Re-examining Janani Suraksha Yojana : The Relevance of Intersectionality to Improve Maternal Health Policymaking in India

Devanik Saha (Author)

DOI 10.7146/kkf.v38i2.149945

publication

2025

Devanik Saha

Is part of

Kvinder, køn & forskning · ISSN · 0907-6182

2025(38):2, sidorna 42-58

Component part, Online resource

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Summary

This paper examines the relevance of the intersectionality framework for designing maternal health interventions in India, using the case of Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), a government scheme that aims to reduce maternal deaths by financially incentivising women to deliver in hospitals. Research indicates that JSY has failed to reach the poorest Indian women and has had limited impact on maternal mortality. For this paper, I used a secondary research approach, wherein I applied an intersectionality framework to analyse existing evidence on JSY. To my knowledge, this is the first paper that adopts an intersectionality lens to analyse and critique the JSY program and advocate for its relevance in understanding maternal mortality in India. This paper outlines three major flaws underpinning JSY: treating women as a homogenous category, lack of understanding of lived experiences, and inability to address social determinants of maternal mortality. The paper further argues that maternal mortality is caused by an intersection of different identity axes such as gender, caste, class, location, and indigeneity. Thus, instead of using a universal approach towards reducing maternal deaths, policy interventions in India should be rooted in an intersectional framework that recognises the lived experiences and realities of the most marginalised women in India.