Impact of armed conflict on reproductive health of women in Kashmir, India

Bashir A Bhat, Kashmir University

For the past 18 years, Jammu and Kashmir (India) is in a state of armed conflict and this has inflicted a devastating impact upon the civilian population.Numerous crackdowns, search operations, bomb blasts,crossfire,shutdowns, dictats by the armed men etc have not only worsened the human rights situation, but also shattered the healty care delivery system. The migration of the medical staff from Kashmir, destruction of the health care infrastructure affected the health care delivery system in the region. The present paper documents the problems experienced by the women as they pertain to utilization of reproductive health care services during the initial phase of the armed conflict. The results show that the reproductive health outcomes, however, during the peak period of conflict did not deteriorate as was the case with other social and economic indicators. The women used different strategies to meet their reproductive health needs.