Islamabad/New Delhi, Jan 10 (NationPress) More than mere poverty, a lack of proper documentation, pervasive fear, marginalization, and gender discrimination are significant barriers preventing women in Pakistan from accessing healthcare, as highlighted in a recent media report.

In an article for Dawn, Tahera Hasan, a lawyer and the founder-CEO of Imkaan Welfare Organisation, emphasizes that women in Pakistan are disproportionately affected by a lack of documentation, often relying heavily on male relatives to obtain or present essential identification.

“The lack of identity documents interacts with restrictive social norms and institutional power imbalances, systematically excluding women from public services,” Hasan explained.

Insights from a community-based maternity home indicate that women's reluctance to seek healthcare is driven less by a lack of awareness and more by fear, administrative exclusion, and the everyday burdens—financial, social, and emotional—of navigating systems that do not cater to their needs.

The report reveals that when documents are absent, women often endure humiliation, particularly in maternity settings, where they may be denied care and subjected to questioning or public shaming. These incidents circulate rapidly within communities, reinforcing the collective avoidance of formal healthcare services.

The reliance on traditional birth attendants, or dais, and home births persists as institutional healthcare is often perceived as punitive rather than supportive.

Women frequently opt for home births due to fears of mistreatment in male-dominated, overcrowded public hospitals.

“Even when services are officially free, expenses such as travel, repeated visits for referrals, diagnostic tests, and time away from work can make a single hospital visit a significant burden for low-income families. The cumulative effects of transportation costs, lost wages, and logistical challenges often render seeking institutional care a daunting and sometimes unfeasible choice,” Hasan stated.

Conversely, private healthcare does not offer much relief due to higher costs. Additionally, there are growing concerns about the routine medicalization of childbirth, with families reporting pressure toward cesarean sections even when natural delivery is a viable option.

“Women do not evade healthcare due to carelessness or resistance to modern medicine. They avoid it because the system exposes them to indignity, financial strain, and administrative risks,” Hasan asserted.

She emphasized that awareness campaigns alone are insufficient; there is a pressing need to construct a “health system design that recognizes documentation as a barrier, addresses gendered power dynamics, and prioritizes dignity as an essential component of care.”