Where are Telangana States’ iron ladies?

A recent collection of research papers published as a book, titled: Telangana Social Development Report 2018: Gender, Access and Well-Being, edited by noted human rights activist Kalpana Kannabiran, explores various health issues plaguing Telangana and its people. Ajay Moses takes a broad look at the aspects covered in the book...

Here’s why women’s labour goes unnoticed

Statistics might suggest that married women in Telangana are not participating in the labour force, however one needs to look a little deeper to know the full truth. According to a report titled ‘Female labour force participation and conditions of work in Telangana’, women in the state participate in work which is mostly unpaid or unaccounted for. These works include spinning and weaving, carpentry, tailoring and dairy and poultry related work - all informal in nature.

Unsurprisingly, the problem is much more evident in rural Telangana where the women participation in the labour market has seen a fall from 79 per cent in 2004-05 to 68 per cent in 2011-12. The corresponding figures in urban Telangana stood at 29.6 per cent in 2004 - 2005 and 20.5 in 2011 - 2012.

An overwhelming majority, 94 per cent of women in Telangana, say that they are generally responsible at their homes for domestic duties and chores. Contrary to popular belief that social pressure forces them into staying at home for the chores, only 1.7 per cent in rural and 4.5 per cent in urban area, blame ‘social reasons’.

As part of the survey, the women were also asked whether they were willing to be engaged in informal work at home, if given the opportunity, in addition to existing domestic chores. Only 17 per cent in rural areas, 16 per cent in urban areas, said that they were willing to work if afforded the opportunity.

The paper observes that culture and religion could offer an explanation for the withdrawal of married women from the labour market. “It is our hope that the state of Telangana will conduct a survey to across the state to capture the dimension and reasons for such drastic declines in labour force participation among married women in the state,” the paper observed.

‘The Incredible bulk’ of issues

Thanks to changes in the way we live in cities - like fluctuating work timings, eating and sleeping habits, and lack of physical activity - lifestyle diseases are increasing at an alarming rate. The prevalence of diseases like hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, chest pain, breathlessness, stroke/hemiplegia/onset of weakness, bronchial asthma, obesity and cancer - that are usually categorised as lifestyle diseases - is 51.4 per cent in urban areas compared to 21.8 per cent in rural areas. In fact, the prevalence of such lifestyle diseases (32.9%) in higher in Telangana compared to national average (27.7%). 

Saving private hospitals
People in Telangana trust private hospitals more than their government peers. While 57.7 per cent men preferred public hospitals to private ones, less than half the women felt the same way. Only 40.8 per cent women wanted to be treated in a government hospital. Interestingly, 97 per cent of rural people surveyed in the State preferred allopathy to other medical systems like homoeopathy. The national average is much less at 89.6 per cent.   

Contrary to popular belief that social pressure forces them into staying at home for the chores, only 1.7 per cent in rural and 4.5 per cent in urban areas, blame ‘social reasons’

What is anaemia?
Anaemia results from a lack of red blood cells or dysfunctional red blood cells in the body. This leads to reduced oxygen flow to the body’s organs. Symptoms may include fatigue, skin pallor, shortness of breath, light-headedness, dizziness or a fast heartbeat. Treatment depends on the underlying diagnosis