Silent Battles: Women and the Unseen Crisis of Mental Health
By Dr. Asma Fatima Makhdoom
“There is no health without mental health.” – World Health Organization
In drawing rooms, offices, and hospital corridors worldwide, scores of women conceal smiles over hidden anguish. They run homes, care for children, nurture careers, and look after others, oblivious to their own needs. Underlying this silent strength is a mounting crisis: women’s mental health.
The Hidden Struggle
Research by the World Health Organization indicates depression and anxiety occur in women nearly twice as frequently as they do in men. The causes are multi-layered: biological, social, and cultural.
From adolescence to menopause, hormonal shifts render women susceptible to mood disorders. But these normal transitions are seldom recognized as valid medical issues. Postpartum depression, for example, strikes one in seven new mothers, but in much of South Asia it is minimized as moodiness or weakness.
“I thought I was tired,” says Sara, a 32-year-old Islamabad-based new mother. “But the fatigue culminated in despair. I couldn’t explain it to anyone because everyone would keep saying you should be happy, you are blessed with a baby.”
Her tale is one of millions. The silence over women’s mental health continues to be deafening.
The Pressure to Be Perfect
Modern times have not simplified things. Women today lead multiple roles as professionals, mothers, daughters, and wives all under pressure to have everything together.
The cultural requirement to be calm, gracious, and self-denying tends to cause emotional exhaustion. Social media has amplified these demands. Perfect houses, perfect bodies, perfect lives give an illusion that makes many women feel insecure and agitated.
“We teach our girls to smile through pain, but not to seek help when it hurts.” – Anonymous mental health advocate
Trauma Behind Closed Doors
It is impossible to speak about women’s mental health without mentioning violence and trauma. One in every three women in the world has been physically or sexually assaulted at some point in her life, states UN Women. Psychological wounds of abuse tend to outlast physical ones.
In Pakistan, violence at home, abuse in the form of emotions, and economic domination are all still clothed in shame and silence. Most women are living in abusive situations with no recourse to mental health care. Survival itself is a daily act of bravery for them.
Stigma: The Biggest Enemy
Even within educated families, counseling and therapy are viewed as unnecessary or taboo. A woman seeking out a psychiatrist is deemed unstable or dramatic. This stigma prevents many from getting the help that they need, and conditions such as depression or anxiety allow them to spiral and worsen over time.
“Mental illness isn’t a choice,” says clinical psychologist Dr. Rabia Ahmed. “But recovery is, and that starts the moment a woman feels safe to talk.”
Breaking the Silence
Transformation starts with recognition. Schools, workplaces, and communities have to make discussing mental health the norm. Government policy needs to incorporate mental health into primary care, and media and influencers can help de-stigmatize therapy.
Families also have to learn to listen. At times, a question as straightforward as — Are you okay? — can unlock doors that have been locked for a long time due to fear and shame.
“When women heal in mental health, families recover, children flourish, and societies advance.”
A Call to Compassion
Women have been society’s caregivers since the beginning. It is time society pays back with care, compassion, and access to treatment.
Because enabling women is not merely providing them with work or schooling; it is about providing them with peace of mind, purpose, and emotional wellness. When a nation’s women are healthy in their minds, the nation itself is more robust.
