By JOSEPH WHEELER, 8/12/2014. As part of their ongoing mission to bring access to justice closer to marginalized communities in India, Nazdeek was recently awarded a Grant from Every Mother Counts, a non-profit organization dedicated to making pregnancy and childbirth safe for every mother.

Nazdeek, with the support of Every Mother Counts, is working to make pregnancy and childbirth safer for women like Sonali to ensure they receive the maternal health care they are entitled to.
Nazdeek, with the support of Every Mother Counts, is working to make pregnancy and childbirth safer for women like Sonali to ensure they receive the maternal health care they are entitled to.

By Joseph Wheeler, 8/12/2014. In India, 50,000 women die from pregnancy and childbirth related causes every year; this accounts for 17% of all maternal deaths globally, more than any other country in the world. Culturally accepted discrimination against women—particularly poor women from lower castes and indigenous communities—drive India’s high rate of maternal deaths.

Key members of the Nazdeek staff were essential in the landmark case that first recognized maternal mortality as a human rights violation and the right to survive pregnancy as a fundamental right protected by the Indian Constitution.  Expanding and protecting women’s access to maternal health has been a central tenet of Nazdeek’s work. Funds from Every Mother Counts’ Impact Grant will enable Nazdeek to train activists and lawyers to document maternal health and infant health rights violations and use legal advocacy to demand better healthcare for mothers.

I has a chance to create the following photo series to kick-off Nazdeek’s work with Every Mother Counts. The amazing photographs were provided by Rajan Zaveri and Carlo Ghidini, I did content selection and photo-editing. The series is meant to exposes the current barriers to maternal health care on tea gardens in Assam, India.

Every month, Nazdeek will be releasing another storytelling piece highlighting the impact of their projects in Delhi and Assam. With the help and support of Every Mother Counts, Nazdeek will continue to combat violations of  maternal health rights and work to put an end to preventable maternal deaths in Delhi, Assam, and across India.