A rising number of women are suffering from alcohol abuse, especially in metropolitan cities like Mumbai, say doctors. Stigma and non-acceptance from family and society is not letting them get help, due to which female de-addiction wards run empty and were eventually shut down.
Dr Shubhangi Parker, assistant dean (academics) at KEM Hospital, said, “An alcoholic man will still be respected by his family and the women in his life will motivate him to take up treatment. However, this is not the case with an alcoholic woman. She is not extended help with same intensity and commitment.”
She further added that the stigma attached with being alcoholic, and rejection from the family and society are major roadblocks in their treatment. “We were the first to start a seven-bedded female de-addiction ward in 1991. But with no women coming forward, we had to shut it down.”
Agreeing with Dr Parker, Dr Yusuf Matcheswalla, psychiatrist attached with Masina hospital, said, “While the number of women alcoholics have gone up, the female de-addiction centres had no takers and we were forced to close it. They prefer to be admitted at places on the outskirts of Mumbai.”
Doctors say urbanisation and changing social norms could have lead to more women taking up drinking.
Talking about the challenges in dealing with treating women alcoholics, Dr Matcheswalla said, “Women don’t want to come out in the open about their problem, and the chance of a relapse is higher in women than in men, due to socio-emotional factors.”
An Alcoholics Anonymous member who has successfully quit drinking said, “I was a successful working woman. I don’t know when I turned alcoholic. It has been three years and three months since I have stopped drinking. Being a woman, I was always questioned why I started drinking to get addicted and then went for de-addiction. Women drinking is a big taboo. People will label her, but not extend help,” the woman said.
