Maya Unnithan, Professor of Anthropology from University of Sussex School of Global Studies, speaks at the Global Health Seminar series

In the talk I focus on different understandings of the body – as collectively constituted, as simultaneously subject and object, as gendered in culturally specific ways in NW India, to discuss their connection with ideas and practices to with childbearing and reproductive health. Notions of the body are critical to understanding the meaning of reproductive rights on-the-ground and why these emerge as moral claims in relation to sex, pregnancy, birth and health. Are such locally embedded ideas of reproductive entitlement and bodily technique linked to more universal notions of reproductive rights – and should they be? How relevant is the work of national governments, health activists and the international community in promoting a universal language of reproductive rights as a framework for improving reproductive health outcomes?

All are welcome.