1 Man Per 253 Women In Gujarat Opted For Vasectomy: 2023 Report

The increasing population of India is raising concerns about the availability of resources and the pressure on the economy and environment. However, women are doing their best in birth control, but men seem not to be taking responsibility for it.

For a long time, women have solely been held responsible for birth control, a big example of this is the lack of male birth control drugs in the market. The lack of seriousness considering male contraceptives and sterilisation is an issue that needs utmost attention, especially in a most-populated country like India. Women are almost single-handedly bearing the responsibility of birth control, as evident by a report released by the Gujarat health department.

Low Number Of Male Sterilisation

The health department of Gujarat released data on July 10. In the data, it showed that 3.08 lakh women in the state opted for sterilisation (closing their fallopian tubes), whereas only 1223 men opted for vasectomy. This means that only 1 man per 253 women in Gujarat had sterilisation. The data clearly shows that men don't consider birth control as their responsibility. The patriarchy has a role to play for men have the mindset that birth control is not their responsibility. 

Several methods for male birth control were proposed, but nothing moved ahead, citing 'undesirable side effects'. Men reporting side effects is a big sign of male privilege because women have been going through these side effects like mood swings, health changes, nausea, and weight gain for years now. Men expect women to be on birth control and opt for sterilisation procedures. 

National data has shown that vasectomy rates have gone extremely low after which campaigns to promote vasectomy were initiated. However, not much has changed despite the government's efforts. Men are not opting for vasectomy in large numbers. Men need to understand that birth control is not solely women's responsibility, and they alone cannot control the population without men's equal contribution.

 Suggested Reading: World Population Day: Sustainable Future Needs Women Empowerment