Okojie C E
Department of Economics & Statistics, University of Benin, Nigeria.
Soc Sci Med. 1994 Nov;39(9):1237-47. doi: 10.1016/0277-9536(94)90356-5.
This paper examines gender inequalities of health in Third World Countries. Health hazards are present at every stage of a woman's life cycle. Health problems which pose the greatest hardship to women in these countries include: reproductive health problems, excess female mortality in childhood, violence against girls and women, occupational and environmental hazards, and cervical and breast cancer. Many of these lead to maternal mortality which was the most focussed upon indicator of women's health in the literature. Gender inequalities of health originate in the traditional society where definitions of health status and traditional medical practices all reflect the subordinate social status of women. Gender inequalities in health are manifested in traditional medical practices which attribute women's illnesses to behavioral lapses by women; differential access to and utilization of modern healthcare services by women and girls, including maternal care, general healthcare, family planning and safe abortion services. Reasons for gender inequalities in health include--emphasis on women's childbearing roles resulting in early and excessive childbearing; sex preference manifested in discrimination against female children in health and general care; women's workloads which not only expose them to health hazards but also make it difficult for them to take time off for healthcare; lack of autonomy by women leading to lack of decision-making power and access to independent income; early marriage which exposes women to the complications of early and excessive childbearing. Gender inequality in health is one of the social dimensions in which gender inequality is manifested in Third World societies. Strategies to eradicate gender inequalities in health must therefore involve efforts to improve the status of women.
本文探讨了第三世界国家健康方面的性别不平等问题。健康危害存在于女性生命周期的每个阶段。在这些国家给女性带来最大困苦的健康问题包括：生殖健康问题、儿童期女性死亡率过高、针对女童和妇女的暴力、职业和环境危害，以及宫颈癌和乳腺癌。其中许多问题导致孕产妇死亡，这是文献中最受关注的女性健康指标。健康方面的性别不平等源于传统社会，在传统社会中，健康状况的定义和传统医疗实践都反映了女性的从属社会地位。健康方面的性别不平等体现在传统医疗实践中，将女性疾病归因于女性的行为失误；女性和女童在获得和利用现代医疗服务（包括孕产妇护理、一般医疗保健、计划生育和安全堕胎服务）方面存在差异。健康方面性别不平等的原因包括——强调女性的生育角色导致过早和过多生育；在健康和一般护理方面歧视女童表现出的性别偏好；女性的工作量不仅使她们面临健康危害，还使她们难以抽出时间就医；女性缺乏自主权导致缺乏决策权和获得独立收入的机会；早婚使女性面临过早和过多生育的并发症。健康方面的性别不平等是第三世界社会中性别不平等表现出来的社会层面之一。因此，消除健康方面性别不平等的战略必须包括提高女性地位的努力。
