TRIBAL WOMAN AND HEALTH

Status of Marginalised Tribal Women And Health - A Survey of Dhankut Women of District Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh

By

-Dr.Alok Chantia-Lecturer, Dept. of Anthropology, Sri Jai Narain Post Graduate College, Lucknow
-Dr.Preeti Misra- Lecturer, Dept of Human Rights, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow

Abstract: Health is defined as social, physical and mental well being of a person. Health is also one of the indicators of national development .Besides medicine culture is also responsible for the well being and health of an individual. Culture basically develops and maintains its structure by women. Woman is the axis of any society, but society does not provide adequate health care for women. Present study has been done on an endogamous group Dhankut, which resides in district Bahraich of U.P. Dhankut women are mostly illiterates and suffer from albinism, sterility, STD and STI besides poor nutrition. Maximum Dhankut women are suffering from multiple health problems. Though the District hospital is very near to their living place, they prefer to go to local quacks for the treatment. The present paper examines why Dhankut women are sufferers of many health problems? Whether their culture is responsible for their poor health and why they are not availing medical facilities of district hospital?

Keywords: Health, Culture, Nutrition, STD, Quacks, Medical facilities