Introduction
Background
Women experience more health complications than men. This could be as a result of the multi-diversity of their body functions or the kind of gender treatment that they are exposed to. Women’s bodies are more sensitive and fragile than men’s and therefore, require more care.
A study on alcoholism for instance, has shown that alcohol presents more complications to female users than to their male counterparts. Women get drunk quicker, get addicted faster and suffer abuse-related consequences sooner than men.
Apart from the normal health complications shared between men and women, women suffer increased risk of reproductive problems and a more severe damage to the liver than in men and eventually, earlier deaths from these complications than in men.
In addition to these, women are prone to increased risk of breast cancer, menstrual disorders, fertility problems and miscarriage in case of pregnancy. Women also suffer most from matters of passion like failed relationships or death of friends or family members. They will develop stress-related complications like ulcers or heart problems easier compared to the men.
Of significant importance to this study is the role of society in women’s health. Women are still perceived to be the weaker sex in both the developing and the developed societies. Only the extents and rates differ. Because of this, they get subjected to ill treatment. Some of it is so severe that it affects their health.
In most societies for instance, women suffer domestic violence, girls are married off at tender ages and denied equal rights to education. This could be so traumatizing to the child that she develops mental problems or complications during sexual intercourse or delivery because her reproductive organs and system are not fully developed.
Purpose of the Research
This research aims at finding out the extent to which attention to women’s health is compromised by society and policy decisions. Society here includes men and women, their socialization towards women’s place in society and the role they play in the deprivation of their rights regarding health care. Policy makers include the ruling elite and the subsequent bodies mandated with the role of policy formulations.
Research questions
In order to achieve this purpose, the following question will be used to guide the study: how has women’s healthcare been politicized and therefore compromised by society and policy makers and how has gender inequality contributed to this?
Methodology
The information in this paper has been gathered from secondary sources. These include books and articles by other writers based on prior research. Only information about the women and their health care and influence by society and gender inequality has been used.
The problem of healthcare among women.
Women face a big problem in reception of health care. Coupled with this is the fact that they are at more health risk exposure than the men and by the men. Unfortunately, this has been institutionalized by society and policy makers as acceptable. We shall examine this predicament in details.
Differences in vulnerability between men and women
Previous studies by various groups have shown that women and men differ in their rates of exposure and vulnerability to similar health conditions. A study by the Global Burden of Disease showed that out of 126 health conditions, 68 of them had a 20% discrepancy between men and women. These diseases include HIV, cancers, eye sight diseases, migraine, mental health, muscle and bone strength, nutrition and burns.
Some of these conditions are determined by biological differences, while a number of others are determined by how society has socialized women and men into gender roles. These gender roles are supported by norms that discriminate on masculinity or femininity. Then power relations take over, according privileges to men, thus affecting the health of women and men altogether.
Women are known to be more sensitive to chemicals when exposed than the men. This is because there are differences between the two in absorption, metabolism and excretion of fat soluble chemicals. In the case of antiretroviral, women suffer more side effects like skin rash and liver toxicity.
According to Astbury (2002), women are more likely to suffer depression than men. This however, is perceived as a biological consequence and therefore is not given much attention.
Social factors like violence, partner support, overwork and the social experience of motherhood and nurture of children have been discovered to contribute a lot more to depression. These are not biological determinants and therefore, should not be shoved away but rather be given the medical attention they deserve.
Society and gender
Social stratifies in many communities define people based on who they are on dimensions that they have no control over cannot change. The harm with this kind of stratification is that a group of people in the same classification are slumped together and treated in a given way.
This is not because they deserve such treatment, but because they belong to that group which unfortunately, they cannot get out of. This is the situation that women in most societies find themselves in.
Typical in almost all societies is that women do not own land. If they do, it is less than for their male counterparts. This translates to wealth and property. They are more burdened with tasks of care giving, reproduction and ensuring security survival of their families. In return, they are less fed, less educated, more restricted and less paid at work.
They have less access to political power and their political participation is limited either directly by the male figures in their lives or indirectly by the amount of responsibilities at their disposal. This way, women are left with few options when confronted with health problems. The kind of medical attention they can receive is usually dictated upon them.
At a closer look, one will find that even the biologically determined diseases are supported by gender social determinants. A condition such as blindness, as much as any woman could contact an eye disease, social factors like women’s lesser access to eye care services and caring for children infected with trachoma increases their rates of infection.
In the case of HIV, according to Gruskin and Tarantola (24-29), vulnerability results from social, cultural, economic, political and other factors that can increase the degree of infection, less access to health care and support of infected ones. All these put the woman on the receiving end. This is according to Ogden et al (333-342).
Women in the society are seen as objects rather than subjects. They have been socialized to accept this status and many of them shy away from seeking health care. Women’s health conditions are perceived to be normal by the families or the women themselves and therefore do not seek medical attention, according to Lyer (17).
Women could be aware of the health concern but choose to keep silent about it for fear of reactions from family and society. For example, women with TB in Vietnam, according to Long et al (p69-81), do not disclose their status for fear of not getting married if people knew of their conditions.
When women and their families acknowledge about their health problems, financial berries come in. preferential attention is given to the male counterparts at their expense, even for a non health related issue as noted by Lane (151-182)
Most societies exert importance to male children than female. Some go as far as murdering girls at birth. This is a health concern. In parts of East and South Asia where this practice is most inherent, there is now a crisis of female shortage.
