SAHELI: THE DAWN OF RURAL WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

SAHELI: THE DAWN OF RURAL WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

(ArdraMariet Jose, Aswathi S, Asifa.R Pharm D intern)

A good healthy society doesn’t automatically emerge on its own and stands firm. It needs to be emerged and for that, women play a pivotal role. Being a woman has a significant impact on health, due to both biological and gender-related differences. The physical, mental and sexual health of women and girls is of particular concern because, in many societies, they face severe restrictions due to several discriminations rooted in socio-cultural factors. While health care disparities affect women in every community, barriers to care for rural women are exceptionally complex. Women in rural areas are known to experience health disparities with regard to sexual and reproductive health services, and many other key primary care areas. Reproductive morbidities are quite common among rural women. But due to the inhibition to share their sexual health concerns with a doctor, these problems remain untreated and finally leads to several complicated diseases which might even end up in their death.

Aiming to put in the services of clinical pharmacists in educating women on the program of Family Planning and evaluation of Reproductive Morbidity (FP&RM), we decided to introduce a Scheme togive Awareness, Help and Empower Ladies in India – SAHELI. The purpose of this scheme was to evaluate the rural women’s knowledge, attitude and practice of family planning and examined the drugs or pills they use, contraceptive agents they employ and assess their reproductive morbidity. We visited the rural areas and hold awareness classes to the village women community about family planning and reproductive morbidity, and gave information about the pills or contraceptives they use.

Around160 women belonging to various rural areas were evaluated during the first phase of SAHELI. They were later given proper guidance and awareness on the concepts of FP & RM. We carried out these activities in association with the Department of Pharmacy Practice of Al-Shifa College of Pharmacy, Edakkara village panchayat and the primary health centre (PHC) at the village.

As a part of introduction of SAHELI, we conducted a campaign at Pathirippadam government lower primary school in the village. Pharmacists working in publicand private sectors and other health workers were involved in the campaign.Most of the women folk at the village were unaware about various reproductive diseases and uses of contraceptive pills, and they showed a great deal of interest to know moreabout FP&RM. Besides, they were eager to understand the various family planning techniques. Their enthusiasm and satisfaction were evident from their responses. And all of this definitely helps touplift our profession from product oriented to patient oriented one.

The department of pharmacy practice at Al Shifa College of Pharmacy has decided to introduce the scheme in each village panchayat with the help of the local bodies andhealth centers. We hope that SAHELI can make healthy changes in the lives of the rural women with the involvement of the pharmacist community.We strongly believe that “there is nothing powerful than an idea whose time has come” as said by Victor Hugo and thus we hope to bring some healthy changes in the lives of rural women and thereby lighting up their lives with the help of SAHELI.