Documents that matter: Sterilization paperwork in rural India

Lukšaitė, E

doi:10.1111/1467-8322.12752

Documents that matter: Sterilization paperwork in rural India

Lukšaitė, E

Authors

Dr Eva Fiks e.fiks@keele.ac.uk

Abstract

Female sterilization, or tubal ligation, is the most prevalent form of contraception in rural India. The paperwork that surrounds this procedure provides an interesting lens to investigate the state, its institutions, and their material conditions. The production and circulation of this paperwork uncover the state as an illegible and unpredictable entity that materializes in people’s everyday lives through bureaucratically futile certificates. In this article, I look at sterilization paperwork as a tool to tell stories about the state and its institutions in the context of seeking and undergoing tubal ligation in a government facility in rural India.

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Apr 12, 2022
Online Publication Date	Sep 30, 2022
Publication Date	Oct 1, 2022
Publicly Available Date	May 30, 2023
Journal	Anthropology Today
Print ISSN	0268-540X
Electronic ISSN	1467-8322
Publisher	Wiley
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	38
Issue	5
Pages	9-12
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8322.12752
Publisher URL	https://rai.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1467-8322.12752