Violence against women and girls (VAWG), sexual harassment at the workplace, intramarital rape are the mainstream topics in any feministic discussion in our country. Our ruling elite is convinced that women’s equal participation at the workplace is mandatory for holistic prosperity, progress and ultimately lessening the burden on the state by making half of the population not only capable of earning but also paying taxes and hence enhancing revenue of the State.
Mainstreaming our women is also an international obligation under Sustainable Development Goals.
Brave women, according to ILO statistics, form 24 pc of labour force, have broken the barriers by selecting to work outside of their homes in a male dominant society. The state is equally protecting them by forming and implementing different laws and regulations at the workplace.
Nevertheless, an important aspect is being neglected related to nursing women. Breastfeeding at the workplace is a taboo for our women. They are denied to take advantage of all the available benefits of scientific research in the health sphere, especially when it states that the prevention of maternal morbidity is possible via breastfeeding.
It is an established truth that breastfeeding reduces the cost of disease burden at the national health exchequer; family budget and renders mother and child health.
It lessens the chances of infant deaths due to malnourishment and maternal deaths because of breast cancer. It’s only by breastfeeding that 823,000 annual deaths are prevented of the children under five years of age, it also enhances the chances of proper mental growth and hence ultimately an intelligent society is formed provided we give our women a facility to breastfeed her child without interruption.
While breastfeeding benefits for a mother are also not less. According to the World Health Organization WHO, 20000 annual maternal deaths can be prevented by breast cancer if mothers start to feed their children as a norm.
The acknowledgment of these benefits is necessary if we inclusively want our women at workplace because it’s theirs and their child’s needs. Paid Lactation breaks at the workplace is a mother’s due to hiring organizations which needs to be paid to them in a respectful way.
The ground data reveals otherwise. In Pakistan, there is no concept of nursing the child at the workplace. We have included women in the workplace but forget to consider their needs. The nursing profession is considered as a female profession where the male to female ratio of nurses is low. President Alvi called 2019 year as ‘Nurses year’. Nevertheless, despite enjoying some perks and privileges of relaxation of duty, nurses too are denied to nurse their child in their offices what to talk about other professions.
The real problem is that we have included women at the workplace but have not installed a mother-friendly system, and lack of family support and workplace support are other contributing factors.
Rather than investing in the health of a sick mother in the form of providing free maternal-infant health care, the government needs to provide a suitable work environment and promote a mother-friendly environment in all professions throughout the country. The United Nations is also working in this regard.
In the month of August, one to seven August is a week celebrated as “World Breast Feeding Week” every year by the UNICEF, an organization of the UN, which always goes unnoticed in our country. Time has come to realize that a mother’s health is an indicator of a family’s and organization’s health just like a woman’s status is an indicator of the whole culture. For real women empowerment, this aspect needs to go unnoticed.
The writer is a Social Scientist, Researcher and Columnist.
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