& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Women and Effect of Ecosystem on Health

by Morshed Chowdhury
HEALTH ot a human being is largely depen dant on the ecosys tem The ecosystem' may be explained as a relationship Ixiween living things and thefr environment, which include nature, social, economic and political situation of a country or a community. The changes in any of these components may lead to the disruption of normal life pattern which ultimately influence the health or quality of life of a community. a family a person. This article will try to explain the relationship with particular reference to women. Because women are the main victim of changes in any component of the ecosystem.
Social Factors
Women of Bangladesh are sutlject to many discriminations. They are. considered interior and subordinate to men. The process of their Inferiority. subordination and the dis-< ri nil nation against them begins In the infancy, aggravates and sharpens throughout Childhood and finally crystallizes tn the adult life. So she Is deprived from the rights of decision making in the family, access to health care services: adequate food Intake: educa iuhi and Job opportunity. This ultimately influence health of a woman.
A Bangladeshi girl is usually hi ought up with the idea that it is her duty to sacrifice herself lor her family, specially for the male members of her fam-h She will sacrifice her edu-caUon for her brother, even if she is more brilliant than her brother (about 40%- of ’the primary school-age girls were nut attending school and « bool attendance are less in iirlsl Instead, she will learn ihuui the poultry, household matters. Generally, she eats less so that her brother, later her husband and son can eat more She will also learn that her role of keeper of the house requires a great Ingenuity in uder to maintain the nutrition -I the family so they work long : tours for collecting water, fuel and preparing food which must be in accordance with ' he taste of the family mem->eis Besides, she will bear and rear ihe child.
The women do not have imirol over their bodies nor ri' they have any say on the fertility issues. They are forced
to get pregnant If and when desired by the husband The repeated pregnancies weakens their body'to such an extent -that they cannot take care of their child very efficiently and properly. This Influences the health of the children. Even during a pregnancy, the women are not free from their heavy domestic duties and they do not get enough time to rest and do not eat extra food required during the time of pregnancy. This deteriorates her health condition even further.
Furthermore, a woman is affected by the complications of pregnancy which extends from anaemia and death from tetanus: obstructed labour or hemorrhage. Maternal mortality Is high, estimated at 6 per thousand pregnancy In Bangladesh. And those who survive, suffer from 111 health, anaemia or occasionally with veslco vaginal fistula, which makes their life miserable. By the time a rural woman is 45 years of age. her chances of becoming a widow or divorced are one in four in our country.
The traditional va*ue system continues to emphaSTs the domestic and reproductive role of women In- the family. The women are involved in domestic activities. The domestic activities Include cooking food, cleaning households. washing clothes, collecting water for the family, fuel wood collection, taking, care of the childrep. poultry or cows etc. They have to work hard to perform their duties. For the domestic activities the women do not have fixed working hours. Normally a woman work from dawn to dusk, continuing even up to late night. For the extra worl^ she needs extra food but she don't get the food. However, such cost-saving activities are neither recognized by herself or by her family members as economic activities.
Deforestation, Development and
Desertification
Due to the depletion of natural resources such as cutting of trees, domestic and industrial pollution, it has significantly affected the daily life of a woman and the well-being of a family. As a result of urbaniza-
tion and unplanned cutting of * trees, water and fuel sources are going fast depleting. And ihe women has to walk further Snd further to collect water and fuel. On an average Bangladeshi women sperxTa 6 hburs each day for collecting water only and spend many more hours for cooking food and collecting wood
The extra distance not only adds to their physical burden, but it also disturbs other do mestlc activities, for instance, the women gets less time for cooking and looking after their children. Another possibility is that when a mother goes out to fetch water leaving their children at home the children may fall a victim to accidents and those accidents may be fatal for the young family members
Moreover, for the extra work, women don't eat enough food and intake of food may further deteriorate the health of a woman. Tradftior^lly. a Bangladeshi woman eating some 20% fewer calories per day than her male counterparts of the family and are most likely to get malnourished which has serious effects on the health of children at birth and during most critical period of their development. As a result of discrepancies women are suffering from chronic malnutrition and death rates among boys and girls differ. After the age of one month, girls dje more than boys. The result of chronic malnutrition reflected on . future pregnancies and productivity of a woman.
Political Violence and Natural Disaster
The condition of women further deteriorate due to natural disaster, political instability, famine and draught. The political and natural disasters may lead, to the displacement of families from their homes and many lose their family members, which lead to the ultimate disruption of the family rhythm. Dub to disruption In the family by displacement and death of a family member, the women are to suffer the most. Because, it is the responsibility of women to cope with the new environment, new social and economic roles, new familial relationships and new problems. At the same
time, they seek generally to reconstruct the familiar life style as much Is physically and socially possible In a sense, such women are both agents of social change and source of continuity of tradition.
Following a disaster the family prepare for self reliant activities Often the traditional support system have broken and the women may find her self solely responsible for the welfare of the family She her self may be physically exhausted and traumatized and still a woman has to take the responsibility where she is not trained or not allowed to do the job tn normal situation
Moreover when there is chaos and political unreal prevailing in the country, a woman can no longer benefit from legal system intended to protect her family During the Liberation War In 1971 more than 10 millton people fled away from Bangladesh and had taken shelter in India A significant number of these refugees were women and many lost their husbartd and fathers in the chaos of fight. Almost a million women were physically abused or raped by Pakistani soldiers. The Inhuman acts has had a direct, effect on the -psychology of a woman (so they were psychologically raped).
Almost similar situation arise following flood, or any other natural disasters. The natural disasters also cause displacement of family members. Due to the displacement women suffer most. The experience of Gonoshasthya Kendra following the devastating flood of 1988 show that male attendance in the mobile medical team was more during the early part of the flood. But with days female attendance increased significantly.
The health status of women reflects the standard of health of a country. The health of a woman depends on the social, economic, political and environmental conditions. Unless there is strong political commitment. equity, solidarity, and Justice, sound health is almost impossible. It should haVe an integrated approach because great deal of health Improvement requires action ' from out side the health sector such as education, health, agriculture.
The writer Is a Director (Health and Training). Ganos-hasthya Kendra.