Empowering women at grassroots enables health needs advocacy: Experts

Srinagar : To encourage interdisciplinary dialogues and promote a nuanced understanding of gender and health issues within the academic community, the Institute of Kashmir Studies (IKS), Kashmir University (KU), Friday organised a workshop here.
The workshop titled, ‘Gender and Health: Interdisciplinary Perspectives’ sought to facilitate a deeper understanding of the complex interplay between gender dynamics and healthcare within academic circles, an official statement issued here read. Experts in reproductive public health, Dr Jashodhara Dasgupta and Co-chair of Men Engage Global Alliance, Dr Abhijit Das, were the designated resource persons for the event.
Elucidating the challenges faced by rural women in accessing healthcare systems, Dr Jashodhara Dasgupta, highlighted the formidable challenges encountered by rural women in accessing healthcare services.
She emphasised the imperative of empowering women at the grassroots level enabling them to advocate for their health needs and fostering accountability through constructive dialogue with health officials and policymakers,” the statement read.
Dr Abhijit Das, emphasised the intrinsic link between healthcare practices and socio-cultural norms, emphasising the necessity for healthcare professionals to adopt an interdisciplinary approach, akin to that of anthropologists and sociologists, in understanding people’s realities, an official spokesperson said in the statement.
He emphasised the role of understanding people’s realities, requiring doctors to adopt an interdisciplinary approach akin to that of an amateur anthropologist and sociologist.
Earlier, in her inaugural address, Director, IKS, Prof Aaliya Ahmed, underscored the significance of gender and health research within the realm of social sciences.
Workshop Coordinator, Dr Humaira Showkat, while commending the contributions of the speakers towards enhancing healthcare accessibility across India also shed light on the PG and PhD programmes IKS offers.
Following the talks, an interactive session allowed PhD scholars and MA students (PG Anthropology Programme) at IKS to delve deeper into the discourse with the experts.