E-health and women laws - strengthening gender justice

What is it about?

India suffers from gender inequity in education, employment, marriage, and health care; violence against women is at high and gender bias is prevalent even in premier institutes in India. There are instances of discrimination, mental torture or harassment at work place and women suffer from psychological trauma or ill mental health. The Incidents of gang rape and brutal torture to women and girls continue to make the headlines of Indian newspapers and televisions. Furthermore, there is gender discrimination in health care in India; while e-health technology can tailor the services to the specific needs of the women this promise is yet to explore in its full potential. Although the scope of ICT usage in health care (e-health) is very wide but its usage and penetration level is still low especially among women in India.The author reviews the current status of gender health, advocates health information literacy to use e-health tools and proposes strategies to prioritize women and girls’ health care to ensure equity and empowerment. This article focuses on women specific laws administered by government of India in order to achieve gender justice

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Why is it important?

India has potential to develop universal health-care system that is likely to improve national development. However issues of gender inequity remain in India and impede the nation’s public health and development. Despite significant increases in government allocations for maternal and child health, the maternal mortality ratio in India averages over 200 per 100,000 live births. There is an emergency for more education and increased access to women- friendly reproductive health services.