We inhabit a country where women's health is often neglected. Yes, the disparity exists in healthcare too. Multiple factors contribute to it, lack of education, unawareness, dependency on men, social customs, and poverty to name a few. As a result, women undergo different health ailments throughout their life which puts their life at risk.
While it seems that there isn't really a brighter side in terms of women’s health, many organisations have been working to elevate women's health and livelihood in the country. One among them is the Desai Foundation Trust. The NGO has been working dedicatedly towards empowering women and children through community programming for 25 years now.
This week, for HZ Women Of The Month, the President of the Desai Foundation, Megha Desai joined us for a quick chat. During the interaction, we spoke about the ignored women's health issues, the need to prioritise health and a lot more. Excerpts -
Silence Contributes To Women’s Neglected Health
We asked President of the Desai Foundation, Megha Desai to share her take on the reasons that contribute to women’s neglected health in India. She said, "First, it's the silence, there is a culture of women not complaining, not supporting one another about their issues and what's happening around. However, that not only happens in India, but in the US too." She further shared a recent incident where some of her friends who are in their 40s and 50s weren't aware that they were suffering from endometriosis. "I don't think it's a uniquely Indian thing, it is a global issue. I think it is pervasive in Indian culture. The silence then leads to people not wanting to learn to some sort of false fear or a false sense of permission that they require to learn about health or about their bodies."
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She further shared that a lot of funds go into building healthcare in urban areas, people don't want to build hospitals in rural areas where their name is not going to be seen. Having the taxes and investments that are required in communities to provide healthcare too contributes to women's neglected health.
Why Women Need To Prioritise Their Health?
Further, she shared that it is important that women begin to prioritise their health. She said, “The reason why women need to prioritise their health is that women lift and hold the community. Without holding the community, being the backbone of our family, and raising our children, generational knowledge won’t be passed on. It will further affect our children and our coming generations. This makes it basic why women should focus on their health.”
“Hygiene is difficult to attain in a place where you don’t have soap or running water or the basic facilities. I will give you a very real example. People don’t know that sunlight is actually a disinfectant, it has an impact on our health in different ways. If you don’t know to dry your menstrual rag in the sun so that it fully dries and instead you cover it with your saree because you are ashamed of the stain, it ends up being slightly damp and then you put it in your cupboard which makes it a breeding pool for the bacteria. It is important to realise that your reproductive health is connected to your mental health to your overall health,” she added.
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