Indian women have moved
into the workforce in an unmistakable wave. In modern societies today, many of
them bear the dual burden of managing the home and a career. The infrastructure
necessary to help them: crèches, dependable childcare, help from husbands,
gadgets to make housework easier, is not yet in place. This generation of
transitional women is at high risk from heart disease, particularly during the
menopausal years. Statistics show that women have fifty per cent chance of
dying of heart disease, ten times higher than their risk of dying of breast
cancer.
The traditional shock
absorber of the family, particularly in Indian families is the woman. Dual
responsibilities have reduced her capacity to perform this role. Her ability to
absorb and reduce tensions has been greatly compromised. The tensions building
up in a nuclear family can have a negative impact on health. The two-income
family brings an increased pay check, while insidiously increasing the risk
factors for heart disease. Huge reserves of patience are required to cope with
this new, changed family structure. Most do not have these reserves.
As women climb to higher
levels of the corporate ladder, alternative strategies have to be found to
maintain the nurturing capacity of the family. Only joint efforts by the couple
and the involvement of elders and the extended family, or community support can
adequately fill this gap. This is a never-discussed pressure-cooker situation,
hazardous to health, lethal for the heart, building up in modern families.
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