Vidita Shah – Global Reproductive Health at Duke

The Failures of American Sex-Education

July 25, 2022December 10, 2024 by Vidita ShahNo Comments

As the topic of sexual and reproductive health re-enters the public consciousness in America through the overturning of Roe v. Wade, it becomes increasingly important to access American Sex Education, or rather, the failures of it, and how we teach these topics to our most impressionable population, children. The state of sex-education in this country is in shambles. Though the majority of Americans support sex-education in middle school and in high school, what exactly does that education look like? The first and one of the most important things to note about sex-education in the states is that there is no universal regulation of it. Only thirty nine states, plus DC, even have government mandated sex-education [5]. Within the states with mandated sex-education, only thirteen must provide “medically accurate” sex-education [1]. The content of what is covered in sex-education varies widely from state to state, within states that do have government mandated sex-education, it is often left to individual districts to decide...

The Heart of the Abortion Debate

June 30, 2022December 10, 2024 by Vidita ShahNo Comments

When having discussions about Roe v. Wade and the consequences of overturning it, it is of the utmost importance that we remember to center the stories and the voices of those that would be most affected by the loss of abortion access. It is often easy to get lost in the big-picture, Constitutional implications of Roe v. Wade being overturned, but the heart of this issue is the people. Some of our most vulnerable and most marginalized populations will feel the impact of Roe being overturned the most, and listening to them and understanding their stories is imperative to movements to preserve abortion access. Through this blogpost, I hope to highlight the stories of real people that need access to abortion services. Adriana was 34 and living in Mexico when she found out that she was pregnant. Abortion was not legal where Adriana was from in Mexico. Adriana knew immediately that she wanted to terminate her pregnancy, but her choices were...

Myna Mahila Foundation Combats Period Taboo in Urban Indian Communities

May 27, 2022December 10, 2024 by Vidita ShahNo Comments

Although stigma surrounding menstruation exists around the world, this stigma manifests in a way that has a deeply negative effect on the lives of menstruators in some communities in India. In these communities, periods are treated as dirty and impure. Many menstruators are not allowed to pray, go to the temple, or enter the kitchen while on their period. Due to the negative stigma surrounding menstruation, menstruators in these communities do not discuss menstruation. Many men do not even know what menstruation is. Menstruators feel ashamed buying sanitary pads from male workers at health stores and are thus forced to use unsanitary cloth rags during their cycles. As a result of the lack of access to proper menstrual hygiene products and community support, in some Indian communities, young menstruators are forced to end their education after they get their period. Despite how pervasive this taboo is in many Indian communities, there are a variety of efforts to combat this detrimental stigma....