Daily Times

Sir: Mental health is a medical issue that is recognised worldwide. Hospitals, treatment, support and funds are annually allocated to the research of new techniques and drugs to discover cures for mental illnesses. Unfortunately, in Pakistan, the majority of mental disorders remain undetected and those that are detected are immediately submitted into the care of quacks, shrines, holy men and homeopathic doctors. Lack of access to education and mental healthcare leads people in rural areas to conclude that mental illness is when evil spirits have entered the body. Victims suffer a great deal. They not only have to deal with the effects of their illness but have to face abuse, neglect, lack of support and compassion and stigma in society.

Women are most affected because they are silenced in the name of culture and religion. They endure at the hands of their own families, painfully accepting a forcefully imposed fate for a fault not of their own making. Health authorities need to implement policies for the development of a workable mental health programme in Pakistan. Awareness needs to be raised and both help and support need to be provided for victims and their families.

MOBEEN SHAH

Via Email