Rohini Pawar

A vocal woman-rights activist in a conservative society in a Pune village, Rohini is the feminist icon everyone, everywhere should look up to. For the longest time, Rohini Pawar, from Walhe, Pune, dreamed of becoming a doctor, but these dreams were curtailed when she was married at 15. “I felt all my dreams would crash and end there,” she says. “I was scared, everything was different. I suddenly found myself living away from home, burdened with responsibilities,” she says.  “I wanted to make sure that other girls didn’t have to face the same problems.” After slowly gaining financial independence by…

Pregnancy-related deaths drop with the introduction of a new scheme in Pune.

Maharashtra is plagued by a high rate of maternal and infant deaths. In response to this, a new scheme has been introduced in Pune to improve the follow-up care of pregnant women. All women are eligible to receive a complete medical check-up every month, free of cost. This scheme has been running for one year now and has brought about tremendous change in the condition of pregnant women. Because Rohini is volunteering in this program as an ASHA – accredited social health activist- , she personally witnessed the changes.

“My role is to ensure that the women would access the hospital and benefit from the free check-ups offered there. I go around my village, and drive them to the hospital. They’re usually wary the first time they come, but change their mind once they realize they receive a good treatment free of cost” said Rohini.

The latter has been trained for four months before taking up her position as an ASHA. She is now able to inform the women on various things like nutrition, vaccination, and to sensitize them to the particular health issues related to pregnancy.

“The program has brought about a big change for women. There has been no delivery death since we’ve started this scheme. It’s a great success and I hope it extends to other cities and states now!”