Corruption, a lack of political will and poor medical facilities are a lethal mix for new mothers in India’s Assam state. Armed with cheap Nokia phones, local groups are taking a stand
Until recently, Monika Singh would never have dreamed of taking on corrupt medical officials to defend the rights of pregnant women. The demure 21-year-old, who is from north-east India’s marginalised Adivasi community, has learned a lot since joining a project to tackle the region’s alarmingly high rate of maternal deaths.
So when a malnourished woman she was working with was told she had to pay for medicine while hospitalised in her fourth month of pregnancy, Singh wasn’t intimidated by the doctor on duty. “Why are you charging for medicine?” she demanded, “it’s supposed to be free for pregnant women in a government hospital.” Surprisingly, a lot of women in Sonitpur district are unaware that maternal healthcare should be free by law.
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