This has been bubbling inside for quite long, so just need to get it out of my system.
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I am totally in awe of how much an average women’s body endures in its lifetime! Yes, men do undergo surgeries, but for most women child-birth is an inevitable part of life. Yes, human bodies in general are resilient things, but after I had a baby myself, I notice even more that a lot of women around me – my mother, my grandmother, my friends, my family – every single woman has a story of what her body has endured. Here’s an indicative list of things out of which many of us women have experienced/will experience.
- periods
- vaginal birth
- caesarean section
- hours of being in labour pain
- perineum tears
- abortion
- miscarriage
- stretchmarks
- breastfeeding
And still all women around us – friend and family, the daily labourers, the maids, even the yummy mummies – most of them survive/live through all of this physical pain. Despite affecting roughly half the population, women’s health is taking so casually, at least in India. Families who would get a male member operated in the best of hospitals, opt for a smaller, less-equipped nursing home when it comes to women’s child birth. Not necessarily because they love their women less, but child birth and “gynac” problems are usually “lighter” as opposed to say a heart attack. Women’s bodies might have been designed to endure all this, but does it make it any less painful/important. Probably because they are considered a part of a woman’s life. So common, so casual. The lady who comes to clean my house recently told me she has been enduring terrible vaginal pain and excessive bleeding for months! It did not occur to her or her family to visit a doctor. When we got her thoroughly checked, it turned out she had a large cyst in her ovary that needed surgery. I am not angry, because I know how much her husband/family loves her. But I am sad. And I am not even getting near the topic of the majority of women in this country who can’t even afford basic health care facilities.
Wonder why we even try to be “equal” to men, because our lives biologically are so different. And more than gender based quotas, more than trying to get men to respect us, us women need to take charge of our bodies.





The 7 day recipe marathon at Nupur’s has been great fun so far. Today I’m back to work after the long weekend. So even though I have been thinking about what to cook/blog today, it’s been a crazy day and I haven’t even ventured into the kitchen yet.
