Gender inequalities of health in the Third World

This paper examines gender inequalities of health in Third World Countries. Health hazards are present at every stage of a woman's life cycle. Health problems which pose the greatest hardship to women in these countries include: reproductive health problems, excess female mortality in childhood, violence against girls and women, occupational and environmental hazards, and cervical and breast cancer. Many of these lead to maternal mortality which was the most focussed upon indicator of women's health in the literature. Gender inequalities of health originate in the traditional society where definitions of health status and traditional medical practices all reflect the subordinate social status of women. Gender inequalities in health are manifested in traditional medical practices which attribute women's illnesses to behavioral lapses by women; differential access to and utilization of modern healthcare services by women and girls, including maternal care, general healthcare, family planning and safe abortion services. Reasons for gender inequalities in health include--emphasis on women's childbearing roles resulting in early and excessive childbearing; sex preference manifested in discrimination against female children in health and general care; women's workloads which not only expose them to health hazards but also make it difficult for them to take time off for healthcare; lack of autonomy by women leading to lack of decision-making power and access to independent income; early marriage which exposes women to the complications of early and excessive childbearing. Gender inequality in health is one of the social dimensions in which gender inequality is manifested in Third World societies. Strategies to eradicate gender inequalities in health must therefore involve efforts to improve the status of women.