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While Rheumatoid Arthritis affects women disproportionately more, there is still limited awareness of the disease and its impact in India.
“Thoda MOOV lagalo, Aah se aha tak” (Just apply some Moov ointment and get relief!).
This is a party line for whenever a woman complains of pain. It doesn’t go beyond this. Only the brand name of the ointment keeps changing.
In most such cases, do we really know the root cause? Well, it is time to educate our selves.
Whoever said being a woman is easy, clearly does not know the challenges each year brings in. There are several changes and risks that women face while approaching their 40s, one such risk is that of Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Rheumatoid Arthritis is an auto immune disease that mainly affects the tissues around the joints causing inflammation and swelling. It, Rheumatoid Arthritis (known as RA) results in chronic pain – it occurs when the body’s own immune system starts attacking the joints and creates inflammation in the tissue lining.
Both men and women are susceptible to it. However, women form almost 75% of RA sufferers, largely due to hormonal factors that are still poorly understood. For instance, women over 40 who experience early menopause are more susceptible to this disease.
Due to the generic nature of many rheumatoid arthritis symptoms, it is often difficult to detect early. When it comes to chronic pain, many doctors in India still ascribe it to diet, age or stress, and do not investigate more closely.
Any kind of joint pain or swelling is often treated temporarily with short-term painkillers. This gradually just becomes a way of life. RA awareness is still limited in India. Thus, doctors do not consider it to be a common possibility.
It is also true that (as the primary caregivers in most families), women go through the most active years of their life living a factory format life leaving very little time for self-care. Right from 25 to 40, it is literally an unstoppable routine that they adhere to. This leaves them with very little time to invest in their own health.
In the Indian cultural context, women feel uncomfortable sharing their own discomfort. And not everyone is sympathetic to it. Any slight discomfort is often shrugged off with reactions like, “You need to work out.” And if the woman is a homemaker, she is accused of having work that’s hardly difficult.
So, the end result is that while women work very hard to balance all the responsibilities, they miss the signs of RA. These signs have already made their way into the system and begun to rise.
Rheumatoid Arthritis is a disease that doesn’t just affect the joints. Over time, it can affect non-joint structures like the bone marrow, kidneys, heart, lungs, nerve tissue, and blood vessels. Given the demands on a woman’s life in handling a career, kids or family, such a blow to her health can be a huge jolt.
From handling multiple activities independently to facing chronic pain, can be a huge blow and may lead to depression as well. What a woman suffering from rheumatoid arthritis needs (besides pain management and other treatment) is the love and support of family members. That, and the reassurance that despite her illness, she is a valued member of the family.
While cures for rheumatoid arthritis have still not been discovered, new research offers hope that DNA testing can help to identify genetic variations that give doctors better cues on what therapies can help a particular patient better. (Source).
The bottom line is that with RA and similar diseases which target women disproportionately, it is important to stay aware and prioritise our physical and mental self-care. The conventional path of de-prioritising one self during our peak working years is self-harming. It creates a ripple effect on everything around us as well and passes on the wrong message to younger members of the family.
Real progress lies in seeking help, staying aware and being educated about our health at every age and stage.
Honestly the time to start all this is NOW!
Picture credits: Pexels
I am the quintessential ya-ya girl, but also the silent rebel. I love fiction, food and all things that are quirky. Always in search of fun conversations and meeting new people. Drop a word, read more...
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People say that women are the greatest enemies of women. I vehemently disagree. It is the patriarchal mindset that makes women believe in the wrong ideology.
The entire world celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8, 2024. It should be a joyful day, but unfortunately, not all women are entitled to this privilege, as violence against women is at its peak. The experience of oppression pushes many women to choose freedom. As far as patriotism is concerned, feminism is not a cup of tea in this society.
What happens when a woman decides to stand up for herself? Does this world easily accept the decisions of women in this society? What inspires them to be free of the clutches of the oppression that women have faced for ages? Most of the time, women do not get the chance to decide for themselves. Their lives are always at the mercy of someone, which can be their parents, siblings, husband, or children.
In some cases, women do not feel the need to make any decisions. They are taught to obey the patriarchal system, which makes them believe that they are right. In my family, I was never taught to make decisions on my own. It was always my parents who bought dresses and all that I needed.
14 years after her last feature film Dhobi Ghat, storyteller extraordinaire comes up with her new film, Laapataa Ladies, a must watch.
*Some spoilers alert*
Every religion around the world dictates terms to women. The onus is always on women to be ‘modest’ and cover their faces and bodies so men can’t be “tempted”, rather than on men to keep their eyes where they belong and behave like civilized beings. So much so that even rape has been excused on the grounds of women eating chowmein or ‘men will be men’. I think the best Hindi movie retort to this unwanted advice on ‘akeli ladki khuli tijori ki tarah hoti hai’ (an alone woman is like an open jewellery box) came from Geet in Jab We Met – Kya aap gyan dene ke paise lete hain kyonki chillar nahin hain mere paas.
The premise of Laapataa Ladies is beautifully simple – two brides clad in the ghunghat that covers their identity get mixed up on a train. Within this Russian Doll, you get a comedy of errors, a story of getting lost, a commentary on patriarchy’s attitude towards women, a mystery, and a tale of finding oneself, all in one. Done with a mostly light touch that has you laughing and nodding along.
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