The international media attention that a booklet for pregnant women has attracted should encourage the Indian government to correct any inaccurate information […]
Anita Jain: A faulty prescription for pregnant women in India
Category: Anita Jain
The BMJ Today: Sex workers in Bangladesh, welfare advice, and incentives for behavioural change
• Female sex workers in Bangladesh In a feature published on thebmj.com today, Jocalyn Clark provides a moving account of the plight of female sex workers in Bangladesh. With effectively no voice to demand basic rights and entitlements, these women suffer severe social stigma, poor health, and violence. Several non-governmental organisations have stepped in to offer […]
The BMJ Today: Marking International Workers’ Day
Across the world, celebrations marking the International Workers’ Day herald the onset of May. Having its origins in the ‘eight hour day’ movement, which signifies “eight hours labour, eight hours recreation, eight hours rest,” this day recognises efforts to transform labour policies towards promoting the welfare of workers. Propitiously timed, we have a couple of blogs […]
Anita Jain on the paradox of rape in India
“For those who care for their country”—the strap line spelt it out for me. As Aamir Khan returned with the second season of his documentary/talk show, Satyamev Jayate, I knew I would be watching. The show stirred the hearts of Indians across the globe in its last run. It had thrown up incisive questions about […]
Richard Hurley: We need your help: what will India’s 2014 general elections mean for health?
In a couple of months India will hold parliamentary elections to determine its next central government. This administration, due to hold office from June, will also have responsibility for drafting India’s 13th five year plan, which is key to its direction of development from 2017. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that he will not […]
Anita Jain: Lessons from history for modern medicine
“Medical knowledge usually relegates history to an incidental and anecdotal role but always outside the boundary of development of pure scientific knowledge.” […]
Anita Jain: Training science communicators in India
“Acupuncture boosts libido,” blared the headline of a leading Indian daily. “Acupuncture effective treatment for breast cancer,” proclaimed another. These are in effect reporting a study which examined if acupuncture is any better than drugs in treating hot flashes in breast cancer patients on anti-estrogen therapy, and found no difference. The study participants included 50 […]
Anita Jain: Ensuring no woman dies during childbirth in India
In conversation with my grandmother recently, I travelled nearly 60 years back in time to a village in Rajasthan as she recounted her near death experience during childbirth. Though lately prone to forgetting minor details, she surprised me with a vivid description of the events as they unfurled when she experienced excessive bleeding around the […]
Anita Jain on the Bangladesh factory collapse and corporate responsibility for worker safety
“A mother of two, her left arm amputated, she refuses to ever go near a sewing machine again.” In April this year, the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh collapsed killing over a 1000 people and injuring many more. Among poignant accounts of despair that emerged from the incident, I felt this woman’s situation reflected the […]
Anita Jain: “It’s time for men to deliver”
The infamous Delhi gang rape led to an outpouring of public outrage across the country. It signalled a tipping point in people’s angst with the growing pervasiveness of such incidents. Shaken by the brutality of the act, people took to the streets to question the state of affairs of women’s safety in India. With relative […]