Explained: The controversy over rubber penis in Maharashtra’s family planning kit

The Maharashtra government’s plan to spread awareness on family planning in the rural corners of the state has run into trouble. ASHAs (Accredited Social Health Activists), who are assigned with the task of counselling couples, are facing flak because of a revamped family planning kit issued by state authorities. At the centre of this controversy are replicas of phalluses. The ASHAs in Maharashtra are being targeted because of the rubber penis models, which locals in rural areas believe are graphic. Interestingly, the kits also include a rubber uterus. However, that has not triggered villagers. The health activists play a key part in community health programmes in India. They go from door-to-door to counsel the population on important matters like sex, sterilisation, and birth control, among others. They mostly use pamphlets with pictorial depictions for their discussions. However, the public health department in Maharashtra decided to revamp the kit to assist ASHAs by adding the two new replicas, that of a uterus and a phallus. Around 25,000 kits with the new penis model have been distributed across the state to aid workers in counselling. Dr Archana Patil, head of Directorate of Health Service, told The Indian Express that the kit is useful, especially to spread awareness among newly-weds. “Through the tools, the ASHAs can also demonstrate the process of wearing condoms,” she told the newspaper. Facing insults However, the health workers are often assigned to villages which are conservative. The rubber replicas have become a point of embarrassment for ASHAs, who are facing insults because of them. “…as soon as we take out the mould, the family members, especially the men, take offence because of stigmatisation. They claim that we are shameless and corrupting their wives,” an ASHA from Nashik told The Indian Express. Some workers told BBC Marathi that displaying the models in rural areas, where subjects like sexual health remain a taboo, left them red-faced. Maharashtra Rajy Aarogy Khate ASHA V Gat Prvartak Sanghtana, the association that represents ASHAs in the state, has reportedly requested the public health department to ask doctors to counsel couples with the replica. It has pointed out that most health workers have studied until Class 10 and might not be qualified to talk about sex education with the help of the tools. “Any improper discussion can further create confusion among couples and insult the manhood of men,” Raju Desale from the association told The Indian Express. However, using the models is not mandatory, reports BBC Marathi. “If health workers feel awkward about speaking openly about these issues, how will work get done?" Dr Patil asked when talking to the channel. She added that the negative feedback came mostly from Maharashtra’s Buldhana district. Indecent kits? The issue has now been politicised with the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is in the opposition in Maharashtra, lashing out at the government. Chitra Kishor Wagh, vice-president of Maharashtra BJP, asked in a tweet, “Has the government gone mad?” In another tweet, she tagged the Maharashtra DGP hinting that the government be charged for indecency under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code. Akash Phundkar, a BJP lawmaker from Buldhana, has asked the government to recall the kits and apologise to the health workers, according to the BBC Marathi report. However experts believe that it’s important to use the correct tools to spread awareness in rural parts of the country, where illiteracy rates are high. “It is not right to say that this will spread misconceptions. If we speak openly, people can understand issues better. If there is no discussion about sexual issues that will actually lead to misconceptions,” Dr Sagar Mundada, a sexologist, told BBC Marathi. The work that ASHAs undertake is voluntary and hence they do not receive a fixed income. However, they have been staging protests across the country over the last few years, demanding that they be recognised for their labour and receive a regularised salary. In May 2021, lakhs of ASHAs staged a nationwide demonstration for better wages and protective gear in the wake of the pandemic. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.