees of intensity, to the broader racial and class agendas, which were internal to British colonial rule. The article uses the paradigm of “femininity” to trace the self-actualisation of these females, as well as the official impositions placed on them; and how, even from this position of powerlessness, coercive agendas could still emerge as a result of their activism that the state, itself, was then forced to accommodate. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents emerging research on young women's participation in virtual heterosexual mate-seeking in two bustees (urban slum communities) in Kolkata. I begin the paper by reviewing the context of online friendship, dating and romance in India. I show how greater educational and social achievements in the bustees are prompting some young Muslim women to pursue online friendship and mate-seeking. I explore how these young women are using schooling opportunities to learn computer skills, and using the computer to broaden their social worlds. I discuss the opportunities young women have to meet friends and partners online and how they sustain virtual relationships. For many, online friendships and mate-seeking can be a safe method to meet young men, as it reduces corporeal risks. This virtual world of relationships, however, is not entirely risk free. I discuss how the online nature of meeting young men is underpinned by discourses of distrust. Though the research group is small and participants represent a privileged population, the paper shows that virtual relationships are an emerging and experimental way young women are trying to alter their life course and expand their social circles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dalit or ex-untouchable women's voices and perspectives have been marginalized not only in Dalit movements but also in predominantly upper-caste Hindu-led women's movements. This paper aims at exploring the unheard voices and perspectives of Dalit women in the context of Dalit assertion in the state of Uttar Pradesh, north India. Scholarly writing examines the different facets of Dalit political assertion led by the Bahujan Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh. Few scholars, however, examine the ways in which individual and organizational actors engage with women of Dalit castes through social activism in the state. This paper is an attempt to do so. Specifically, it examines, with special reference to issues of culture and identity, the engagement of a grassroots women's non-governmental organization with rural Dalit women in southern Uttar Pradesh. The paper begins with an enquiry into why engagement with issues of culture and identity is necessary for social activism with Dalit women, and how it is carried out. It then examines whether social activism and electoral politics with Dalit women cross-cut each other, and also what implications this or its lack has for the women. Finally, the paper asks how far activism and politics can go towards re-inventing Dalit (women's) identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the relationships between economic development, women's social and economic empowerment and reproductive health in rural India using both state- and micro-level data. While previous studies have examined the separate effects of economic development on women's empowerment and reproductive health, and the interrelationships between empowerment and reproductive health indicators, to our knowledge ours is the first to examine the interrelationships among all four variables. Multiple regression analysis of data from 28 states from India's National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3), 2005–2006, shows that both social and economic empowerment are key intervening factors between economic development and reproductive health. Data from 494 women in the micro study from rural Maharashtra in 2007–2008 confirm several of these associations, and demonstrate the added value of women's economic empowerment over social empowerment and broad economic development. Economic empowerment is therefore critical for inducing positive changes in reproductive health for rural Indian women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a new method for estimating the effect of child mortality on the total fertility rate (TFR). The method is based on discrete-time survival models of parity progression that allow construction of a multivariate multidimensional life table of fertility with four dimensions: woman's age, parity, duration in parity, and number of previous child deaths. Additional socio-economic variables are included in the set of predictor variables in the underlying survival models of parity progression. The life table yields a replacement rate, which measures the effect of one additional child death on the TFR. The method is illustrated by applying it to three Indian National Family Health Surveys. Major findings are that dead children are incompletely replaced, and that the replacement rate rises as the TFR falls, reflecting women's increasing ability to control their fertility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exiting impact analysis studies on the Self Help Group-Bank Linkage Programme (SBLP) of the National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) underline that the programme has done extremely well in rural India in terms of its outreach, generating income, reducing poverty levels and empowering people both economically and socially. This paper evaluates the impact of SBLP on Self Help Group (SHG) members at the household level from a gender perspective. The analysis of the study is based on a large sample of primary data covering 4791 SHG households and 900 SHGs collected from six states in India. Furthermore, the sample covers more than 60% of SHGs that consist of members belonging to below poverty line families. Overall, the performance analysis reveals that households whose member(s) belong to all-female SHGs perform better than households whose members belong to other types of SHGs. This is mainly because female SHGs are doing extremely well in terms of recovery of loans and per capita income and savings. A chunk of female SHG members in all the six sample states reported an improvement of their social empowerment after joining the SHG programme. Furthermore, the fall of poverty is more pronounced in cases of households whose members belong to female SHGs at 26.0 percentage points between pre-SHG period and post-SHG period. The policy implication is that the formation of female SHGs needs to be encouraged and all necessary services should be provided to them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indian women usually crave at least one son and will continue to try for a son even if they have five or more daughters. The spatial variation of women's preference for sons has been studied in this paper. We have also investigated the effect of socio-economic and socio-cultural variables on son preference through use of the National Family Health Survey data of 2005–2006. The study is based on 81,844 reproductive-aged women (15–49 years old) from all states in India. The Central Zone of India has the highest percentage of son preference while the South Zone has the least. Son preference, which is very strong among Indian women, is mainly correlated with lack of education and socio-religious constraints. It is also seen more in families with an agro-based economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article unpacks the manner in which women/womanhood circulates within an uniquely Hindu interpretation of a particular gendered vision of nation that I term 'muscular nationalism'. Muscular nationalism centres the values of martial prowess, physical strength, moral fortitude and the readiness to go to battle against groups defined as enemies of the nation. Further, these values are most frequently expressed by a male body. The relationship between women/womanhood and muscular nationalism is dynamic. This nation as woman can take multiple forms; it can be imagined as powerful mother or vulnerable virgin or warrior goddess. Whether mother or virgin or goddess, chastity and purity are important components of this imagination and nation as woman impacts real women's lives through ideas of honour. In muscular nationalism this focus on the purity and chastity of female bodies stems from their role as border guards. By border guards I mean the notion that the boundaries separating 'we the people' from 'them' are represented by chaste women's bodies. Put another way, this line of thinking argues that our women are chaste and pure, yours are not. This is the difference that separates our nation from yours. Women's role as border guards requires that their purity be vigilantly guarded. The story of women/womanhood in Hindutva or Hindu muscular nationalism which unfolds in this essay is rooted in the assumptions described above. By drawing on interviews with women in the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Sevika Samiti -- with reference to women's involvement in the Bharatiya Janata Party, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Shiv Sena -- this paper contextualizes the role of women in Hindutva. Then it goes on to unpack the 1987 immolation of Roop Kanwar as well as cultural protests against Deepa Mehta's film Fire to illustrate the contested location of female bodies in this ideology. This analysis indicates that many women are certainly politically active in Hindu muscular nationalism; however, the vision of femininity driving the discourse around Roop Kanwar and the resistance against Fire reveals the limitations of an activism embedded in a context of a rigid expectation of female chastity and virtue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India allows abortion up to 20 weeks of pregnancy but places restrictions on abortion facilities and providers. Abortion services are especially deficient in rural areas. Although vacuum aspiration is safer, sharp curettage continues to be used by providers as they lack relevant training. This paper describes the provision of first trimester abortion services using manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) in a rural clinic in the state of Rajasthan over a four-year period. Non-use of anaesthesia increased safety and allowed women to return early to a normal routine. Of 534 women, none suffered major complications; 16 required repeat evacuation and the procedure failed in two. We recommend that models based on MVA and including medical methods be piloted in rural areas of a number of states of the country, to establish the feasibility of delivering first trimester abortion as a primary health service. Ways to increase access to second trimester procedures are also required. Current requirements for certification of private facilities are excessive and the process of obtaining certification is arduous. The law in India does not extend these norms to government facilities, which remain under-equipped and lack trained providers. We recommend that certification of facilities be liberalised and applied equally to government and private institutions. There is also a need to rapidly increase training capacity across the country. L'Inde applique une politique libérale qui permet d'avorter jusqu'à 20 semaines de grossesse. Néanmoins, les services sont particulièrement déficients dans les zones rurales. Bien que l'aspiration manuelle soit plus sûre, le curetage continue d'être utilisé par des prestataires insuffisamment formés. Cet article décrit les services d'avortement par aspiration manuelle pendant le premier trimestre dans un dispensaire rural de l'Etat du Rajasthan sur une période de 4 ans. Le non-recours à l'anesthésie augmentait la sécurité et permettait aux patientes de reprendre rapidement leurs occupations. Sur 534 femmes, on a enregistré peu de complications et aucune complication grave; 18 avaient eu besoin d'une nouvelle évacuation, 16 pour avortement incomplet et 2 pour échec de l'avortement. Nous recommandons que les modèles basés sur l'aspiration manuelle assortis de méthodes médicales fassent l'objet d'une étude pilote dans les zones rurales de plusieurs Etats, pour décider s'il est possible de réaliser des avortements sûrs pendant le premier trimestre dans le cadre des services de santé primaires. Il faut également trouver des moyens d'accroı̂tre l'accès aux procédures pendant le deuxième trimestre. Nous avons constaté que les exigences actuelles pour l'agrément d'équipements privés sont excessives et le processus de demande est complexe. La Loi sur l'interruption médicale de grossesse n'étend pas ces normes aux institutions gouvernementales, qui demeurent sous-équipées et manquent de prestataires formés. Nous recommandons que l'agrément des installations soit libéralisé et s'applique aux institutions publiques et privées. Il faut également rendre obligatoire la formation à l'avortement par aspiration manuelle et électrique et à l'avortement médical pour tous les prestataires concernés dans les instituts de formation. En la India se permite el aborto por diversas razones hasta 20 semanas del embarazo. Sin embargo, los servicios de aborto son especialmente deficientes en las áreas rurales. Aunque la aspiración endouterina es más segura, los proveedores continúan practicando el curetaje por falta de otro tipo de capacitación. Este artı́culo describe la provisión de servicios de aborto en el primer trimestre usando la aspiración manual endouterina (AMEU) en una clı́nica rural en el estado de Rajastan durante un periodo de 4 años. Al eliminar la anestesia, se disminuyeron los riesgos y las mujeres pudieron volver pronto a una rutina normal. De 534 casos, se presentaron pocas complicaciones y ninguna complicación mayor; en 18 casos hubo que repetir la evacuación, 16 por aborto incompleto y 2 por falla del aborto. Se recomienda realizar modelos pilotos basados en AMEU incluyendo métodos médicos en áreas rurales de varios estados a través del paı́s, con el fin de establecer la factibilidad de proveer servicios de aborto sin riesgos en el primer trimestre como un servicio de salud primaria. Habrı́a que buscar además la forma de ampliar el acceso a intervenciones durante el segundo trimestre. Determinamos que los requisitos de certificación vigentes para los establecimientos privados son excesivos y que el trámite es arduo. El Acta MTP no extiende estas normas a las instituciones públicas, las cuales carecen de equipos y de proveedores capacitados. Recomendamos por lo tanto la liberalización de los requisitos de certificación y que estos se apliquen igualmente a instituciones públicas y privadas. Se precisa además exigir que todos los proveedores indicados reciban capacitación en la provisión de la aspiración endouterina tanto eléctrica como manual. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]