Of ban, use, and misuse: Young women and emergency contraceptive pill in contemporary India

ABSTRACT After the emergency contraceptive pill (ECP) became available in India, it has received significant attention from several social, religious, and political groups and institutions. The increasing use of the ECP as a hormonal birth control method by women has not only bothered medical institutions due to its short-term and possible long-term side-effects, but some social and religious groups have also demanded an outright ban on its sale. This paper is based first on the limited public discussion on the ECP, which has focused on morality; and second, on my semi-structured interviews with women that illustrate the gendered contexts within which they have exercised choice regarding its use. Feminist scholarship on heterosexuality demonstrates that the social context of gendered power relations affects contraceptive choices and negotiations between partners. Using this as a framework, this article there by highlights young women’s negotiation regarding their sexual desires and safe sex within spaces of intimacy and power.