My mother was the first driver in the household. Whispers of shock, awe and surprise had gone around in our middle-class neighbour when my mother first drove in with a red Maruti Suzuki 800.

My choice to remain childfree after marriage was such a deviance from Indian norms, that I became a part of a PhD study on the subject!

28th September is International Safe Abortion Day – the annual day of action to support the right to safe abortion. We owe it to anyone who can get pregnant.

I don’t want to give birth. I don't want to be a mother. Not now, not ever. And nothing will change my mind. No gods in heaven, no family on earth can shake this decision I made years ago.

Surrogacy can be a knotty problem, but only deeply patriarchal societies like India would come up with a ban solution, instead of a freedom of choice bolstered by strong governance and prosecution solution.