Breastfeeding is one of the most natural and necessary parts of motherhood, but at times is stigmatised when done outside the home. Women who breastfeed away from home are judged, harassed or made uncomfortable enough to stay home completely or face great difficulties finding a private space. Certainly, there is an obvious lack of spaces for breastfeeding mothers in public, which aggravates the issue, creating systematic barriers to the mobility of mothers with children.
Certainly, there is an obvious lack of spaces for breastfeeding mothers in public, which aggravates the issue, creating systematic barriers to the mobility of mothers with children.
In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court of India in the case of Maatr Sparsh an Initiative by Avyaan Foundation Vs. Union of India & Ors. recently ordered the Union and the State governments to provide breastfeeding spaces in public areas. The judgment signified that both mothers and infants possess fundamental rights that should be safeguarded with a greater emphasis on gender-sensitive urban planning and public policy. This judgment will be acknowledged as the greatest turning point in favour of abolishing social stigma against breastfeeding and recognition of women’s rights for non-discrimination on public space access.
The social stigma around public breastfeeding
The cultural contradictions in India create a deep-seated stigma towards public breastfeeding. Motherhood is glorified and feted on the one hand, while womanhood, with its body, is policed and examined on the other. Public breastfeeding, an essential biological requirement, is generally seen as an inappropriate act in public. Women are berated for exposing their bodies, even for a few seconds, in public places. This contradiction comes out as a huge burden on mothers, as they have to sacrifice the needs of their children for the comfort of society.
Public breastfeeding has usually brought this act very close to depicting immodesty, and many women are thus meted out of immoral policing. It is not unusual to see women asked to cover their breasts or to vacate public places while breastfeeding their babies. This discomfort is rooted in a larger patriarchal ethos that tends to view women’s bodies through the prisms of male gaze, morality and shame rather than functionality and autonomy.
As an additional reason for the stigma attached to public breastfeeding, the lack of awareness concerning its significance is also noted. Most, if not all, advocacy bodies, like UNICEF and WHO, strongly advocate breastfeeding as a vital factor in the health and growth of an infant. However, the collective perception of the Indian public tends to be retrogressive. Breastfeeding, rather than being seen as an ordinary, life-sustaining act, comes to be considered something irregular or personal to be hidden from the public eye.
The Supreme Court’s landmark ruling
The recent Supreme Court ruling that instructed the government to provide breastfeeding facilities in public spaces is an important step in recognising the rights of both mothers and infants. The Court ruled that breastfeeding is not a personal act but an act of necessity that must have the backing of the government and society; so, there must be facilities in public transport, workplaces, malls, and parks for women to breastfeed without any public scrutiny or embarrassment.
This judgment also ensures the compliance with the constitutional provisions of gender equality and child welfare in India.
This judgment also ensures compliance with the constitutional provisions of gender equality and child welfare in India. Article 21 guarantees the right to life and personal liberty, which covers the right of a child to receive adequate nutrition and care. Furthermore, Article 15(3) allows the State to make special provisions in favour of women and children, which aligns gender-sensitive infrastructure policies.
This judgement falls in line with global best practices. Many countries, such as the UK, Australia, and Canada, explicitly protect the rights of women to breastfeed in public. However, until now, there was no specific law on the issue in India. This judgement will give a much-needed boost to the government to devise actionable measures for creating breastfeeding-friendly public spaces.
Lack of infrastructure: a policy and planning failure
The reality barely contrasts the Supreme Court ruling: India’s public infrastructure is far from catering to the needs of lactating mothers. Facilities for breastfeeding in public spaces such as government offices, railway stations, and airports are virtually nonexistent. Breastfeeding rooms are missing even in workplaces, despite the legal obligation to provide maternity benefits, and they hence fail to provide a lactation-friendly environment.
The NCPCR study, which was conducted in the year 2022, indicated that breastfeeding rooms were available in less than 10% of public places in India. Hence, they travel in the hope that they will find a decent place to breastfeed their children when in travel for work or emergencies, but have little choice. Unfortunately, more often than not, women breastfeed their babies in filthy restrooms, leaving them with no alternative or other hidden-away corners for doing so.
