News Desk |
Pakistani actress Armeena Khan has questioned the trend of females not pursuing their medical practice after attaining degrees, according to a recent statistics nearly 85,000 females who attained medical education on the expense of the state or privately are not part of the medical workforce in Pakistan.
The report further stated that if only 50 percent of these out-of-profession doctors join the workforce, 70 percent of the problems of the health issues of low-income community groups can be resolved.
Read more: Armeena Khan called out a man abusing her on social media
Khan, commenting on the startling statistics cited that most females pursue medical education to acquire a good marriage proposal while others are barred from practice from their male guardian including father, brother or the husband.
https://twitter.com/ArmeenaRK/status/1126782318851559424
She further stated that the onus of the wastage of state resources befalls primarily upon the male guardians since females are not free to choose their own career. Bashing them she further stated that such cultural norms have resulted in the poor health sector of the country while the potential doctors were denied the opportunity to utilize their skills and benefit the nation.
https://twitter.com/ArmeenaRK/status/1126874599235387394
https://twitter.com/ArmeenaRK/status/1126785611237613568
https://twitter.com/ArmeenaRK/status/1126788249035444224
Therefore, the male guardians and beneficiaries should pay back that money to the state which could then be spent on the training of the deserving potential doctors.
The commentators on social media backed her decision and praised her for raising an important matter; however, others highlighted the plight of working in the medical profession. They stated that factors such as low monetary reward, long working hours, absence of career structure and childcare facilities.
Also, other factors influencing this include: lack of opportunities, lack of safe workspace and high expectations of family time from women even if they have such a demanding job.
— Fatima (@fatima_khwan) May 11, 2019
Thank you Armeena for highlighting this important issue. The problem is multifaceted and stems from how our society conducts itself. These are all symptoms of our social dynamic and not a single problem.
— Ammar Hashmi (@DrAmmarHashmi) May 11, 2019
https://twitter.com/rassmallai/status/1127509902925225986
Adding contrast to the debate, one female user pointed out that it is not only the female doctors that leave the profession but even male doctors leave the country to either pursue specialization courses or further their career abroad. Hence according to her, a sizable portion of male doctors are also responsible for the poor health system in the country.
https://twitter.com/drsarahzia/status/1127202462631432192
They demanded the government to introduce attractive monetary packages for the doctors so that they may pursue their profession and choose to stay back in the country.