Damoh (Madhya Pradesh):
The central government's condom drive in Madhya Pradesh seems to have hit a snag even before it could take off.
The scheme was supposed to be implemented in 17 districts where health workers in villages were supposed to deliver condoms and also had an option of charging for it. But health workers in the Damoh district - all women - have handed a memorandum against the alleged government order.
"Suppose we go in the village selling condom and my uncle needs it so will I say uncle take this condom, it's for rupees one... it will be very humiliating. And why would anyone pay for something which is already available for free to them?" Mithilesh Vishwakarma, Damoh district president of Accredited Social Health Activist, told NDTV.
And even the men living in the village are opposed to the idea of a woman coming to their homes delivering condom. "If the health workers come to our house, she will be hesitant to speak to us. This scheme of the government will not be effective," said Kansi Ram, a villager.
The pilot scheme was aimed at providing incentives to health workers who do not get salary and to increase their interaction with villagers. The government defends the scheme saying it has been misunderstood.
"Family planning and health issue should not be made matter of prestige. It is for the welfare of the people and it has to be done as a service to the nation," said Dr G K Chaurasia, Chief Medical Health Officer, Damoh.
This ambitious scheme of the government seems to have hit a cultural roadblock. With serious reservations on both sides, and the condom delivery finding absolutely no takers in any of the 17 districts it seems, the government has a long fight against this resistance to rubber.