Relevance of gender-sensitive policies and general health indicators to compare the status of South Asian women's health - PubMed (original) (raw)
Review
Relevance of gender-sensitive policies and general health indicators to compare the status of South Asian women's health
Roopan Gill et al. Womens Health Issues. 2011 Jan-Feb.
Abstract
Background: despite goals for gender equity in South Asia, the relationship between gender-sensitive policies and the empowerment of women is complex and requires an analysis of how policies align with a broad set of social, cultural, political, and economic indicators that relate to women's health.
Methods: through a review of four documents under the umbrella of the World Health Organization and the United Nations, a list of 17 gender-sensitive policy and 17 general health indicators was generated with a focus on health, education, economic, and political empowerment and violence against women. A series of policy documents and international and national databases that are accessible in the public domain were the major tools used to find supporting documentation to address women's health outcomes in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
Results: all five South Asian countries had several gender-sensitive policies that were measurable by indicators that contribute to health. Examination of political and economic status, birth sex ratios, human trafficking, illiteracy rates, maternal mortality rates, contraception prevalence, fertility rates, knowledge of HIV/AIDS prevention, access to skilled birth attendants, and microfinance show that large gender inequities still prevail despite the presence of gender-sensitive policies.
Conclusion: in many cases, the presence of gender-sensitive policies did not reflect the realization of gender equity over a wide range of indicators. Although the economic, political, social, and cultural climates of the five countries may differ, the integration of women's needs into the formulation, implementation, and monitoring of policies is a universal necessity to achieve positive outcomes.
2011 Jacobs Institute of Women's Health. Published by Elsevier Inc.
Similar articles
- Gender equity and health: evaluating the impact of Millennium Development Goal Three on women's health in South Asia.
Shannon GD, Im DD, Katzelnick L, Franco OH. Shannon GD, et al. Women Health. 2013;53(3):217-43. doi: 10.1080/03630242.2013.767300. Women Health. 2013. PMID: 23705756 - Women -- education and empowerment.
[No authors listed] [No authors listed] JOICFP News. 1997 Jan;(271):7. JOICFP News. 1997. PMID: 12292052 - Higher education and the economic and social empowerment of women -- the Asian experience.
Jayaweera S. Jayaweera S. Compare. 1997 Oct;27(3):245-61. doi: 10.1080/0305792970270302. Compare. 1997. PMID: 12348990 - The politics of women's health: setting a global agenda.
Doyal L. Doyal L. Int J Health Serv. 1996;26(1):47-65. doi: 10.2190/U7PN-B17E-JQBL-MRG4. Int J Health Serv. 1996. PMID: 8932601 Review.
Cited by
- Reorienting health systems towards Primary Health Care in South Asia.
Perera S, Ramani S, Joarder T, Shukla RS, Zaidi S, Wellappuli N, Ahmed SM, Neupane D, Prinja S, Amatya A, Rao KD. Perera S, et al. Lancet Reg Health Southeast Asia. 2024 Aug 20;28:100466. doi: 10.1016/j.lansea.2024.100466. eCollection 2024 Sep. Lancet Reg Health Southeast Asia. 2024. PMID: 39301269 Free PMC article. Review. - Making the health system work for over 25 million births annually: drivers of the notable decline in maternal and newborn mortality in India.
Bhushan H, Ram U, Scott K, Blanchard AK, Kumar P, Agarwal R, Washington R, Ramesh BM; India Exemplars MNH study team. Bhushan H, et al. BMJ Glob Health. 2024 May 6;9(Suppl 2):e011411. doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2022-011411. BMJ Glob Health. 2024. PMID: 38770806 Free PMC article. - Gender and non-communicable diseases in Mexico: a political mapping and stakeholder analysis.
Orozco-Núñez E, Ojeda-Arroyo E, Cerecer-Ortiz N, Guerrero-López CM, Ramírez-Pérez BM, Heredia-Pi I, Allen-Leigh B, Feeny E, Serván-Mori E. Orozco-Núñez E, et al. Health Res Policy Syst. 2024 Apr 11;22(1):46. doi: 10.1186/s12961-024-01125-7. Health Res Policy Syst. 2024. PMID: 38605301 Free PMC article. - The hidden gender-based violence and associated factors among marginalised women in Southern Ethiopia.
Kassa ZY, Hadra N, Hailu D. Kassa ZY, et al. J Migr Health. 2023 Jan 23;7:100154. doi: 10.1016/j.jmh.2023.100154. eCollection 2023. J Migr Health. 2023. PMID: 36794095 Free PMC article. - Physical Violence and Associated Factors among Women of Reproductive Age in Gedeo Zone, Southern Ethiopia.
Kassa ZY, Abeje A, Ashegu T, Hadra N. Kassa ZY, et al. Ethiop J Health Sci. 2021 Sep;31(5):955-962. doi: 10.4314/ejhs.v31i5.6. Ethiop J Health Sci. 2021. PMID: 35221611 Free PMC article.
Publication types
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources