Gateway to universal access to SRHR is human right to health

Shobha Shukla (CNS)
Contd from previous issue
Their stories reveal the intersectional inequalities that health systems must address."
Countering media silence and anti-rights narratives
In many societies, SRHRJ remains taboo - not because people do not experience these issues, but because they are deemed unfit for public discourse.
"In my country, Indonesia, we cannot talk openly about comprehensive sexuality education," said Betty Herlina, an Indonesian journalist and Founder Editor of Bincang Perempuan (Bahasa-language media focussed on gender justice). She is also a noted SRHRJ advocate. "If I distribute a condom in public, people would say that I am 'promoting free sex.' That is the bias we must break."
Herlina urged media professionals to frame SRHRJ as a public health and human rights issue, not a moral or political one.
Patriarchy and harmful gender biases within and through media
Herlina noted that media indifference is part of the problem. "Not all media houses want to cover SRHRJ - it is not seen as an 'attractive' topic." She urged media professionals to frame SRHRJ as a public health and human rights issue, and not as a moral or political one.
"While reporting on unplanned pregnancies or abortion, journalists must remember that women still have the right to medical care. It is our duty to verify government claims and bring evidence-based narratives to the public," said Herlina.
She added that data-driven journalism can counter misinformation around SRHRJ and push for policy change. "We need to document stories of people affected by restrictive policies to humanise these issues."
We need to counter harmful gender biases, norms and stereotypes and challenge patriarchy within and through media.
Betty Herlina was also conferred upon the 1st Prize in Asia Pacific Region: SHE & Rights Media Awards 2025 at the International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP 2025) in Bogota, Colombia. SHE & Rights is together hosed by CeHDI, ICFP 2025, IPPF, ARROW, WGNRR, CNS and partners. Sai Jyothirmai Racherla, Deputy Executive Director of Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW) conferred the award citation to Betty Herlina at ICFP Live Stage in presence of Dr Haileyesus Getahun and others.
Reclaiming health as a human right
For Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, this right is far from abstract - it is a living testimony to justice, autonomy, and equity.
"Our health systems must be inclusive, gender-responsive, and grounded in human rights. But around the world, access to SRH services is being restricted, healthcare workers are being silenced, and ideology is replacing evidence," she said.
She cautioned that conditional funding - where financial aid depends on limiting support for certain groups - undermines human rights. "Funding cannot be conditional. Maternal health, SRH, and universal health coverage must not be seen as competing agendas. They are interconnected and part of the same promise of human dignity," she asserted.
Dr Mofokeng urged governments and global institutions to invest in equity and intersectionality. "We must ensure that adolescents, LGBTIQ+ persons, people with disabilities, migrants, and others at the margins are not left behind. Health diplomacy must serve justice, not conditionality. Our movements need comprehensive, unrestricted resources to continue their work."
The way forward
The Right to Health provides a moral and legal compass for achieving gender equality. But realising it requires political will, inclusive governance, collective action and sustained investment. As the world grapples with climate crises, rising inequalities, and anti-rights movements, reaffirming health as a human right becomes a powerful act of resistance and hope.
Ensuring that no one is left behind means building systems that listen to communities, amplify marginalised voices, and turn commitments into action. The right to health is not merely about survival - it is about freedom, justice, and the promise of a fairer world.

(Shobha Shukla is a feminist, health and development justice advocate, and an award-winning founding Managing Editor and Executive Director of CNS (Citizen News Service). She was also the Lead Discussant for SDG-3 at United Nations inter-governmental High Level Political Forum (HLPF 2025). She is a former senior Physics faculty of prestigious Loreto Convent College; current President of Asia Pacific Regional Media Alliance for Health, Gender and Development Justice (APCAT Media); Chairperson of Global AMR Media Alliance (GAMA received AMR One Health Emerging Leaders and Outstanding Talents Award 2024); and Host of SHE & Rights (Sexual Health with Equity & Rights). Follow her on Twitter/X @shobha1shukla or read her writings here www.bit.ly/ShobhaShukla)