A physician by training from Government Medical College in Mysore, Dr. Madhivanan has a MPH and PhD in Epidemiology from the University of California, Berkeley, USA. She completed her post-doctoral training in 2010. She is the Director of the Public Health Research Institute of India (PHRII) and is also the Director of the Global Health Equity Scholars (GHES) Training Program in collaboration with Stanford, Yale, and the University of California, Berkeley. Her work has focused on disadvantaged populations, elucidating the dynamics of poverty, gender, and the environmental determinants of health, in particular the impact on women and children living in rural communities. She established a clinic in Mysore, India in 2005 while completing her PhD dissertation. For over a decade, the PHRII/Prerana Women’s Health Initiative has delivered low-cost, high-quality reproductive health services to 24,000 low-income women living in Mysore District. On the other hand, Dr. Kiranmayee Muralidhar is a Research Physician at the Public Health Research Institute of India with interest and experience in epidemiology, aging, women’s health, and social determinants of health

As stated in my pre-departure critique, women’s health was one of the subjects that I wanted to explore during my trip to India. I was not disappointed as the Public Health Research Institute of India’s core value is to serve women in India, more precisely in Mysore, Karnakata. It was mind-blowing to witness the amazing work they are doing on the ground with educating women on cervical cancer, family planning, and reproductive health as well as bringing their services such as mobile medical clinics in their villages.

The health of women in India is directly related to their status in the society. The expectations of women in their families are high as they are sometimes viewed as financial burdens. As I learned in the different lectures I had while in India, women eat last and less nutritious food in their families. This speaks a lot of how the society perceives women and their roles. I also learned that in order to get to the hospital, they need to finish all of the duties at home and need permission for their husbands. Furthermore, according to the National Family Health Survey, few pregnant women receive prenatal care. However, this varies greatly by the education level of the women and where they live. Women in rural village areas like the one I met are less likely to receive pre-natal healthcare than the ones who live in the city (urban areas). To go back to the cervical cancer knowledge, women in India are reluctant to do the screening. That’s why the doctors need to ask if they are married in order to proceed. This subject is as taboo as stated in India.

Like a lot of cultures in the world, India has adopted the social norms and values of the patriarchy. The values of women are neatly inferior to the men due to their educational and economic level. This allows a lot of institutions to undervalue women’s rights. Another subject I think is important to address is the role of the asha workers in the Indian society. Most of these asha workers are women, and while taking care of the home (their own families), they are also called to provide help and take care of people in their villages as well. I think this constitutes another charge on these women who have responsibilities both in and outside of their homes. This constitute a lot of pressure on the women who most of the time do not get paid for their services. When we talk about health, we sometimes tend to forget one of its aspects: mental health. This is therefore one of the subjects that is very taboo in the Indian society. Some of the common mental disorders are mental health and depression. Researchers find out that depression is the most common mental disorder in women and that is due to gender-based roles and stressors.

There is a lot more to consider when talking about women’s health care in India: the caste system, socio-economic situation, education, gender-based roles, politics of the country, religion, and much more.