Why has medicine forgotten half the world?

Across India, between school runs, work calls, ageing parents, and festival planning, a woman realises she has not had her annual check-up in three years. She has counselled everyone she knows, to eat better, sleep more, walk daily, and, yet, her own health remains an afterthought, scribbled somewhere between grocery lists and meeting notes. It is a familiar irony. And, believe me, a costly one.

- DR PREETHA REDDY

For generations, women have prioritised caring for others over caring for themselves. This quiet selflessness—often praised as strength—turns dangerous when health systems reflect the same neglect. When society assumes she will wait, and medicine quietly agrees.

The consequences are not only clinical, there is a societal and economic impact as well. Health is the bedrock of productivity. As India envisions a future led by women, and wants more women to enter the workforce, their wellbeing must become a national priority. No economy can thrive when half its population is structurally underserved in health care. Women-led development begins with women-centred health.