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UID:pretalx-wha-annual-meeting-korea-2026-KANUZN@pretalx.com
DTSTART;TZID=KST:20260627T131500
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DESCRIPTION:This paper explores the history of women’s health and reprodu
 ctive practices in colonial Assam\, highlighting how the intersections of 
 colonial governance\, indigenous traditions\, and social reform agendas sh
 aped gendered medical knowledge. It argues that women’s health in the co
 lonial period was overwhelmingly conceptualised through the lens of reprod
 uction\, resulting in the marginalisation of non-reproductive aspects of w
 omen’s well-being. Before colonial intervention\, childbirth remained la
 rgely outside the domain of formal medical systems and was managed by indi
 genous midwives (dhais) through a combination of experiential knowledge\, 
 herbal remedies\, ritual practices\, and domestic care. These practices\, 
 while culturally embedded\, operated within a framework of social stigma\,
  caste prejudice\, and lack of institutional recognition. With the introdu
 ction of Western medicine\, childbirth gradually became medicalised\, yet 
 women continued to remain peripheral to colonial healthcare due to entrenc
 hed purdah norms\, reluctance to consult male physicians\, and the acute s
 hortage of trained female medical professionals. Although hospitals and di
 spensaries expanded numerically\, female attendance remained consistently 
 low\, reflecting structural and cultural barriers to access. Missionary wo
 men\, the Countess of Dufferin Fund\, the Victoria Memorial Scholarship Fu
 nd\, the Indian Red Cross Society played a critical role in introducing fe
 male medical aid\, training midwives\, and establishing maternity and chil
 d welfare institutions. However\, these initiatives were constrained by li
 mited state commitment\, inadequate funding\, and persistent societal resi
 stance to women’s education and professional training. High maternal and
  infant mortality rates\, widespread anaemia\, puerperal sepsis\, and unsa
 fe delivery practices underscore the limited reach of these reforms. By si
 tuating women’s reproductive health within the broader social and politi
 cal context of colonial Assam\, the paper demonstrates that colonial medic
 al intervention neither displaced indigenous systems entirely nor ensured 
 comprehensive care\, but instead produced a fragmented and gendered health
 care landscape marked by inequality\, neglect\, and contested authority.
DTSTAMP:20260412T123903Z
LOCATION:Room 403 PC Desk (Seats 30)
SUMMARY:From Dhai to Doctor: Medicalising Motherhood and the Social History
  of Women’s Reproductive Health in Colonial Assam - DR. EVAMONI DEKA
URL:https://pretalx.com/wha-annual-meeting-korea-2026/talk/KANUZN/
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