Maharashtra all-women conference calls attention to women’s health

In the ninth Maharashtra State Women’s Health Rights Conference that took place from April 26 to April 28 at Chahade in Palghar, Maharashtra, activists and scholars present spoke on topics such as women’s health, public health system and government policies and schemes. 

The panel discussions, presentations and documentaries over the three days of the conference mapped out the effects of projects such as the proposed Vadhavan port, bullet train and Tarapur nuclear power project on the health and living conditions of the Palghar natives. 

The conference was attended by more than 400 women from across the state. 

The participants shined light on issues such as maternal death, early pregnancy, reproductive health, poor implementation of health schemes and women’s nutrition. 

The Palghar conference began with women’s movement songs and the local tarpa folk dance. Madhubai Dhodi, an activist associated with the Kashtakari Sanghatana, chaired the conference.

More than 65 organisations from across Maharashtra participate in the biennial conference, which was first held in Mumbai in 2006.

Palghar is an Adivasi-majority district with a 112-km sealine. The socio-economics of the district is dependent on the jungle and the sea. The conference attendees discussed how the local social movements are resisting the government’s big developmental projects that are destroying the natural habitats and lives of people. A documentary film that was screened here highlighted the effects of the proposed Vadhavan port on the ecosystem and lives of local people. 

A manifesto was unveiled on the last day of the conference with a list of demands. These demands pertained to the changes required in the health system in the Palghar district as well as the state more broadly. The charter of demands is to be shared with the district and state-level administrators.