Women and Health

        Health as WHO defines is 'a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely an absence of disease or infirmity'. Have our women got this state ? An introspection of the conditions and plight of the Manipuri women will expose the real scenario.

        The lives of the Manipuri women are governed by certain social taboos, do's and don'ts in their behaviour, food habits, social outlooks etc., thus affecting their health. The impact of traditional way of life on the Manipuri women can be studied at different stages of life.

        During the period of menstruation a Manipuri woman is treated as untouchable. She is prohibited from touching other persons. She has to remain without taking bath. Sex is not encouraged in this period. She is not allowed to cook, even for the family members. From the medical point of view, these restrictions are not really necessary for maintaining the health of women.

        But this taboo is not without any significance in its own way. In the primitive society or in the rural areas, clean tap water was not available. Citizens have to take bath in the water from community ponds. In such conditions, infection during menstrual cycle may occur. To avoid infection, she is debarred from taking bath in such water, or mixing with other clinically ÒuncleanÓ persons. However, at many urban areas, relaxations from this taboo can be observed. Such behaviours are not observed among the tribal womenfolks.

        In the traditional health care system, certain exercises and chores like handpounding of paddy are prescribed for women during pregnancy. The general belief was that, such exercise will create more room in the foetus thereby giving comfort to both the baby and the mother, and facilitating an easy child birth. Actually, it affects the foetus.

        Special dietary supplements during pregnancy is not prescribed. It may sound strange, but pregnant women are advised to eat the red soil from the hills. Perhaps it was because of rich supplement of calcium and iron in these soils.

        Manipuri women are advised not to do hardwork during the post-natal period. In fact, many precautions are taken to lessen the strain in the waist and pelvic areas. Activities like winnowing, sweeping, cleaning floors etc. are avoided during the post-natal period for three months. Such practice is not found among the tribal communities. Some tribal women were found cutting trees, working in the fields, just two three days after child birth. The avoidance of strenuous works in this period is favoured by the medical science. The ligaments around the many joints between various bones of the pelvis are loose during the puerperium.

        During the post-natal period, a special diet is strictly prescribed. The diet is rice, an indigenous fish Meitei Ngamu or Chana punctatus (specially chosen for its low fat content) to be roasted and a soup like preparation of green vegetables and dried fish tasted by Meitei thum, a local salt extracted from the salt-wells. These items provide all the necessary ingredients during the puerperium like protein, iron, vitamins, carbohydrates. etc. She is barred from taking oily items during the period.

        Manipuris do not have the practice of having frequent or divided meals. There are two main meals in a day - a lunch and a dinner which are comparatively heavy from western standards. This practice usually cause high insulin surge in the blood which in turn favour fat accumulation in the body.

        For the people in the valley, the main sources of essential amino acid are fish and milk, which are taken once a week. The supplementation of the deficiency by young persons with pork, mutton or beef etc. is looked upon with disgust by the elders. Among the girls and married women, consumption of meat is discouraged. The overall impact is the malnutrition to some extent.

        Generally women are advised not to take their meal before the husband. She has to wait even if he comes late at night. It is for the husband to first eat his fill, and the women must be satisfied with the remaining food.

        The women vendors of Imphal market mostly come from rural areas, carrying the items for sale, daily. Most of them hawk their wares from dawn to dusk, unaware of the level of pollution in the busy Imphal market, which is marked by its lack of sanitation, clogged drains and unattended garbage all around.

        They eat from the numerous food stalls in the same market swarmed with flies. Some women vendors come with their infants on the back. Besides exposing their young ones to the polluted environment, they are given food and breastfed.

        There are still many areas without the reach of the public health care units. In the far flung areas, untrained Dais (traditional health workers) still conduct child deliveries.

        To cater to the basic medical facilities, the government set up many health care centres in the rural areas. But many of these centres are now literally cow sheds, without the presence of even nurses.

        Pregnant women have to come from many places directly to the referral hospitals bypassing the nearby health centres for check up and delivery. It reflects the failure of the primary health care system. It results in the overcrowding, pollution and confusion in the large hospitals.

        Even some could not get admission to these hospitals. They get their pockets drained in private hospitals which are mushrooming at many places of Manipur, most of which are not yet registered.

        Some women due to ignorance or inadequate health education or taboos of the community to which they belong or out of fear do not take the benefits of family planning programme.

Other articles in the January Feature

The Manipuri Woman

Women in Armed Conflict

The Fear of Rape