MUMBAI // Jyoti Chawan gave birth to a child a year and a half ago when she became a surrogate mother for an infertile couple from Mumbai.
She was never told the gender of the child and she was paid 450,000 rupees (Dh24,675) for carrying the baby.
Coming from a very poor background, that was a huge sum of money for Chawan, 30, who spent her earnings on desperately needed medical treatment for her husband and mother.
She also used the money to build a house to replace the asbestos shack she was living in with her two young children, now aged 10 and 4.
These days, she sells artificial jewellery on the street to try to scrape together a few rupees to feed her family.
“My husband and mother have both passed away since then,” she said. “I want to become a surrogate again so I can make some money to look after my children.”
But soon, acting as a surrogate may not be an option for the widow.
Draft legislation cleared by India’s union cabinet last week seeks to ban the practice of commercial surrogacy in India. The bill proposes that only “altruistic” surrogacy be allowed, which means that only money to cover expenses can be given to the surrogate.
Even then, it must be a close relative that carries the child and the couple should have been married for at least five years. It would be banned completely for foreigners.
This is intended to avoid cases where impoverished women might be exploited.
There are also concerns that the practice might be misused by some women who turn to surrogacy to maintain their figures – not because of genuine medical factors. The practice is often referred to as “rent-a-womb” and critics liken it to outsourcing.
The bill would have to be passed by the upper and lower houses of parliament before becoming law and is due to be taken up by parliament in the winter session, which starts in November. For now surrogacy is still legal for Indians.
Nayana Patel, who runs the Akanksha Infertility Clinic in the town of Anand in Gujarat, has been at the forefront of India’s commercial surrogacy industry.
She said that the bill was “disappointing” for both surrogates and infertile couples. Dr Patel said that surrogacy was “empowering” for the surrogates, rather than exploitative.
“By practising surrogacy, many poor women have been able to educate their children, build houses and start their own business,” said Dr Patel. The legislation would “destroy the chances of poor families to earn a livelihood”.
Her clinic, which began offering surrogacy in 2003, attracted a number of foreign couples from countries including the UK and the UAE, where commercial surrogacy is illegal.
Costs of surrogacy in India are very competitive. Fees at Dr Patel’s clinic used to start at $30,000 (Dh110,200) for foreign couples compared to costs in the US that would go well above $100,000.
But the practice for overseas patients ended last November, when authorities issued a notice to clinics across India, ordering them to stop receiving foreigners for surrogacy treatment.
Legalised in India in 2002, the commercial surrogacy industry in the country is estimated to be worth $2.3 billion a year, according to the Confederation of Indian Industry.
Duli Chand, 49, an autorickshaw driver from New Delhi, and his wife, Shakundala, 48, a housewife, turned to commercial surrogacy after trying to have a child for more than twenty years through IVF treatment, as they could not conceive naturally.
“Surrogacy was our last hope of having our own child and our son was born in April,” said Mr Chand.
He spent more than one million rupees on surrogacy, with most of the funds obtained through loans.
“What will people like us do if surrogacy is banned?” he asked. “I’m sure there are a lot of people like us who want to have their own child and there is no other solution for them.”
Rita Bakshi, the chairman of the International Fertility Centre in New Delhi, which organised the surrogacy for the couple, said that thousands of surrogate mothers have seen their lives transformed by the fees they receive.
“This surrogacy bill should be revised and rather than banning commercial surrogacy as a whole, the government should set certain rules and regulations to ensure fair surrogacy practices in India,” Dr Bakshi said.
Jatin Shah, who owns the Mumbai Infertility Clinic and IVF Centre, which oversaw the surrogate birth of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son in 2013, said he was “shocked” to hear about the government legislation to ban commercial surrogacy.
“Also, how can you stop single mothers from opting for surrogacy,” Dr Shah said. “There are women who have high-flying corporate careers and they didn’t find the right partner and they want to be a mother.”
Many former surrogates say that they would be eager to do it again. They are saddened that the practice may be banned and they may not have the opportunity to make more money.
One example is Parvati Gogawle, 27, a widow in Mumbai who in 2014 had a baby girl for a couple in the UK. Her husband was killed when he fell from a train, and the earnings from surrogacy presented an opportunity for her to provide for her son, now eight.
Mumbai resident Ayesha Shaikh, 25, delivered twins for an Indian couple based in the United States this year. She earned 500,000 rupees from this, which she used to buy an autorickshaw for her husband, to create ongoing earnings for their family. She also deposited money for her child’s education and took out a home loan to buy a house.
“All of this would have been impossible if I had not been a surrogate,” she said.
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
Results
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Profile of Foodics
Founders: Ahmad AlZaini and Mosab AlOthmani
Based: Riyadh
Sector: Software
Employees: 150
Amount raised: $8m through seed and Series A - Series B raise ongoing
Funders: Raed Advanced Investment Co, Al-Riyadh Al Walid Investment Co, 500 Falcons, SWM Investment, AlShoaibah SPV, Faith Capital, Technology Investments Co, Savour Holding, Future Resources, Derayah Custody Co.
Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
Company profile
Company name: Suraasa
Started: 2018
Founders: Rishabh Khanna, Ankit Khanna and Sahil Makker
Based: India, UAE and the UK
Industry: EdTech
Initial investment: More than $200,000 in seed funding
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Buy farm-fresh food
The UAE is stepping up its game when it comes to platforms for local farms to show off and sell their produce.
