“How do I trust them?”– a question that haunts two women throughout the documentary, ‘Love In The Time Of Madness’. While both have had different encounters with love, one linkage between them is that they were tagged ‘mental’ by their loved ones and incarcerated in mental health institutions against their will.
If this surprises you, this is the case with numerous other women everywhere who are institutionalised against their will and treated with oppression.
About The Documentary
When Kajal got married, she expected to have a happy and prosperous married life even though she was married off without her consent. But it soon turned into a nightmare when her in-laws began abusing her physically and tagged her ‘pagli’ (crazy) and mentally unsound.
It only added to the wrongdoings when her husband married for a second time, and everyone started ostracising her in her household. Further, they even tried to desert her in a railway station and refused to take her back when she returned.
This, added with the continuous abuse she faced, forced her to flee from her in-laws’ house. She eventually landed at the Berhampore Mental Health Hospital in West Bengal.
Atasi, on the other hand, was abused by her mother and brother and forcefully incarcerated in a mental health hospital. But she went through a journey of recovery and fell in love with a man from Punjab. It helped her overcome her reservations and lead a new life without her past haunting her future life decisions.
Both these cases prove two exceptional occurrences :
- Women can still not make their own decisions no matter how personal they are in certain circumstances.
- The extreme insensitivity and numerous taboos surrounding mental disorders and how to approach them.
Correlation Between Domestic Abuse And Mental Health
Multiple studies have proven that domestic abuse and mental health are intrinsically connected. Domestic abuse can be of various types, such as; sexual assault, physical violence and emotional or psychological abuse. Most studies in this psycho-social field have revealed specific patterns. Some of these are as follows:
According to a study conducted by the Indian Journal of Community Medicine in an urban locality in West Delhi, of the 350 families that were enquired, 42.8% of women reported domestic violence. But the more staggering statistics displayed a pattern of suicidal tendencies in the subjects. 22.3% had thought of suicide, while 3.4% of the women had attempted suicide.
According to an article published by the Journal of Mental Health and Human Behaviour, intimate partner violence was recorded at a high 45.6% for patients with depressive disorders, 61% for patients who have PTSD and 27.6% for anxiety disorders.
Another report published by the Cambridge University Press studied 9938 women in New Delhi, Lucknow, Bhopal, Nagpur, Chennai, Trivandrum and Vellore. Women who reported experiencing severe harassment by their in-laws, 74%, 80% and 71% from the rural, urban slum and urban non-slum areas, respectively, reported poor mental health and the probable presence of anxiety and depressive disorders. Those who reported moderate harassment from their in-laws reported higher rates of poor mental health.
According to WHO, among women, depressive disorders account for 41.9% of all disabilities from neuro-psychiatric conditions compared to 29.3% for men. Most older adults suffering from age-related mental syndromes such as depression, dementia and organic brain syndromes are women. At least 1 in 5 have been raped or have suffered attempted rape.
The documentary proves that domestic abuse predominantly affects the mental health of women. While domestic violence is the cause, ill mental health in various forms becomes the effect of the previous actions.
Psychological Health Of Women In India And Lack Of Awareness
Indian women are exposed to a variety of stressors daily. This includes childbirth, maternal care, preference of male children, submissive role in families, lack of reproductive health or sexual satisfaction, lack of say during marriages, abuse and harassment, a lower economic status given to women and practices like dowry.
Factors such as these go a long way in determining when, how and to what extent ill mental health will grasp a woman’s well-being. The same overview provided by the Indian Journal of Psychiatry shows that the existence of gender differences is one of the chief reasons for deteriorating mental health in women, making them prone to depressive and anxiety disorders.
“They see a son as an asset; they don’t feel the same about daughters.”
It’s nearly 2022, and we still haven’t gotten rid of such notions in our society.@PARInetwork @PopFoundIndia https://t.co/FYbVmcU4Z2
— Youth Ki Awaaz (@YouthKiAwaaz) December 26, 2021
Furthermore, lack of awareness, stereotypes, and several wrong established notions about mental health simultaneously make it difficult for them to approach or receive help from experienced sources.
According to professional clinical psychologist Sudarshana Dasgupta, “It has been an old practice in India, rural or urban, to send women in the families, to stay at mental health facilities, stating that they lost their sanity. This is often done to remove them away from their families to resist them claiming their portion of the property and other rights after their husband or parent’s death, or at times, when the husband plans to get remarried.
At times, it is also noticed that the woman’s irritability and aggression (which is a reaction to the maltreatment and abuse by her family members) makes her the culprit to society. This practice is less common in urban areas due to awareness and fear of legal consequences. However, still, people try this with women and also with individuals with an intellectual disability or chronic mental illness to get rid of them”.
Even though hormonal changes at different points of life and other biological changes make women more prone to anxiety and depressive disorders, attributing ill mental health to only these reasons completely disregards the extensive toll that the Indian social system takes on women’s mental health.
