Reading 2 Study Sheet 2.docx

1. **Forced Sterilization**: A state policy in Peru targeting rural, Indigenous, illiterate, impoverished women of reproductive age, carried out without their free, prior, and informed consent. Over 200,000 women were sterilized under the guise of family planning, which led to significant physical,...

1. **Forced Sterilization**: A state policy in Peru targeting rural, Indigenous, illiterate, impoverished women of reproductive age, carried out without their free, prior, and informed consent. Over 200,000 women were sterilized under the guise of family planning, which led to significant physical, psychological, and social consequences for the victims. 2. **Precarity**: The paper employs the concept of precarity to understand the conditions of vulnerability and marginalization that made certain populations susceptible to human rights violations like forced sterilization. Precarity is defined in terms of instability, lack of social and economic support, and differential exposure to harm. 3. **Reproductive Justice**: This framework is used to analyze the intersectionality of race, class, and gender in the context of reproductive rights. It links the right to reproductive autonomy to broader issues of social justice, emphasizing the impact of systemic inequalities on reproductive choices. 4. **Feminine Capital**: The concept refers to the cultural assets women acquire and display, which are valued within their societies. The paper discusses how sterilization affected women's social value and identity, particularly in terms of their roles as mothers and wives, leading to a loss of feminine capital. 5. **Symbolic and Structural Inequalities**: These terms describe the systemic and cultural forces that perpetuate marginalization and discrimination against certain groups. The paper highlights how these inequalities underpin the practices of forced sterilization and the broader violations of reproductive rights. 6. **Cultural and Structural Violence**: Refers to the ways in which societal structures harm individuals or groups by preventing them from meeting their basic needs or by perpetuating inequality and injustice. The forced sterilization campaign in Peru is presented as an example of both cultural and structural violence. 7. **Intersectionality**: The analysis of how various forms of social stratification (such as race, gender, and class) interact to create unique modes of discrimination and privilege. The paper uses this concept to explore the complex identities of the women subjected to sterilization and the multifaceted nature of their oppression. 8. **Neo-Malthusian Agenda**: This term is used to critique the underlying assumptions of the sterilization campaign, which linked population control to economic progress and modernization, reflecting a continuation of colonial and patriarchal ideologies. 9. **Healthcare Practitioners' Role**: The paper discusses the involvement of healthcare practitioners in the sterilization campaign, highlighting the ethical dilemmas and pressures they faced, as well as the broader implications for professional responsibility and patient rights.