CHENNAI: One may not have probed for similarities between a COVID-19 recovering India, a Taliban-ruled Afghanistan and an economically distraught Sri Lanka. One may not have assessed the trauma women have faced, caught between the patriarchy and turbulent socio-economic and political conditions. One may not have considered that mental health issues could be a gendered worry. But recently, four women explored why one should. “Socially constructed differences between men and women, roles in responsibility and power contribute to the difference in the manifestation of mental health, help-seeking behaviour and responses to mental health professionals. Gender further intersects into class, race, sexuality, ethnicity and caste in layers of marginalisation,” said Dr Sumathi Narayanan, president, Creative Communication and Management Center, starting the panel discussion on ‘Women in the Globalised World and Mental Health’ at the Virtual Asia Pacific Mental Health Symposium hosted by the Indian Academy of Professional Supervisors (IAPS).
Beyond borders and oceans
The discussion began in the India of the past two years where women found themselves amid cases of rising domestic violence, loss of wages impacting their agency and a difficulty in continuing education, elaborated Dr Shilpa Pandit, co-founder, Dreampath Foundation. To its north, the troubled Afghanistan has proven to be increasingly difficult on women who are struggling for basic needs like food, rights like education, and finding their lost social identities, Masooma Mahtabi of United Nation Department of Safety and Security unveiled. And to the south, clinical psychologist for the Sri Lanka navy Dr Kanthi Hettigoda showed us an economically disrupted Sri Lanka where electricity, milk powder and gas are scarce, adding to the burden on female shoulders. Among such circumstances, the poor mental health of women must not be ignored.
We may now discuss mental health in society, but it is through implementation of policies for redressal that we, as nations, can make a real difference. “In India’s Union Budget 2022, mental health found a rare mention and the general budget for health increased by 16 per cent. Experts had been cautious but there were positive reviews of this. While this is not enough, there were also some rural schemes that have included women; many found themselves out of a job due to reverse migration,” Dr Shilpa shared. Masooma shed light on the works of the previous government that have been halted by the new regime, “We did have precious government policies for the mental health of people in Afghanistan. The Ministry of Public Health had their policies, were connected with national and international NGOs, and trained the population as social workers and counsellors through short courses.” Dr Kanthi presented the case for Sri Lanka, adding, “I can’t say that there were any specific actions taken to handle issues faced by women but now, we have very good counselling and pre-counselling services in the country. There are hotline numbers they could use for domestic violence. We, in fact, have had a very strong law against domestic violence since 2005.”
The community approach
While policies had their role to play, mental health professionals must also step in and go beyond, they agreed. “The fellowship among women was endangered by the pandemic isolation. We have to use the same fellowship to solve these problems. Mental health professionals need to increasingly work with communities and take their role beyond the clinic using technology or by meeting people. Telecounselling gives one reach and maintains anonymity, addressing stigma,” opined Dr Shilpa. Masooma added, “Currently, there are only a few mental health professionals in Afghanistan since many have left to safer countries but all over the world, professionals are advocating for mental health. There are online orientations about crisis situations and women activists from all over the country are campaigning through televisions, broadcasts and radios.”
“We (women of neighbouring countries) have to be sisters in this, get together to be stronger. If we can share our best resources, it would be very useful,” Dr Kanthi concluded.