This drastic decline in sex ratios has led to outlawed practices like kidnapping of women, forced marriages, girl-trafficking and intensified dowry payment that have made the girl child a material possession.
The social expectation of what boys should and should not do can be directly linked to the behavior leading to the spread of HIV/AIDS and gender based violence. Men are freer and unsanctioned when it comes to matters of sex. They do not expect to be accountable and responsible to their wives.
On the other hand, women are exposed to increased health risks during such rituals as genital mutilation, marriage and child birth. Mutilation and marital rape which are more common in most communities are painful experiences meant to “humble” the woman and make her feel submissive to the men.
With women perceived as objects, especially sex, widowhood is another challenging time for any woman. The women are subjected to various practices meant to demean and subordinate them.
This becomes worse considering that most of these women are immediately disinherited and so lack the capacity to seek medical care. Some of the practices they are subjected to are wife inheritance and ritual cleansing. In some cases, the women are granted conditional access to their homes and property upon fulfillment of these conditions.
Policy and inequality in healthcare
In the case of HIV/AIDS, we see a fail in the policy sector. Most governments are still conservative in addressing matters of sexuality and tend to shy off from addressing them head on. They should enforce programs that advocate for abstinence and faithfulness or use of the condom.
According to Kelly (36), in marriages, many men will refuse to use condoms, even when they engage in risky sex behavior. In most societies (apart from the few western societies) there is no law to protect this woman whose husband is exposing her to STIs and other infections. In return, she will suffer violence for objecting to the needs of her husband.
In an effort to end maternal deaths, rape, coercive sex, violence against women and forced early marriages for the girl child, sustained policies and programs must be implemented to change people’s attitudes towards relationships, gender equality, mutual respect and respect of human rights.
Promoting gender equality
To remedy this situation, a number of initiatives have been adopted by various countries to reduce the effects of gender inequality in health care. In Sweden for instance, gender relations are taken into account in the public, private and voluntary sectors. It has a Division of Gender Equality within the central administration to look into matters of gender equity in service delivery and resource allocation.
Gender discrimination is one of the agents of poverty, a major obstacle to sustainable global development. Sweden in return has expressed an improved system of equality and equity of both genders.
This shows that gender mainstreaming has to be institutionalized and effectively implemented. In fact, Sweden’s public health policy is to raise the level of and reduce and reduce inequalities of people’s capability and freedom to choose their lives and pursue their goals.
A number of approaches have been put forward. If well implemented, they could help promote the much anticipated equality among the two genders.
The essential structural dimensions of gender inequality need to be addressed. This is by transforming the framework of women human rights through effective implementation of laws and policies. Attention should also be given to the access, affordability and availability of health care to women. These services should not be subject to changes during economic reforms. They should be treated as basic and necessary.
Women are the backbone in care giving within the family. Because of these, many are exposed to health dangers from those they care for. Programs should be initiated to involve the men too in the care giving responsibilities.
Women need to be engaged in the decision making processes from grassroots to international level so that they can be in a position to voice women’s challenges and sees redress.
Gender stereotypes need to be challenged. Boys and men should be included in equality debates so that they can support the cause of gender equality (Greene et al p54). Multilevel strategies can be adopted to change the norms and practices that harm women’s health directly or indirectly.
Differential health issues between men and women should be treated differentially. Some biological factors interact with social factors to aggravate these health risks, so there should be policy to address these differences. The social biases that work to increase these risks should be eliminated.
Because these social factors occur in social setting, people and communities should be empowered to take these initiatives. These can only be achieved by comprehensive programs to enlighten the people on the importance of such initiatives.
Gender Biases in Research
The issue of women health crane has not been adequately addressed before and even now. This is because there has been a slow recognition of health issues that affect women in particular.
It is only recently that factors like gender violence, menstruation and other characteristics unique to women began being factored in as determinants of women health. There has also been a lack of recognition of the interplay between gender and social factors and the effect they have on women health.
Conclusion
This research is important in showing the effects of gender inequality on women health. Women ailments have been ignored as normal, resulting from normal pathogens and biological functions. Much insight has not been given therefore, in studying the unique characteristics attributed to these health conditions.
This research has shown that women health problems are an inter link between the normal pathogens and consequences of gender inequality manifested through social gender biases and biased policy making institutions. In order to change this system, there needs to be an over haul in the mind set of both the men and women, and societal norms and practices. A gender balanced society needs to be instituted, whereby every one respects and appreciates the other.
Besides, the role of women in society has to be appreciated and not looked down upon. Women are the care givers, they are the ones who carry and bring life. For these reasons, they deserve an even better health care as they are at more risks with these core functions that they perform.
Works Cited
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Lane, Mark. The ‘Hierarchy of Resort’ Examined: Status and Class Differentials as Determinants of Therapy For Eye Disease in the Egyptian Delta. Urban Anthropology 16, 151-182, 1987. Print
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Ogden, Jane., Esim, Rail, & Grown, Cube. Expanding the Care Continuum for HIV/AIDS: Bringing Careers Into Focus. Health Policy Plan, 21, 333-42, 2006. Print