In the third UPR Cycle, Malaysia received several recommendations on gender equality, sexual and reproductive health, access to comprehensive sexuality education and protection of women and girls from violence. Malaysia is urged to accede to relevant Optional Protocols and withdraw reservations to the Convention which hinder the rights of women and girls in Malaysia. The […]

This monitoring report provides findings of a baseline study in Malaysia to contribute to the implementation of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) recommendations and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) concluding observations in Kuala Lumpur, Perak and Terengganu. Guided by the recommendations, the baseline report focuses on four […]

This two-pager has been developed as part of the dissemination of the baseline study “Availability of Safe Abortion Services and the Perspectives of Actors on the Right to Safe Abortion in the States of Bihar and Tamil Nadu, India: A Rapid Assessment”. It is planned to be used as a knowledge product for advocacy purposes […]

This two-pager has been developed as part of the dissemination of the baseline study “Availability of Safe Abortion Services and the Perspectives of Actors on the Right to Safe Abortion in the States of Bihar and Tamil Nadu, India: A Rapid Assessment”. It is planned to be used as a knowledge product for advocacy purposes […]

This two-pager has been developed as part of the dissemination of the baseline study “Availability of Safe Abortion Services and the Perspectives of Actors on the Right to Safe Abortion in the States of Bihar and Tamil Nadu, India: A Rapid Assessment”. It is planned to be used as a knowledge product for advocacy purposes […]

The Philippines remains one of the countries that criminalises abortion without exceptions on any ground, however the Penal Law can be interpreted to allow abortion under provisions of “justification” and “necessity” when performed to save the life of a woman. Such ambiguity has led healthcare providers to be fearful of criminal liability, and women are […]

Nepal legalised conditional abortion in 2002, prior to which abortion was considered a criminal act and as a result of which many women were prosecuted and imprisoned. Before legalisation, unsafe abortion was highly prevalent – a 2000 study showed between 20% to 60% of obstetrics and gynaecology patients had abortion complications. The situation for women […]

India passed the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act in 1971, making safe abortion services available to women for a wide range of indicators. However, unsafe abortions still accounted for 8% of maternal deaths in 2006 and in 2015 three out of four abortions in India were medical abortions performed outside a health facility. There are […]

Abortion was legalised in Cambodia in 1997, yet available information and research shows that women hesitate to access safe abortion services, and even when they access them, they are highly stigmatised within their communities for having an abortion. Part of this stigma is cultural – a majority of Cambodians are Buddhist which considers it sinful […]

The Government of Bangladesh allows menstrual regulation (MR) as an “interim method of establishing non-pregnancy” regardless of whether women are actually pregnant. MR is widely available across the country and free of cost at public facilities. Despite the wide availability of MR services, accessibility is often restricted due to reasons such as lack of women-friendly […]