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...
Mapping the global crackdown on LGBTIQ rights
On 17 May 1990, the World Health Organisation (WHO) removed homosexuality from the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), thereby taking an important first step towards addressing and removing the stigma...
Maternity Benefits and Child Care Leave to Mothers: The Supreme Court of India’s Narrow and Unsatisfactory Approach to Gender Equality in the Labour Force
The Supreme Court of India in a recent order in Shalini Dharmani v State of Himachal Pradesh reaffirmed that Child Care Leave granted to women was in furtherance of the...
Illegal Human Trafficking Profits Skyrocket
Human trafficking is big business. The United Nations (UN) just released an updated report that reveals traffickers are raking in record illegal profits. Meanwhile, the inherently valuable people whom traffickers...
The Future of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Iraq
The Republic of Iraq ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1986 and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural...
