“Adequate Healthcare, a Dream for Many Women in Pakistan” by Fatima Amhed

Women empowerment has more than one component: authority to be in charge of their own lives,  access to opportunities and resources, and more autonomy in making political, social, domestic, and  economic decisions. All of these dimensions of female empowerment are interrelated. Therefore, to  bring a transformation in the status of females, all have to be changed. Keeping this in mind, it can be  said that the biggest hurdle in the way of the progress of women in Pakistan is the lack of resources.  The resource of education, the resource of jobs, the resource of political and social awareness, and  the most important, yet the most disregarded, the resource of health care. 

Quoting Martha Plimpton, “Women know the financial, social and physical costs of not having access  to basic health care”. According to a UN report, 48.1 percent of Pakistan’s female population is  deprived of the liberty to make decisions regarding their health care. The most prominent and main  reason for this is the extremely narrow approach to women’s health by our society. Pakistan is a  patriarchal society, where the life of a woman is dictated by the men in her family. This mindset is  particularly enforced in tribal and village communities, where social dogmas and strict adherence to  customs have hampered the ability of women to seek health care. Women are also less likely to be  taken to a hospital. Besides, in these areas, it is vetoed to discuss topics regarding female health. At  the same time, there is a social taboo around a non-pregnant woman or a young girl visiting a  gynaecologist, and this exists, not only in the rural areas where people are inexorable but, to an extent,  in urban areas also where people are so called ‘progressive’. Due to this social stigma, many young  girls are deprived of basic health care, sexual and physical awareness of their body, and later on face  health problems, such as cancer, PCOS, pregnancy issues, and depression. Plus, breast cancer in  Pakistan has become the second leading cause of death amongst women. An estimated 83,000 cases  are annually reported, and over 40,000 deaths. This is also due to the social issues faced by our  country. The major causes of this cancer are obesity, unawareness amongst women regarding breast  health, and unhygienic conditions during breast-feeding. However, in most areas this topic is not  communicated owing to the traditional culture and gender prejudice. As compared to other types of  cancer, breast cancer has higher chances of being completely cured, but only if diagnosed in its early  stages. The way of diagnosis is through screening and breast self-examination. Having said that, sadly,  many women are reluctant to have a breast examination. 

Moreover, another issue facing female health, because of the parochial society, is the lack of female  health workers. In most households, the concept of working women is not approved of and many  consider it as a western and anti-Islamic ideology. Therefore, many female doctors abandon their  careers to obey their family’s customs. Evidently, the ratio of female to male personnel is quite low,  and many female patients do not feel comfortable consulting male doctors. Due to the lack of access  to female health personnel, each year 80 percent of pregnant woman give birth at home in the  presence of unskilled attendants; the aftermath of which more than 375,000 women suffer pregnancy  related complications. 

Additionally, another reason for the poor health of young girls is gender discrimination in the division  of household resources. This is observed in rural areas, mostly in Sindh, where it is almost impossible  to make ends meet and provide food for the family. Thus, there is a gender gap between men and  women regarding food security leading to lower nutrient intake by women, and, ultimately,  malnutrition. Owing to this problem, the majority of women are diagnosed with anaemia, an iron  deficiency disease. 

To sum up, it is apparent that with passing time Pakistan has been tackling the barriers facing women  health care and for this reason precisely, the government has specially trained lady health workers to  help raise health awareness among communities that are deprived of resources such as hospitals and  health care facilities, solely because of social barriers and distance. Although, this is a brilliant initiative  for a bright future of female health care, Pakistan still has a long way to go till its health care for women  improves, and the country can proudly say that it has achieved women empowerment.