Women In STEM: The Voices Changing Women's Health Today

At Lena, we believe that the future of women's health needs will be built and shaped by women. Our bodies have been understudied, misunderstood and deprioritised for far too long and we've felt that cost firsthand. Thankfully, the tide is shifting. Across research labs, clinics, classrooms, and boardrooms, women in STEM are rewriting the story, and many of them are doing it because they lived it first.

These are women who have translated their pain and frustration into action and change, making a point of centring lived experience in what they do. This series is our way of honouring them.

Can You Introduce Yourself And What You're Currently Working On?

"My name is Anisha. I'm a PhD researcher in health humanities from India. My current research focuses on studying the existential responses women give through their lived experiences with PMDD and endometriosis. I'm also studying whether cultural background and societal spaces in which women are placed affect the embodiment of illnesses in individuals coming from individualist and collectivist communities."

What Does The Women's Health Landscape Look Like In India?

"From what I've been able to observe, advancements are happening, for sure. But mostly in spaces that serve the larger needs of society. The treatment options available aren't women-centric, and instead, mostly revolve around the convenience of men.

Women's suffering isn't taken seriously by women themselves. In most cases, it's paid attention to only when it gets in the way of being able to conceive. So I feel that, in turn, re-establishes the notion of women's reproductive organs as exclusively responsible for child-bearing, not as something that affects them on an individual basis."

How Does Your Work Contribute To This Space?

"One of my primary motives behind taking up this research study was to get a conversation started. There's so much stigma and taboo attached to menstrual and mental health that it's hardly spoken about, especially in academic spaces. So firstly, I'm hoping that I'm able to contribute to the literature that exists and fill some gaps in knowledge there.

Along with that, I'm aiming to bring attention to the lived experiences of women as central to designing treatment courses, because every individual embodies illnesses differently. So I feel it's extremely problematic to place everyone in the same categories just based on the symptoms they're reporting, without considering the root cause of that, or acknowledging other factors at play. That's over-reductionism for the sake of convenience of healthcare practitioners, which needs to be altered. Lastly, I'm hoping to contribute to the research on menstrual justice and bodily autonomy by placing patients at the centre of the experience."

What Do You Think Are The Biggest Challenges For Women's Health Right Now?

There are so many, I don't think there's enough space to list them all. But if I were to pick a few, I'd say it's a double-edged sword- one side of which kills with misinformation, and the other kills with inadequate information. It's so difficult to get any funding for research being done on women's mental and menstrual health, so there's just not enough knowledge to reach any solid conclusions or for extrapolation. With the advent of social media and every second person being a self-appointed expert, there are all kinds of fake statements revolving around, with no fact-check whatsoever.

Because of the inaccessibility of healthcare or resources to the larger public, a lot of times these online forums become their only source of getting any information, even if it's false and misleading. One of the other things that I feel is really baffling is the kind of language used in healthcare settings surrounding women's mental and menstrual health. With doctors still using terms like "raging hormones", "all in your head", "hysterical", and just the general gaslighting, it all leads to further concretisation of the cultural script most women are fed and grow up with. The dismissal and ignorance when it comes to women's health is still very much prevalent and definitely needs to be worked on.

I was reading a book recently by Ela Przybylo. Among other things, it talks about how menstrual health and justice are more often than not subsumed in reproductive justice. And I think that ideology is part of the bigger problem; by seeing women solely responsible for motherhood and ignoring the individual experiences and effects, we’re further adding to the pre-existing ignorance and heteronormative norms around gender and health.

What Is One Thing You Wish Women Knew About Their Gynaecological Health?

"That's it, for sure, not all in your head, despite what the doctors or lab reports say. If you feel there's something wrong with your body, please get help. There are more than enough resources available to educate yourself. Read up on things, make use of online communities, and equip yourself with enough knowledge to be able to advocate for yourself (and eventually others) in healthcare settings and other relevant spaces.

Your menstrual cycle is supposed to work with you and for you, not against you. If you feel the latter is the case, please don't let anyone tell you that it's normal to feel that way. You deserve better, and you'll have to accept that you might need to fight to be treated that way."

With thanks to Anisha Singh. You can reach out to Anisha via her LinkedIn page, found here.

If you enjoyed this series or would like to contribute towards our next interview, please reach out at rachel@lenacup.com and we'd love to learn more about you and your work!