Women mental health in India

Abstract

Joint family system, patriarchy, marriage a must, especially women; marriage is a sacrosanct union, permanent union; subservient status of daughter-in-laws at home, preference for the male child, practice of dowry, lower educational status of women, strict code of conduct for females, and primary roles of women being childbearing and child rearing, and the "Indian Paradox" (the married woman with severe mental illness, subjected to domestic violence (DV) makes frantic efforts for restitution of conjugal rights rather than for separation or divorce), are all part of the Indian culture. [3],[4] These factors significantly affect the occurrence, manifestations, treatment, and outcome of mental disorders in women of India. [...]women mental health can be conceptualized as having a wide range of related areas, including reproductive health, psychopharmacology, psychosocial determinants of mental health, and legal issues.