Over 100 attendees convene for SLIC's Mera Haq event
In honour of the 100th celebration of International Women’s Day, the Socio-Legal Information Centre (SLIC) hosted Mera Haq: Surviving Pregnancy in India in New Delhi. Mera Haq brought together over 100 attendees and leading women artists and activists including film actress Sharmila Tagore, Shanta, a community activist from Nangloi, Aparajita Gogoi, National Alliance Coordinator of the White Ribbon Alliance, and Jayshree Satpute & Sukti Dhital, lawyers at SLIC.
Based on the untimely maternal death of SLIC's client Shanti Devi, Mera Haq availed film, photography, and dialogue to recount Shanti’s last journey, a journey tragically representative of the hundreds of thousands of women and girls who have lost their lives during pregnancy. The documentary is written and produced by SLIC and includes interviews with family & friends affected by Shanti's death, and underscores the government's failure to respect, fulfill, and protect the human rights of its people. Accompanying the film, British photographers Andrew Ash and Mark Esplin created a pictoric essay depicting systemic barriers and reflecting upon Shanti's traumatic experience. The exhibition has been viewed publicly at the India Islamic Centre and the Alliance Francaise and will continue to be displayed at various institutions in Delhi. Mera Haqaims to create a space to share stories, stimulate ideas, and inspire action against maternal mortality.
To view the documentary & photo exhibit, and to learn more about SLIC’s reproductive rights work please visit our website at www.slic.org.in. Select photos from the event can be found at http://merahaqevent.tumblr.com/.