Confronting commercial surrogacy on the stage

As infertile couples in the Western world become increasingly desperate for biological children of their own, the commercialisation of surrogacy is rapidly becoming a fast growing industry in India.

Sociologist and performer Amrita Pande’s thought-provoking and internationally-acclaimed lecture performance Made in India explores the ethical dilemma of a rising market of commercial surrogacy.

Amrita’s PhD research into surrogacy in India forms the basis of this performance as she artfully confronts the issue of how poor women of the developing world are increasingly offering themselves as surrogate mothers in the hope of buying better futures for themselves and their children.

Restaged from the original theatre performance, Made in India – Notes from a Baby Farm, which toured successfully through Scandinavia in 2013, this lecture performance uncovers the hidden stories of the women who sell their bodies to surrogacy for exorbitant payments that are often five times the typical annual wage in India.

In a world driven by supply and demand, there’s a fine line between fulfilling mutual needs and exploiting poor women.

Made in India demonstrates how science and art can enrich each other in dealing with global issues.

Information newspaper has hailed the performance as “an internationally significant performance that will hopefully travel around the world”.