In Dubai, visit Emirati Farmers Souq at The Pointe every Saturday from 8am to 2pm, which has produce from Al Ammar Farm, Omar Al Katri Farm, Hikarivege Vegetables, Rashed Farms and Al Khaleej Honey Trading, among others.
In Sharjah, the Aljada residential community will launch a new outdoor farmers’ market every Friday starting this weekend. Manbat will be held from 3pm to 8pm, and will host 30 farmers, local home-grown entrepreneurs and food stalls from the teams behind Badia Farms; Emirates Hydroponics Farms; Modern Organic Farm; Revolution Real; Astraea Farms; and Al Khaleej Food.
In Abu Dhabi, order farm produce from Food Crowd, an online grocery platform that supplies fresh and organic ingredients directly from farms such as Emirates Bio Farm, TFC, Armela Farms and mother company Al Dahra.
The biog
Name: Dhabia Khalifa AlQubaisi
Age: 23
How she spends spare time: Playing with cats at the clinic and feeding them
Inspiration: My father. He’s a hard working man who has been through a lot to provide us with everything we need
Favourite book: Attitude, emotions and the psychology of cats by Dr Nicholes Dodman
Favourit film: 101 Dalmatians - it remind me of my childhood and began my love of dogs
Word of advice: By being patient, good things will come and by staying positive you’ll have the will to continue to love what you're doing
Company%20Profile
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Gertrude Bell's life in focus
A feature film
At one point, two feature films were in the works, but only German director Werner Herzog’s project starring Nicole Kidman would be made. While there were high hopes he would do a worthy job of directing the biopic, when Queen of the Desert arrived in 2015 it was a disappointment. Critics panned the film, in which Herzog largely glossed over Bell’s political work in favour of her ill-fated romances.
A documentary
A project that did do justice to Bell arrived the next year: Sabine Krayenbuhl and Zeva Oelbaum’s Letters from Baghdad: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Gertrude Bell. Drawing on more than 1,000 pieces of archival footage, 1,700 documents and 1,600 letters, the filmmakers painstakingly pieced together a compelling narrative that managed to convey both the depth of Bell’s experience and her tortured love life.
Books, letters and archives
Two biographies have been written about Bell, and both are worth reading: Georgina Howell’s 2006 book Queen of the Desert and Janet Wallach’s 1996 effort Desert Queen. Bell published several books documenting her travels and there are also several volumes of her letters, although they are hard to find in print. Original documents are housed at the Gertrude Bell Archive at the University of Newcastle, which has an online catalogue.
The biog
From: Upper Egypt
Age: 78
Family: a daughter in Egypt; a son in Dubai and his wife, Nabila
Favourite Abu Dhabi activity: walking near to Emirates Palace
Favourite building in Abu Dhabi: Emirates Palace
Company%20Profile
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The%20specs
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Company%20Profile
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Specs%3A%202024%20McLaren%20Artura%20Spider
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Super 30
Produced: Sajid Nadiadwala and Phantom Productions
Directed: Vikas Bahl
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Pankaj Tripathi, Aditya Srivastav, Mrinal Thakur
Rating: 3.5 /5
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
Kalra's feat
- Becomes fifth batsman to score century in U19 final
- Becomes second Indian to score century in U19 final after Unmukt Chand in 2012
- Scored 122 in youth Test on tour of England
- Bought by Delhi Daredevils for base price of two million Indian rupees (Dh115,000) in 2018 IPL auction
THE SPECS
BMW X7 xDrive 50i
Engine: 4.4-litre V8
Transmission: Eight-speed Steptronic transmission
Power: 462hp
Torque: 650Nm
Price: Dh600,000
Day 1, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Dimuth Karunaratne had batted with plenty of pluck, and no little skill, in getting to within seven runs of a first-day century. Then, while he ran what he thought was a comfortable single to mid-on, his batting partner Dinesh Chandimal opted to stay at home. The opener was run out by the length of the pitch.
Stat of the day – 1 One six was hit on Day 1. The boundary was only breached 18 times in total over the course of the 90 overs. When it did arrive, the lone six was a thing of beauty, as Niroshan Dickwella effortlessly clipped Mohammed Amir over the square-leg boundary.
The verdict Three wickets down at lunch, on a featherbed wicket having won the toss, and Sri Lanka’s fragile confidence must have been waning. Then Karunaratne and Chandimal's alliance of precisely 100 gave them a foothold in the match. Dickwella’s free-spirited strokeplay meant the Sri Lankans were handily placed at 227-4 at the close.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More on animal trafficking
'Panga'
Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh960,000
Engine 3.9L twin-turbo V8
Transmission Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Power 661hp @8,000rpm
Torque 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.4L / 100k
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Who are the Soroptimists?
The first Soroptimists club was founded in Oakland, California in 1921. The name comes from the Latin word soror which means sister, combined with optima, meaning the best.
The organisation said its name is best interpreted as ‘the best for women’.
Since then the group has grown exponentially around the world and is officially affiliated with the United Nations. The organisation also counts Queen Mathilde of Belgium among its ranks.
Company%20Profile
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
About Housecall
Date started: July 2020
Founders: Omar and Humaid Alzaabi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech
# of staff: 10
Funding to date: Self-funded
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: ten-speed
Power: 420bhp
Torque: 624Nm
Price: Dh325,125
On sale: Now