HEALTH
Who Cares For The Women Behind The Strength?
Dr Monali Jani
A conversation with Dr Charmi Pawani, Consultant – Obstetrics & Gynaecology, GAIMS on why women's health can't wait — at home or at work.
As October brings together Women's Health & Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the festive energy of Navratri, it's worth pausing on a question that's easy to overlook: who looks after the women who spend their lives looking after everyone else?
Between careers, households and caregiving, women juggle more roles than most workplaces acknowledge — and their own health is often the first thing to be deprioritised. We spoke to Dr Charmi Pawani, Consultant in Obstetrics & Gynaecology at Gujarat Adani Institute of Medical Sciences (GAIMS), about why that needs to change.
Dr Pawani notes that women tend to normalise symptoms they shouldn't have to live with — menstrual issues, chronic fatigue, pelvic discomfort and hormonal fluctuations are routinely brushed aside. She also stresses that postpartum recovery doesn't end when maternity leave does; physical, emotional and hormonal healing continues well beyond delivery, and workplaces should factor this into how they welcome women back.
On menopause, Dr Pawani is direct: it's a natural transition, not a taboo. Hot flushes, disrupted sleep, mood swings and brain fog can genuinely affect performance, and open dialogue helps women feel supported rather than isolated.
Strength is not about silently enduring everything. Sometimes, strength is knowing when to pause, listen to your body and ask for care.”
Dr Charmi Pawani
Consultant – Obstetrics & Gynaecology, GAIMS
Marking Breast Cancer Awareness Month, she urges vigilance all year round, not just in October. Her advice is simple but firm: know what's normal for your body, and never delay getting a new lump, unusual discharge or unexplained change checked.
Her broader message to working women is one of permission — permission to notice, to pause and to act:
"Strength is not about silently enduring everything. Sometimes, strength is knowing when to pause, listen to your body and ask for care."
As Navratri celebrates the many faces of Shakti — courage, compassion, resilience — Dr Pawani's reflections offer a timely reminder that true strength was never about silent endurance. Sometimes it looks like saying: I need a check-up. I need time to recover. I need to prioritise my health.
This October, the invitation isn't just to celebrate women, but to actively support their wellbeing — at home, in clinics and in the workplace. Because the strongest organisations aren't the ones where women simply keep going. They're the ones where women have the space to truly thrive.
The writer works are Gujarat Adani Institute of Medical Sciences (GAIMS), Bhuj.