Rural women’s woes

One-off health camps are unlikely to bring lasting solutions to systemic neglect of women’s wellbeing.

The health of Nepali women in remote parts of the country continues to be precarious. As the Post reported on February 19, countless women of Achham district in Sudurpaschim Province are suffering from uterine prolapse and yet they don’t have any place to go for treatment. (Uterine prolapse is a medical condition wherein the pelvic floor muscles and ligaments stretch and weaken to a point that they fail to provide enough support to the uterus.) Young as well as elderly women in the remote district are compelled to live for years with the unbearable pain (and complications) associated with the debilitating disorder. For instance, many women of Dhakari Rural Municipality the Post talked to gave harrowing details of their health conditions as even health camps where they get general checkups and primary care have gotten rare.