By: Suman Abbasi
The International women’s health day was commemorated almost a month ago on 28th May with an intent to recognize, educate and promote the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) concerns of women across the globe. The context of this day makes it imperative enough, that the importance of such day ought to be highlighted from time to time, until and unless things for women are actually ramped up with an improvement in reality.
Chinese leader Mao emphasized and put it decently by saying Women hold up half the sky. He simply meant that the concept of human development, in practice, cannot be achieved without female participation in every sphere. And today, women constitute half of the world’s population. This very half of the global populace undergoes bodily changes in different phases of life from womb till tomb —be it in form of menstruation, pregnancy, breast-feeding or menopause. The changes are immense and the learning curve, even more. Thus, this induces us in engaging deeply in understanding woman body more, only because it is profoundly misunderstood, misaligned, under-researched or even under-rated.
Studies underline that women are more susceptible to health diseases –including heart ailments, cancer, arthritis, anemia, diabetes, osteoporosis, thyroid and the list goes on. Woman, being building block and back bone of any society, her disrupted health poses great threat to public at large. The consequences are not constrained to that one entity. The effects are faced by both women and men. If we’re acquainted with our health system we understand that it is in a miserable state. Pakistan, particularly, with excessive maternal mortality ratio, manifests this claim. The country has highest trident of maternal, fetal and child mortality globally. Breast cancer’s incidence is alarmingly excessive in Pakistan, with even young women being diagnosed with it, in day to day.
Around seventy percent of the health system workers around the world constitute women, yet women as a whole, experience severe problems in gaining access to healthcare centers and services, mainly in low- and middle-profits countries like Pakistan. The contraceptive methods, the idea of right to abortion, reproductive picks and protection from genital mutilation is foreign to women due to social stigmas, myths, insufficient healthcare services, and absence of information. In order to tug off or tackle something, one needs to know the hassle posed. In Pakistan, the conversations circling the women’s health are taboo and hush-hushed that result in unawareness of the problem in the first place. Cultural inhibitions, feelings of shame, lack of information, dependency, and many economic constraints continue to prevent women hygiene or easily accessible healthcare system. The hush-hush factor associated with women’s health results in misinformation and baseless myths being transferred through generations. However, Pakistani society can help promote higher health and hygiene for our women only as soon as it overcomes the taboo and shame related to “lady issues”.
All the while, women apprehend risks, feel pain, and often suffer in silence as they fail to apprehend the hassle stigmatized by using our society. They have been taught to normalize it by not figuring out or considering problem as a ‘problem’. Social stigma in women’s health results in the downplaying of their symptoms, reluctance in seeking treatment or delaying treatment, disgrace or self-doubt, isolation and harassment. The consequences are devastating and endless.
The COVID-19 pandemic have had severe consequences for women’s health according to UN Population Fund. It has disrupted access to SHR health concerns. The spikes in cases of domestic violence and maternal mortality have been recorded because of inadequate access to vital health services and social support —UN report, 2020.
Having mentioned the stigmas and issues circling women’s health, it’s imperative to discuss the viable measures to counter them.
First, media may be a powerful tool to break biases in opposition to women’s health and sell family making plans as a socially and religiously time-honored exercise. It can underline and interestingly inform that how child marriages compromise women’s health, prosperity and empowerment. There is a dire need to empower girls through schooling so that they can make informed choices approximately their reproductive fitness. According to the Pakistan Demographic Health survey (2018-2019), only 10 pc women can make choices concerning their health in Pakistan. Mortality rate during pregnant and childbirth in Pakistan is highest in the entire vicinity and there may be a dire want to reduce it via advocacy, implementation of regulation and advantageous change in social behavior.
Second, mental fitness of a woman is as whole lot vital as her bodily well-being. Noting that women may be in a choice-making role or subversive relying on their situations, regardless of them being in rural or city regions, culturally-sensitive and locally-relevant solution—include increased schooling and attention — especially sensitizing and awareness among guys — can cause improved health searching for behavior in women.
Third, there must be local programs or campaigns which want to be entrenched where schemes could connect human beings. High-end treatments, strategies should be reachable through program recognition, campaigns, and non-public or governmental form, to people dwelling in faraway areas. Heath insurances ought to take delivery of out. There must be change within the healthcare service model where sanitarium OPDs feature between 8 am and 2 pm. This limits women’s access, particularly women that are depending on husbands or male family individuals to visit hospitals. From 8 am to 8 pm or 24/7 is the manner to go as it offers them flexibility.
Fourth, Pakistan being a clergy dominated state requires impetus from this strata deeply. Concerns regarding abortion, family planning, and overall female health are, at times, thwarted by this clique. To overcome the hurdle, it is essential to take them on board. In this way, woman particularly belonging to lower segment, with least literacy and empowerment, can gain support from her father and husband if religious bodies promote women’s health issues generously.
Last and foremost, a robust government commitment and decentralized control, a shift from a pinnacle-down physician-dominated system to a customer-focused model, adoption of a reproductive fitness approach, clear desires and indicators with tracking and assessment systems, participation of non-governmental agencies, local communities, and women in making plans and implementation and emphasis on multispectral linkages. Recommended moves inside the areas of own family planning, maternal health, and lowering morbidity at some point of the lifestyles cycle. As a foundation of program making plans, more statistics, specifically from qualitative research, is urgently wished. Comprehensive policies, opportunistic screening, culturally-relevant measures and ordinary healthcare are needed to improve Pakistani women’s access to healthcare and thereby improving their fine of life. The need for incorporated diagnostics, skilled personnel and cohesive guidelines with a gendered lens careworn is indispensable.
If we open the dialogue right now, we can create opportunities for change. We will be able to change the way we feel or accustomed to feel about these concerns. Change the way we talk or being talked to about it. Change the way we experience it or are allowed to experience in certain way. We would be able to take ownership and better understanding of woman’s body. On the occasion of this very day —challenge to make uncomfortable, comfortable. Vow to stick by mantra of life that we will find a way or make one. The future means no stigma associated with SRH concerning women. This is our future and it begins now. With each one of us, men and women focusing on observations, discussions, awareness and aid to health in general.
The writer is an aspiring student pursing legal studies. She can be reached at [email protected]