South Asian women and girls face major nutritional challenges

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Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Every Muslim must give charity.” Some people asked, “What if he has no money?” He replied, “He should work with his hands, and meet his needs as well as give charity to others.” They asked, “What if he could not, or did not, do that?” He replied, “Then he should assist a needy person in distress.” They asked, “What if he could not do that as well?” He replied, “He should then teach good things. They again asked, “And, if he could not do even that?” He replied, “Then, he should refrain from harming anyone. That, too, be a charity on his part.” [Bukhari & Muslim]

South Asian women and girls face major nutritional challenges

By YesPakistan.com Staff Writer

Most Pakistani women and girls are chronically ill due to a lack of proper nutrition. This malnutrition is explained by a number of reasons: poverty, a lack of proper health care, cultural practices, particular diseases and a lack of nutritional knowledge.

It is both the quantity and quality of food consumption that determines an individual's nutritional well being. In the case of south Asia, women are lacking in how much they consume as well as what kind of food they consume.

Pregnancy, the most vulnerable time for a woman from a health perspective, is a good example of this. About 60 percent of south Asian women in their childbearing years are underweight due to a lack of proper nutrition during their own childhood. Also, eight out of 10 South Asian women are anemic during pregnancy and many suffer from chronic energy deficit.

In Pakistan, women, particularly those who are pregnant, are discouraged from consuming fruits and eggs, despite the fact that the nutrient and energy requirements of pregnant women are higher than normal.

A study done in India's Punjab revealed that even though most women realize the need for a more nutritious diet during pregnancy and breastfeeding, they are unable to access better nutrition during this time. In fact, women in these circumstances most often don't even demand better food because of their inferior status in the household.

In Pakistan, in terms of nutrition during breastfeeding, 48 percent of lactating mothers have a calorie intake of less than 70 percent of the recommended level.

Poverty is a major reason for women's poor health and malnutrition. In most societies around the world, poverty has a woman's face in that women are disproportionately affected by it.

But this poverty is also coupled with cultural traditions and biases that give preference to the males in the household. When food is limited, especially nutritious fare, the preference is to give it to the men and boys in the family. The women and girls typically get by on whatever is left. When food is severely restricted, typically girls go without eating at all.

One example of this can be found in the tradition of sequential feeding in some communities in south Asia. Here, the order of food consumption is as follows: male adults eat first, followed by male children, then female adults and finally female children.

Cultural traditions like these take a heavy toll on the health of young girls. But sequential feeding isn't the only culprit. It is interesting to note that even in families that eat together, adult women often provide larger portions of food to boys over girls.

Perhaps this is simply a continuation of the inequitable feeding practices for boys and girls that started at infancy. Boys are breastfed more frequently and for longer periods than girls, and throughout most of south Asia, girls usually receive less food than boys after breastfeeding. This bias in feeding practices continues into adulthood, which inevitably lead to practices like sequential feeding. The result is chronic malnutrition in girls and women.

In homes where there is enough food, girls are still the most disadvantaged. This is because there are traditional ideas that prohibit girls from eating particular types of food that are in fact necessary for their growth and development.

Young girls are not given certain foods because cultural notions stipulate that they should not grow fast or too much. Thus, high protein foods like milk, eggs and meat and foods with greater fat content are considered to be the privilege of male children, while girls are given cereals.

Certain diseases also explain south Asian women's poor nutritional profile. Females are disproportionately affected by malaria, and parasitic infections. Inadequate sanitation facilities and unsafe drinking water coupled with poor hygiene increase the likelihood of people living in rural areas and urban slums getting such diseases and infections. Because women and girls are already malnourished, they are more prone to severe bouts with these illnesses.

Parasites such as hookworm interfere with the absorption of necessary micro-nutrients. A high consumption of tea and other caffeine-rich foods along with an inadequate intake of vitamins also have a negative impact on the body's ability to absorb micro-nutrients.

Finally, a lack of adequate nutritional knowledge also contributes to malnutrition amongst south Asians in general, male and female. Cooking methods, a lack of dietary variety, inadequate consumption of fruits and vegetable, and in some regions, the overuse of red meat, all contribute to the poor health profile of the south Asian population.

Date/Time Last Modified: 6/18/2002 8:07:59 AM