Honour the incredible women who have shaped your life – share their stories this Mother’s Day! Let’s pass on the #legacyofstrength!
Dismissal of our symptoms. Or misdiagnosis. Or treatment not given properly. Or we are shamed for what we suffer or feel. Or even as women, we often ignore our ill health. Sounds familiar?
It’s April already, summer setting in. A new month, a new financial year.
World Health Day is on 7th April. This year is special as it is the 75th year of the World Health Organisation, and the theme is ‘Health For All’. But are all of us really given the same opportunities and treatment when it comes to health issues?
From the internalised patriarchy that causes women to minimise their symptoms, hide their illnesses especially if associated with their menstrual and reproductive functions so taboo in social narratives. To doctors dismissive of many symptoms when women speak of them, with misdiagnosis, improper or insufficient treatment, the shaming that even the medical professionals indulge in.
So much of #MedicalMisogyny that we face as women. And I haven’t even gone into the area of mental health issues that women face.
One of our authors, Aarushi Ahluwalia, wrote this excellent, nuanced first person account a while ago, speaking of how she was not just shamed for choosing to have an abortion, but how it was considered that she did not have the right to grieve her loss, because, well, she chose it!
Share your stories, either as personal accounts, or as fiction. It is important that women speak up.
We want to be fair to all entries – those that come in early, as well as those that come in closer to the deadline, and give them all the same time to be assessed.
So we will no longer be publishing the top stories first.
Entries that are shortlisted will be published in no particular order throughout the month in which a particular contest is held. The final selection of stories – 3 for fiction and 3 for non-fiction – will be announced in the last week – on our social media, as well as via email. We will then make relevant changes to the editor’s note at the foot of these pieces.
Submit your entries under 1000 words on your author dashboard or register as an author here and submit it.
Submit your entries under 2000 words, on your author dashboard or register as an author here and submit it.
~~ This should be a previously unpublished story.
~~ Use the hashtag #MedicalMisogyny along with the title.
~~ Once published on Women’s Web, you may not publish it in whole elsewhere, except for an excerpt with a link back to us.
~~ Top selected stories will remain exclusive to us.
Sunday, 9th April 2023, 11.59 PM.
There are 3 Amazon vouchers of Rs 750 each for the top selected stories in fiction, and 3 for non-fiction as a token of our appreciation for sharing your stories.
Also, DO NOT worry if your piece gets published immediately (in which case we will unpublish it and hold it as an entry) or gets rejected. As long as you have put the hashtag #MedicalMisogyny in the title, just drop us a note at [email protected] and our editors will do the rest.
So what are you waiting for? Send in your entry TODAY!
Image source: a still from Dr G
In her role as the Senior Editor & Community Manager at Women's Web, Sandhya Renukamba is fortunate to associate every day with a whole lot of smart and fabulous writers and readers. A doctor read more...
Women's Web is an open platform that publishes a diversity of views, individual posts do not necessarily represent the platform's views and opinions at all times.
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We need to stop stereotyping women's bodies, and also be more sensitive towards our children who are growing up with terrible self-confidence leading to loneliness and depression.
When Kate Winslet said, “Young women should enjoy their life instead of worrying about how they look,” it stuck a cord with me. I am one of those women who struggle with body image issues in a society heavily influenced by unrealistic beauty standards and societal expectations, and Kate’s statement was empowering.
I grew up listening to unsolicited advice about wearing clothes a size bigger than what I wear; everyone took a free ride to comment about my bra and how big it was. I have spent most of my life loathing how I look—my size, weight, clothes, appearance, skin tone, and hair. This isn’t because I’m not too fond of how I appear, but rather because I’ve been told repeatedly by most trusted people around me that I have one or more flaws.
It is imperative that, as a society, we shed our stereotypical thought not just to support women but also our children who are growing up with terrible self-confidence leading to loneliness and depression. We can significantly impact our mental health and well-being by fostering a culture of compassion, understanding, and empowerment.
Here are some online tools for startups to use for their tech needs for organising work, mind mapping, ideation, etc.
Most startups are bootstrapped, the budget is low, there is no funding, startups need some support and excellent tools to run the show. The team may be working at one place or the team is spread across the globe, but the team needs to brainstorm. Brainstorming can be fun. Listing few resources which a startup or entrepreneurs can use for brainstorming.
Bubbl.us is an interesting tool which is useful to take notes, brainstorm and organize new ideas, collaborate, and capture thoughts. It allows you to avoid distraction by focusing on task, to collaborate and share with friends, families, team and social media. Essentially no hassle of downloading any app, works on mobile and desktop. You can use the basic plan to explore and later subscribe for at $4.91/month, $59 billed annually.
Miro offers the quickest, easiest way for teams to capture, organize and visualize thoughts, solutions, ideas across the team. Other than brainstorming, it can be used for project planning, creating organizational charts and sales strategies. It runs on all devices: mobile, tablet, desktop or interactive display.
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