Title: E-health and women laws - strengthening gender justice

Authors: Maitrayee Ghosh

Addresses: Mahatma Gandhi International Hindi University, Panch-Tilla, Wardha-442001, Maharashtra, India

Abstract: India suffers from gender inequity in education, employment, marriage, and healthcare; violence against women is at high and gender bias is prevalent even in premier institutes in India. There are instances of discrimination, mental torture or harassment at work place and women suffer from psychological trauma or ill mental health. The incidents of gang rape and brutal torture to women and girls continue to make the headlines of Indian newspapers and televisions. Furthermore, there is gender discrimination in healthcare; while e-health technology can tailor the services to the specific needs of the women this promise is yet to explore in its full potential. Although the scope of Information and Communication Technology use in healthcare (e-health) is very wide but its usage and penetration level is still low especially among women in India. The author reviews the current status of gender health, advocates health literacy, use of e-health tools and strategies to prioritise women and girls' healthcare in order to ensure equity and empowerment. This article also focuses on women specific laws administered by government of India to achieve gender justice.

Keywords: health information literacy; e-health; electronic healthcare; gender justice; women specific laws; India; gender inequity; ICT; female empowerment.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGSDS.2015.074127

International Journal of Gender Studies in Developing Societies, 2015 Vol.1 No.2, pp.181 - 193

Received: 09 Apr 2015
Accepted: 19 Sep 2015
Published online: 11 Jan 2016 *

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