The article discusses “Status of women’s health in Pakistan. Women health problems in Pakistan. Gender Studies CSS notes. Status of women’s health in Pakistan.”

Status Of Women’s Health in Pakistan

The status of women’s health in Pakistan is deplorable. Majority of Pakistani women’s have no access to basic health facilities. About 48 per cent of them also lack the right to have a say about their health matters particularly in the rural areas of the country (United Nations report 2018). Majority of Basic Health Units (BHU) and Rural Health Centers (RHC) in the country are not functional.

Status Of Women in Education in Pakistan

Pakistani Women’s Health Problems

Some of the major health problems that women’s in the country are facing are given below.

Anaemia in Women: In Pakistan majority of women have anaemia issue during their pregnancy. The disease is very common in lower and lower middle class of the country. It is one of the major causes of maternal death and morbidity in the country. Iron deficient nutrition is responsible for the disease in women.

Pregnancy Problems: The four major obstacles faced by Pakistani women during pregnancy includes

• Delay in decision making whether to consult or not the doctor during complications
• Absence of roads and unavailability of transport
• Grievous conditions of health and emergency centers
• Delay in the recognition of post-natal complications

Women Rights Issue in Pakistan

Majority of government hospitals lack basic tools needed for pregnancy treatment especially in case of complications.

 Un-Safe Abortion Treatment: Unsafe abortion practices that later causes different diseases in women is another major problem faced by majority of women in the country. According to an estimate each year one million abortion cases occurs in the country.

Menopausal Problems: Majority of menopausal women in the country have no access to basic treatment of the disease. Menopausal women living in rural areas face extreme difficulties in carrying out their routine activities with prolapsed uterus and urological problems.

Cancer in Women: Some of the common cancers in Pakistani women include breast, cervical, ovarian and colon cancer. These types of cancer are the leading cause of women’s death in the country. The Department of Health has no screening and treatment facilities to prevent the aforementioned cancers in women.

Women’s Employment in Pakistan

Women’s Mental Health: Mental health problems faced by a common Pakistani woman include anxiety, depression and psychological distress. Main causes of the diseases are sexual violence and domestic violence.

Steps Already Taken To Improve The Status Of Women’s Health in Pakistan

Some of the major steps that Government of Pakistan has already taken to improve health profile of women in the country are given below.

Establishment Of National Committee On Maternal Health: To prioritize maternal health, Government of Pakistan established National Committee on Maternal Health in 1994. The institution for the first time in 2007 conducted survey to assess the causes and rates of death through verbal autopsies. 

Decrease in Maternal Mortality Rate: In line with the State of World Population April 2019 report Pakistan has successfully decreased its maternal mortality rate to 178 per 100,000 pregnancy cases. Ten years ago it was 276 per 100,000 births and in 1995 it was 375 (Dawn Newspaper Report 2019).

Insaf Cards And Benazir Income Support Program: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government during its tenure of 2008 to 2013, launched Benazir Income Support program to help and support economically poor families particularly women of the country. Similarly Pakistan Tehrek i Insaf (PTI) government has recently launched Insaf Card program that contains a good sum of money that can be used for medical purposes.   

Humanitarian Organization: Several local and international humanitarian organizations also works in the country for improving the health conditions of public particularly women.

Conclusion

In Pakistan women have rare access to health facilities. This is either due to the non availability of health facilities in the country or due to other social problems. Though some steps have already been taken by the government to improve health condition but they are considered inadequate.