Back in February, I traveled to India for work (with the International Reporting Project). We were there to report on child survival and related issues. Here’s my first story, published with the wonderful Women’s eNews!

In India, Daughters-in-Law Encouraged to Speak Up

A mother-in-law often dictates family planning decisions for the younger women in her household. Some health reformers are trying to change that dynamic through counseling efforts and discussion groups.

Shenaz Hamid Khan lives in a small one-bedroom apartment –about 300 square feet– in Govandi, an overcrowded government resettlement slum on the outskirts of Mumbai, with 15 other people from her husband’s family.

Her household includes her husband’s parents, their four other sons; three sons’ wives and seven grandchildren. To sleep at night, they stretch out on the floor or outside on a balcony that they share with 11 other housing units on this floor. Keep reading…