The fundamental flaw is in the upbringing of a child. Parents lack information about the long-term effects that childhood neglect and trauma can ensue on an individual’s life. Moreover, taking help from qualified psychologists and psychiatrists is looked down upon and is taken as the final resort, not a resource along the journey.
Families from lower socio-economic backgrounds, where gender differences become apparent and rampant to a greater extent, do not always have the financial resources. This comes with the unwillingness and reservations these sections of society have towards mental illness and recovery. The documentary is successful in perfectly depicting all these matters in question.
‘Love In The Time Of Madness’ And What It Tells Us
A factor that grabs the viewers’ attention of the documentary is that the family of the women acted as the decision-makers for prime life decisions. This is one of the many norms that has been firmly established in Indian society due to the patriarchal system.
Women are deprived of the freedom to make fundamental decisions about their own life. Moving on, we see, in Kajal’s case, her husband marrying a second time despite an existing legally-binding relationship. This is another of the endless male privileges bestowed upon men in the Indian context.
Furthermore, we also saw the significant harassment that both women had to face when they tried to stand up for themselves. This is rampantly occurring in the Indian system, even as far as the judiciary, wherein the victim is made to feel inferior and insignificant and is meted out with injustice.
The cases of Atasi and Kajal were dealt with in a way that was not just socially unacceptable but also instances of legal abuse. Even if the families felt that they were, in fact, in need of psychiatric help, they should have approached the issue with greater empathy and kindness rather than attributing their gains onto a problem as serious as that.
Both cases had the common grounds of the family profiteering personally by specific means (mostly, economically), which is why they played a gamble with the lives of the two women. The victim was not left with an opportunity but to accept the abuse and somehow abide by the norms established by a fundamentally corrupt system.
Regarding Mental Health At The Grassroots Levels
At the national, state and local levels, the government has legislated multiple times regarding women’s welfare in the Indian context. For instance, article 15(3) of the Constitution of India favours positive discrimination against women stating, “Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any special provision for women and children”.
There were multiple welfare schemes introduced, such as the Mother and Child Tracking System (MCTS), Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls – Sabla and Digital Laado, to name a few.
But the introduction of welfare schemes and actual development has gained a massive divide in reality. Sensitisation at grassroot levels would have a significant contribution in reducing this gap. Some of the methods that I think would prove beneficial in this regard are as follows :
- Compulsory education about domestic abuse: How far does learning statistics help us overcome a social issue? It does not. Not completely. But it would plant the seed of awareness that would go a long way in breaking the existing gender barriers for a more equitable society. A significant discussion may also make way for women to raise their voice and opinion (even if the other members disapprove of it) in a tactical and socially accepted practice that does not make them look insane and will bring the expected results.
- Awareness regarding mental health: While gender studies have been included in several courses in India, study about mental health still has enormous areas to fill. When we know about symptoms and possible causes of various psychological disorders, it will help us introspect better. Further, it will also systematically break down the taboos surrounding mental health. It also means that social workers and human rights activists should visit homes and families to make women aware of their rights and what behaviours could indicate difficulties maintaining mental health. They can ascertain who needs institutionalisation. Most importantly, what behaviours are typical but socially unfavourable and not a mental illness or reason to be sent to a rehabilitation centre.
- Formation of self-help groups: In rural areas where domestic harassment is widespread and unrestrained, the formation of self-help groups can prove to have extensive advantages. There have been multiple prior success stories against domestic violence by forming a cooperative self-help group. The introduction of mental health awareness drives in these associations might prove highly beneficial.
- Strict implementation of women’s laws at grassroot levels: This needs to be enforced and ensured by local governments. The other family members, especially the males in the family, should be made aware of the legal consequences and punishment of making false claims that a woman has lost her sanity when it’s not a reality. Immediate justice procedures for perpetrators would stand as an example for others who resort to domestic violence or any other way of harassment. This can also significantly bring down the number of harassment cases by working up a fear factor in people’s minds.
- Availability of psychological help in rural areas: Even if there is awareness and mental disorders and help regarding the same, people might not always have the financial resources to avail themselves. This can be overcome if the government takes the onus to increase the number of mental health institutions and at rates that are feasible and accessible by the masses across the nation, especially rural areas where financial constraints can be a significant hindrance.
Basically what the title is asking! #DomesticViolencehttps://t.co/Ao6KHVo01g
— Youth Ki Awaaz (@YouthKiAwaaz) January 10, 2022
Conclusion
Approaching the issue from its root is the way to go. As discussed earlier in the article, the most significant reason behind ill mental health in women is gender bias and related inequalities. So naturally, what needs to be undertaken foremost are reforms aiming to eradicate gender inequality in our country.
This achievement is a long way to go but not necessarily an unachievable task. Altogether it aims at developing an equitable society to accommodate, enrich and subsequently, flourish as a whole.
Note: The author is part of the Dec ’21 batch of the Writer’s Training Program.