Unfortunately, more often than not, women breastfeed their babies in filthy restrooms, leaving them with no alternative or other hidden away corners for doing so
Besides, the nonexistence of breastfeeding facilities discriminates against women from marginalised communities. While upper-class women may access some semblance of privacy in lactation rooms at high-end malls or airports, working-class women, street vendors, and those serving as domestic workers face colossal indignity. Ensuring equitable access to breastfeeding spaces is the only way public infrastructure would ensure the closure of this gulf in either urban or rural settings.
“I am not very much in favour of places having breastfeeding rooms as such since they are rarely maintained and add additional expense, rather, it should be made illegal to discriminate against a mother breastfeeding in public. Women should not be limiting themselves to spaces that require them to not be seen by the public when breastfeeding. A baby feeding in the most naturally intended form should not be hidden.” says Adhunika Prakash, an activist working for the rights of breastfeeding mothers.
Breastfeeding and gender equality
Breastfeeding is not only a health concern but also a feminist issue. The question of women’s rights to breastfeed in public is intrinsically linked to the woman’s right to choose what happens to her body and to move freely. Therefore, shameful acts or open intolerance towards mothers breastfeeding break against their dignity, equality, and respect.
The stigma against breastfeeding in public is merely an extension of a culture of control over women’s bodies. It reflects the same patriarchal ideas trying to impose dress codes, moral policing, and mobility restrictions on women. Feminism is a rejection of these norms; a declaration that women have the right to exist in public, free of fear, judgment, or inconvenience.
The issue also intersects with economic empowerment. Many working mothers are forced to choose between breastfeeding their child and their professional responsibilities.
The issue also intersects with economic empowerment. Many working mothers are forced to choose between breastfeeding their children and their professional responsibilities. Unless they are supported, women may have to quit their jobs, thus increasing the gender gap in employment. Thus, in the pursuit of gender equality, these barriers must be recognised and addressed.
The way forward: policy recommendations
Although this decision by the Supreme Court positively impacts a better future, the actualisation depends on the various actors-the government, the private sector, and civil society together. Public spaces, bus transit hubs or malls, worksites, and government offices should, by law, provide a place for clean, safe, and accessible breastfeeding.
The absence of such establishments usually inhibits women from breastfeeding in public, thereby strengthening the stigma. Infrastructure aside, awareness campaigns should also propagate normalising public breastfeeding and educating society about its necessity. Such campaigns need to break open stereotypes and misconceptions of breastfeeding and make it clear that it’s a birthright and not a privilege.
Strengthening legal protections further means making available to a woman every provision of non-discrimination for breastfeeding in public. Laws will also prevent sexual harassment of a woman from being excluded for breastfeeding offences as laws would recognise specific rights to breastfeeding for both public and workplace settings.
Strengthening legal protections further means making available to a woman every provision of non-discrimination for breastfeeding in public.
This accountability of organisations would have the active participation of lactating mothers in conducting dedicated lactation rooms, flexible work schedules, extended maternity benefits, and ensuring that breastfeeding does not become a bar to one’s career advancement.
Finally, besides the legal and corporate sectors, communities must also take ownership in nurturing breastfeeding-friendly public infrastructure, most importantly in rural areas, where awareness is low and even facilities are scant. Local self-governments will need to partner up with health professionals, women’s organisations, and urban planners so that inclusive public spaces can be created. When these aspects have been holistically consulted, India will be able to move toward a society that supports breastfeeding mothers rather than stigmatising them
“While the intentions of the government are in the right direction – there need to be policy-level changes that dictate clear laws for steps that can be taken by organisations and public spaces to protect the vulnerable dyad of breastfeeding mothers and babies. Hope the Supreme Court ruling is a step in the direction,” says Adhunika Prakash.
This decision by the Supreme Court is not limited to recognising the necessity of breastfeeding places but extends to note the discrimination women across the globe have faced for decades. The public infrastructure leaves innumerable mothers in harsh and humiliating conditions, forcing them to breastfeed secretly in corners, and bathrooms, and even avoiding public outings at all. Indeed, this is an effort towards internalised societal bias against the needs of women, particularly for motherhood, for the sake of maintaining archaic concepts of morality and propriety.
This ruling evokes the age-old gender gap in planning and public policy, for indeed very little has been done in public space for women or more to the point thinking about their biological needs and practical purposes in occupying space. Though breastfeeding facilities are lacking, their absence marks an affront to a woman’s right to dignity, health, and participation in public life. The Supreme Court has taken a significant step in addressing this matter, but the struggle is far from over.
