3 min readBhubaneswarFeb 19, 2023 08:53 PM IST
First published on: Feb 19, 2023 at 08:53 PM IST
Rabi Dehuri, 57, a tribal man in Odisha’s Keonjhar district, who abandoned his wife after she underwent a tubectomy operation following her eleventh delivery, was counselled for his wife’s tubal sterilisation for the past eight to nine years.
Local ASHA worker Bijaylaxmi Biswal said she had tried to counsel the tribal couple of Dimiria village under Saleikena panchayat in Telkoi block of the district for family planning since the time Rabi’s wife Janaki, 36, gave birth to their fifth child. Both Rabi and Janaki work as daily labourers.
“Every time, I counselled the husband-wife for permanent contraception, Rabi tried to avoid it… Even when Janaki agreed to the same earlier, she had to face the wrath of her husband because of which the operation could not be conducted. I had also persuaded Rabi for a vasectomy but he never agreed,” Biswal told The Indian Express.
“Despite Rabi’s objection, I decided to take his wife to the Telkoi community health centre where the operation was conducted on February 14. She had given birth to the 11th child on January 19,” said the ASHA worker.
After his wife returned from the hospital following the surgery, Rabi got angry and did not let Janaki enter their home. Janaki and her children were staying under a tree outside the house.
“As Janaki’s husband practices a particular religious cult, he accuses his wife of being impure after undergoing the tubectomy operation. He accused his wife of spoiling the name of the family,” said the ASHA worker.
“Rabi, who married Janaki after the death of his first wife, was so callous that he did not even accompany his wife to the hospital during delivery. I took her to the nearest hospital for her delivery,” Biswal added.
The district administration had taken Janaki along with her newborn baby to the Telkoi CHC Saturday while block-level officers, health workers and village heads tried to counsel Rabi to allow his wife and children to enter the home. After hours of counselling, Rabi agreed to allow his wife to return, said Biswal.
Notably, Rabi’s two younger brothers residing in the same village had allowed their wives to undergo tubal sterilisation.
The ASHA worker said not everyone in the locality is like Rabi as people including tribals happily allow their wives to undergo surgery after two to three deliveries because of increasing awareness.
According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-5 released in 2021, the total fertility rate (children per woman) in Odisha has gone down to 1.8 from 2.1 in NFHS-4 released in 2016 – a trend attributed to increased awareness among people about family planning.
The book also carries the introduction of each of the 13 poets whose poems have been selected and translated. 
Share
