A 42-year-old Konda Reddi tribal woman, Kechhala Lingamma, is a mother of 11 children, including four girls. Still, she has no thoughts of going for a family planning option.
Four of her children - two boys and two girls - have died due to poor health. The youngest is an year-old baby boy, whom Ms. Lingamma carries with her to the field. The eldest one, Ms. Vijaya Shanthi, has a two-year-old baby. In fact, if the entire family prefers to sleep together on the floor, their thatched house cannot accommodate them.
“I am scared to undergo any surgery (for family planning). It physically weakens me, and if that happens, I will no longer be able to trek the hill for Podu cultivation,” Ms. Lingamma reveals her apprehensions. In Podu cultivation, tribals level the forest cover on the hill to grow crops.
