Effect of Superstition on Health and Nutrition of Women

Effect of Superstition on Health and Nutrition of Women
Written by Suman Oak
A woman is supposed to cook and feed her family. She does it to the best of her ability but without any training in nutrition and health. She knows a little bit about traditional cooking passed on to her by her mother. Some times she makes some fancy, exotic dishes if she can afford it. But she is not trained or even informed regarding the constituents of food, their nutritional values, the different diets needed by different members of the family, etc. The buying power of an ordinary Indian family is so little that members hardly get enough to eat. Under such circumstances the housewife is the worst hit of all. Our culture tells us that a wife lives for the husband and his family. She is supposed to eat whatever is left over after every one has had his fill. The girls in the family too remain malnourished and unhealthy like their mother. The malnourished girls are married at an early age before they physically grow up into a woman. In case the young girl does not produce a son, the family blames the girl and the husband deserts her. It never occurs to any one in the family that the husband might be the guilty party. Instead of consulting a physician the poor girl is taken to a Baba who uses charms and spells and other mumbo jumbo.

In most families, no attention is given to the health of a woman or her delivery. People show little concern only when a woman is unable to do any work being very ill. It's quite natural for a woman to have much less than adequate meal or to eat whatever is left over after everyone in the family has had his fill. The malnutrition caused affects the woman in several ways. Pregnant women are given iron tablets by the government free of charge. If the woman who cooks food for everyone in the family, is given training and information as to how to provide a square meal for all, including herself, instead of distributing pills, it will surely go a long way....