UNDERSTANDING WELLBEING THROUGH GENDER

Compiled by Oviya. E

 

      This webinar on Understanding well being through gender is presented by Empower people to educate the audience about the relationship between health and gender. Ms. Ayushi Gandhi, a social worker explains this and Ms. Khayati joins the webinar as a panelist.

      Ms. Ayushi describes sex as a biological concept and gender as a sociological concept. Man is always considered as aggressive and women as submissive. According to WHO, mental health is defined as the state of well-being in which every individual realizes his / her own potential can cope with normal stresses of life, and work productively and fruitfully to make a contribution to his/her community.

      Health is a state of complete physical, mental, social well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

      When we look out for a life cycle, we always see a man denoted there whereas a woman’s life cycle is always related to reproduction. Women face many health issues that result in due malnutrition, improper sanitation, and the absence of proper information.

        According to internationally published statistics, depression, anxiety, personality disorder are seen more in women. In rural areas, doctors are often male and this results in discomfort in the minds of women living there. Caste and social status impact people’s accessibility to resources.

   Development is necessary to improve the condition of women. Proper nutrition, infrastructure, presence of women's voices at the institutional and organizational levels are important places to bring in development.

     Ms. Khayati expresses her dissatisfaction  by stating the following:

·        NO COMFORT TO EXPRESS ABOUT REPRODUCTIVE ISSUES.

·        FEAR OF RESTRICTION

·        UNEMPLOYMENT IS CONSIDERED A REASON FOR VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN.

·        FEAR TO ENTER SOCIAL MEDIA.

Ms.Ayushi mentions human trafficking that threatens both genders in social media. She highlights the need to put an end to unsafe abortions and infertility and the violence against women associated with it. She also brings to our notice how religion plays an important role in societal issues.

   To put an end to these issues, conversation at the family level should occur at ease. At the individual level, we must point out the issues rather than normalizing them.