While having health issues is nothing to be ashamed of, a recent survey found that most women don’t feel comfortable revealing the same. The Indian Women’s Health Report 2021 analysed data from 1,000 female participants in the ages between 25 and 55 years.
According to the study, around 84 per cent of working women were victims of period-related taboos. 66 per cent of women believed having endometriosis reduce their chances of finding a husband. A whopping 90 per cent of the participants found it hard to balance personal and professional obligations (creating a high-stress lifestyle). And around 86 per cent of women saw their female peers stop working, with a majority of them due to health reasons.
Namita Thapar, the executive director of Emcure Pharmaceuticals, explained, “Despite the progress, we have made in the corporate sector for involving women in the workforce, issues related to women’s health are still associated with irrational taboos. The findings of our study reveal the persistence of misperceptions and illogical societal taboos related to women’s health issues affecting even India’s white-collar women across sectors.”
80 per cent of working women believed that their male colleagues weren’t sensitive to their health issues. And even though half of the participants were diagnosed with or know someone who had infertility issues and breast cancer, women were still hesitant to talk about it due to social taboo.
“The study indicates that besides the health issues, there are multiple professional and societal stereotypes women are exposed to, which can lead to stigmatisation, affecting their professional performance. Ignorance, unawareness and lack of acceptance will only make these issues more difficult to diagnose and resolve. As a responsible society, it is imperative to make these issues acceptable and mainstream. Women have strong voices and they must speak up more often about these important issues,” Thapar said.
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