Litigating for Reproductive Justice in the Commonwealth Caribbean: Antigua and Dominica Illuminate the Path
Across the Commonwealth Caribbean, the spectre of colonialism continues to impede women’s full and free exercise of reproductive autonomy on a basis of equality with men. Significantly, with the sole...
Teenage Love Caught between Consent and Criminality under POCSO
In a country where the age of consent is fixed at 18 years, what happens to a 17-year-old in a consensual relationship? This has become a pressing legal concern after...
Pushing forward and ahead to safeguard SRHR Rights!: Strategic litigation in the face of anti-rights backlash in Africa
Strategic litigation in Africa has emerged as a powerful catalyst for advancing and protecting sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), by utilizing individual cases to promote the clarification, respect,...
The Global Gag Rule as a Human Rights Crisis: Restricting Autonomy and Healthcare Access
In January 2025, the newly inaugurated Trump administration reaffirmed and broadened the so-called Global Gag Rule (GGR), a policy preventing foreign NGOs receiving US funding from providing or even discussing...
Commercial or Altruistic Surrogacy: The Indian Supreme Court Finds Middle Ground
Governance of surrogacy in India has been multi-faceted. Whereas commercial surrogacy was previously allowed, the current legislation is focused on altruistic surrogacy. The Surrogacy Regulation Act 2021 as defines ‘altruistic...
Gender and Justice: Navigating the Arguments Around Prenatal Sex Detection in Bangladesh
The High Court Division (HCD) of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh has directed authorities to adhere to guidelines that discourage (without prohibiting) the disclosure of a foetus’s sex for non-medical...
Trump’s Education Order Undermines Trans Children’s Rights
On January 29, U.S. President Donald Trump issued a sweeping and draconian executive order purporting to address “radical indoctrination” in primary and secondary schools, with a significant focus on educators...
Buffer Zones: Time to Rethink Abortion and the Carceral State?
On 31 Oct 2024, legislation enacting “buffer zones”—designated areas around abortion clinics where protests and certain forms of interference are prohibited—came into force in England and Wales under the Public...
Decisional Autonomy: Unrealised Right under India’s Abortion Law?
Legislative discussions surrounding the 2020 Amendment Bill to amend the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act (‘Act’) stated that it is an effort in ensuring autonomy for women who desire to...
When Ideology Trumps Rights: The ECtHR’s Rejection of Sex Workers’ Human Rights in M.A. and Others v. France
In July, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) delivered its judgment in the case of M.A. and others v France. The case was initiated by 261 sex workers who...
Reproductive Rights and the Judicial Attitudes in Recent Abortion Cases in Strasbourg: Will Women’s Suffering Ever Be ‘Severe’ Enough? Part 2
As discussed in Part 1 of this blog, the European Court of Human Rights did not find a violation of Article 3 of the ECHR (prohibition against torture) in the...
Reproductive Rights and the Judicial Attitudes in Recent Abortion Cases in Strasbourg: Will Women’s Suffering Ever Be ‘Severe’ Enough? Part 1
On 14 December 2023, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) released its ML v Poland judgment. As the ECtHR did not find a violation of Article 3 of the...
