The health and hygiene of rural women, who make up 60 percent of the population of Pakistan, are destitute. In rural areas, women are suffering due to illiteracy, poverty, lack of sanitation, and good food.
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Reasons for Poor Health and Hygiene Among Rural Women
Women in rural areas suffer due to:
- Overwork
- Harvesting crop
- Looking after family
- Preparing food
Rural women are often maltreated by men, remain unaware of their rights, and are generally weak and frail. They commonly suffer from obesity, tuberculosis, malaria, cholera, high blood pressure, hepatitis B and C, and typhoid due to poor sanitation and inadequate vaccination. Furthermore, contagious diseases, water contamination, and the lack of primary healthcare services contribute to their suffering. Severe poverty and harsh weather conditions further worsen the problems faced by women in rural areas.
The mortality rate is also high in rural women as hospitals and primary health care centers are distant, and health service access is very poor.
Anemia is also common among these women due to low-quality food and inadequate consumption. Pregnancy complications and antenatal postnatal mortalities due to illiteracy cause havoc for siblings and family members.
Breast cancer is also prevalent in rural areas, whereas access to contraceptive medicines is poor. Contraceptive use isn’t common as they are seen as undesirable and thought to be against religion, health, and culture.
Domestic violence is common, and elderly women are often neglected and not treated with love and care. Anxiety and depression are prevalent mental health issues. It is common for rural women to die before the age of 60.
How To Solve These Issues?
The only way to address these issues is to:
- Educate women and men in rural areas
- Provide rural women with proper food and medicines at the right time
- Give them access to primary healthcare
- And encourage the higher class of society to give charities and have a compassionate attitude toward them.
