Context - The Deliverer

• The poem 'The Deliverer' was written by Tishani Doshi
• 'The Deliverer' was inspired by a true story, Tishani Doshi says her mother "did take a baby to America" and that the heart of the poem is that
• It is illegal for Indian women to abandon their babies, which is why so many of them resort to burying them or going far outside of town to give birth rather than leaving them somewhere they might be found
• India has made some strides toward reproductive rights for women in recent years; in 2022, the Supreme Court ruled that women of any marital status can receive abortions up until the 24th week of pregnancy (previously only married women or rape victims had this freedom)
• Only 25% of Indian women participating in the workforce and with little access to education and land ownership, many women - especially in rural areas - have no way of exercising their right to abortion or any way of providing for children on their own
• Statistics reveal that in India, in the 20 years leading up to the publication of ‘The Deliverer’, as many as 10 million girls were killed by their parents either before or immediately after birth
• 'The Deliverer' addresses issues such as the Cycle of Oppression, and how patriarchal ideologies are systematically entrenched in society; this perpetuates gender discrimination, leading to the normalisation of Female Infanticide & invisibility of marginalised groups
• 'The Deliverer' addresses the Cultural Disparity between the state of Kerala & the United States; one culture filled with transgression and the other filled with enlightening egalitarian ideologies
• The 2nd section of 'The Deliverer' may be referencing the White Saviour Complex, as the privileged & ceremonial American family feel the need to save the culturally disassociated child from India