Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials,
Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription
The View From India
Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective.
First Day First Show
News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming.
Today's Cache
Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day.
Science For All
The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in!
Data Point
Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers
THEdge
At the cutting edge of education and careers
Health Matters
Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there
Gender Agenda
Stories from beyond the binary.
The Hindu On Books
Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features.
Women’s health care can be accused of being focused entirely on the reproductive age group. Menopause, for instance, is a natural transition phase, but even when its symptoms are severe and debilitating, women seldom have access to health care, and are forced to ‘just endure’. Given the huge care gap that exists here, it is appreciable that Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have taken the step to move ahead with the announcement of a perimenopause/menopause policy. Both the States made the announcement within a short while of each other, in August. The primary benefit, besides retrieving women’s mid-life care from the neglect bin it has been languishing in so far, is that the physical and mental-health needs of women in this stage of life will become part of routine government health care, making access to care easier. Tamil Nadu Health Minister K.G. Arunraj made the announcement of a perimenopausal care policy in the Assembly on August 17. He said the aim was to facilitate early identification of physical and mental health needs of perimenopausal women, with screening, counselling and treatment services through PHCs and higher centres. On August 4, Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Minister U.T. Khader, introduced ‘Ruthu Thare’ as the country’s first dedicated women’s health policy with a strong focus on perimenopause and menopause, at a meeting in Bengaluru. Menopause is the permanent end of menstrual periods and reproductive ability, confirmed after 12 consecutive months without a cycle. It happens when the ovaries naturally slow down and produce lower levels of the hormones oestrogen and progesterone. The transition time, leading up to menopause, is the perimenopausal period which can bring irregular periods and bodily changes over several years. Common symptoms include hot flashes, sleep trouble, extreme mood changes, joint pain, debility and fatigue, and for many women these can be disruptive.
Both States are planning outreach screening and counselling at the community level, women’s-health clinics, district-level well-women screening, and community outreach, besides referrals to district hospitals and government medical colleges. No doubt, this is a progressive measure which will also give legitimacy to the complaints of menopausal women, but the proof of any pudding is in the eating. How effective these policies are will be measured only during implementation. Among the critical points today is that the symptoms of menopause are not treated with adequate seriousness even by the medical community; so, adequate awareness generation among medical professionals and the beneficiaries and their families as well is a must.
health
/
gender
/
Tamil Nadu
/
Karnataka
/
India
/
hospital and clinic
/
government
/
medical conditions
/
medical colleges
/
family
Copyright© 2026, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
