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We are excited to share with you the fourth edition of Reflections on Our Countries for 2021! In this edition, RESURJ members and accomplices collectively share and reflect on sexual and reproductive justice (SRJ) and abortion rights from the viewpoints of art, access to healthcare, transnational narratives, history, and more.
The last few months have witnessed many major protests, accomplishments, and conversations pertaining to abortion rights around the globe, especially in terms of legal and judicial pronouncements. Of these, many seem to be a milestone achieved due to years of activism by feminists and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) activist groups. While we continue to push back the anti-rights agenda toward complete annihilation, it is important that we keep holding conversations to ensure the struggle around SRJ and abortion rights do not exist in silos. We need to keep revisiting our history that has helped us reach where we stand today, and based on its learnings, build intersections with various other social movements. This edition of Reflections on Our Countries is one such effort to emphasize these very intersections.
Bruna David from Brazil talks about the “Body that Aborts”, and how they are either controlled by the defenders of “morals”, or are turned into flag-bearers of struggle and liberation by movements.
From Egypt, Nana Abuelsoud from Egypt delves into the superstitions surrounding Intrauterine devices (IUDs) and how the history behind the origins of these superstitions find their roots in racism and misogyny.
In another piece, Abuelsoud argues that for reproductive justice to be achieved, we will have to defend the right to not have children, and the right to have children, and the right to parenthood in safe and sustainable societies.
“I dream that our songs will be a space where others find an echo for their experiences and a liberation for the voices that may be trapped in their heads.” Meet Marina Samir, a member of a feminist, Egyptian band called ElBouma, and learn more about how the art of feminist signing intersect with sexual and reproductive justice.
Marisa Viana and Ruby Johnson talk about intergenerational reciprocity in our organizing and question how the binaries between young and old are really serving our organizing and relationships.
Chantal Umuhoza from Rwanda explains how the human right of access to safe abortion is intrinsically linked to the realization of other human rights and the advocacy around its realization need to contextualize the realization of these interlinking rights.
How is the term “Global South” being used (or overused)? Sachini Perera from Sri Lanka discusses that our conversations need to go beyond the framing of Global South to listening to, learning from and understanding each other’s specific contexts and experiences.
Dana Zhang from Taiwan talks about the Trans Rights Movement is emerging as a force of resistance against the anti-rights movement in Taiwan.
Feminist Consciousness talk about how reproductive justice in Western Sahara falls between the cracks of patriarchal and nationalist discourse and suffer exploitation at the hands of the very same patriarchy.
We hope you are safe, enjoy the reading, and continue these conversations online with us.