Women need to understand their health decides the flow of not their own lives but even that of an entire family.

The word empowerment has many layers to it. A much hackneyed topic of many discussions, it hardly finds a mention in the context of something as basic as healthcare. Women-empowerment is a favourite topic of public discussions; however, hardly do we consider the fact that no empowerment is complete without health becoming an integral part of it. Women, who are supposed to be the caretaker of health in their own family, often miss out on their own health. As the world celebrates World Health Day today, let us put under the scanner this fundamental flaw in our society.

Women need to understand their health decides the flow of not their own lives but even that of an entire family. In her run to make sure everyone around them are happy and fine, from in-laws to children to spouse, seldom does she understand that her health is the base block on top of which all the other building blocks are stacked.

When her child coughs, she would forget the world around to take care of him/her. That has always been the stereotypical mother. But it is time for women to realize that all is well till she is well. If she keeps ignoring her health for everyone else for a long time, she will soon end up being the lone sufferer of a horde of health complications. It is important for women to understand the need to prioritize their own lives. Most women, who are working professionals, tend to undermine the value of the ‘quality time’ for themselves.

It is always the woman who is expected to pay attention to all the details, since she has been ready to conform to the pre-set norms of being a ‘good woman’. Women need to understand that their life is not meant to be a competition to earn certificates and compliments from the world around. She needs to initiate a reversal in her roles, where she is considered not just a ‘taken for granted’ personality but someone who completely values her time. She needs to become a priority for her family as well. Once this concept becomes clear to a woman, taking care of her health will automatically rise on top of her list. Only if she is healthy will she be able to allot time for all the big and small things in life.

However, in their run to achieve the bigger goals in life, women need to be mindful of their biological clock as well. The unhealthy trend of setting aside family life to build a career should be put under the scanner since lot of health complications and fertility issues have been detected of late in women, as a result of this. Women should look at options that keep intact their health and professional life. Technological advancements like freezing eggs are more of an empowered choice rather than a mere procedure. Matters like pregnancy or child birth should not be seen as a dead end of the road. Yes, motherhood is an important part of a woman’s life since she has been uniquely gifted with this valuable experience. But it is not the only part of it. Reproduction should not be considered to be the end of a mother’s career and hence greater emphasis should be laid on the awareness of such progressive measures to protect a woman’s fertility and reproductive health.

It is very important to channel a woman’s time, in terms of both health as well as a lifestyle. If you keep too many files open, it will only complicate things further, and exhausts you without having completely finished any one task. Multitasking has been romanticized to an extent that health seems to be an easy price to pay for it.

In this fast paced life, while we are busy pursuing education, career, or other major milestones, we tend to neglect the foundation where everything stems from- our health. If your health isn’t strong enough, it will not take much time for the blocks above to tumble and fall. Let health be a priority for every woman so that it only empowers her to achieve all the things that she dreams of. Let empowerment emanate from the basic yet crucial element of our life.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article above are those of the authors' and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of this publishing house