Submission of papers for Srotaswini Vol. VII is closed. No further submissions later than 15/11/2023 shall be entertained.

 TOWARDS WELLNESS: A MULTI-DISCIPLINARY APPROACH ON WOMEN’S HEALTH

Women today, likened to the image of heroines in the capacity of scientists, engineers, firefighters, inventors, police officers, entrepreneurs, astronauts, authors, educators or in any other position may not surprise us anymore. Amidst the success and accolades, achievements and fair recognition; women still are not able to liberate themselves from the so called “care roles” that are disproportionately socially conditioned. While the contemporary society identifies them as essential care-givers, women’s health in isolation has attracted great attention in the recent times. In this, one can understand women’s health as a discursive field which is often defined by others rather than themselves. In a larger context, one may start by accepting the fact that the health of women will necessarily differ from that of men in various or unique ways and therefore is largely emphasized as women’s health. This will then take us closer to several factors, dimensions and aspects of women’s health problems situated in much larger social, cultural and political forces that shape as well as constrain women’s lives in varying degrees. For this, an examination of macrostructures- from patriarchy to globalization, poverty and political despotism can probably be treated as the sine qua non of a critical study.

As we freely assume that the context matters and differs, an eye on the intersections of race, class, gender and culture that influence women’s health, the cultural constructs of women’s bodies and their lives can become an important focus for study. There remains a high tendency in developing multiple perspectives on women when it concerns health and its impact on women. An observer can determine how very often the life of a woman is synonymous with the disadvantaged noting the inequities among men and women in provisioning of health services and the lack of assurance of quality care for women. Globally, women are in charge of cooking and women paired with kitchen are often perceived as a culturally expected mode of behavior. The task here is to try relating domestic food and dietary practices and also to strike a fine balance between food system and nutrition security for women. Nutritional status of women may not impress us as much as calling Indian traditional foods as functional foods. Understanding healthcare in India today has become severely challenged by women’s increasing susceptibility to chronic lifestyle conditions at several stages of life- whether single or married. There seems a never-ending replication of the view of women as reproducers which further accentuates women as reproducers alone. And among the poor sections, unjust living conditions, institutional practices that militate against women’s wellbeing as ordeals on regular basis are gradually accepted as the way of life itself.

The alternative view, women’s health activism and resistance over gender hierarchies built through societies’ disciplinary mechanisms may take a higher stand. This again is evident for the popularity of woman-based approach to reproductive health at present. For instance, religious abstractions or the right to life in case of abortions are settled without much conflict. Much against the cultural construction of women’s bodies, relative permissive over the use of donor gametes, surrogacy, single and lesbian motherhood, these may imply an assertion of rights over their bodies. Furthermore, production of health by women at home, midwifery and preparation of herbal and ayurvedic medicines demote increasing biomedical hegemony over women’s health. They are not only meant for the poor but a cure when biomedicine is rather seen as unappealing or failing.

The volume VII of Srotaswini will provide an insight over various issues related to women’s mental, physical and spiritual health and the ways/strategies to deal with such matters. Considering the above facts, original research and review articles are invited in the following areas-

• Concern about women’s health in society
• Health literacy among women
• Women’s health and literature
• Role of women in promoting better family health
• Domestic violence and women
• Family planning and women
• Nutrition in women: Awareness and manifestation
• Mass media and promotion of women’s health
• Women and substance abuse
• Health care during pregnancy and menopausal health issues
• Gender discrimination and women’s mental and physical health
• Current perspective of use of contraceptive and status of women in India
• Postpartum health in women
• Issues related to mental stress in women
• Laws and ethics related to women’s health
• Women’s health and indigenous traditional knowledge
• Indigenous food/tribal food culture and health stability
• Health hazards (physical & mental) among sex workers
• Any other topic related to status of women’s health in NE India