08/03/2026
And also worth a share for International Women’s Day! (Posted by another inspirational female herbalist)
International women's day 2026.
Wishing all women everywhere equality.
Why do we still need IWD in 2026?
Lets Just look at some of the thing my women patients have said to me in the 2 months 8 days of 2026.
*The doctor said no to a sterilisation because I might meet a man who wants to have children with me*
Lets deconstruct that: she's 30. Old enough to make up her mind. But worse than that A MAN SHE HASNT MET YET has rights over her medical decisions and autonomy.
*The doctor wont test my hormones, he says i'm over 40 so I must be menopausal*
I suggested she ask the same doctor for fertility testing because her husband wants a baby. He said yes right away. So wanting to know about her body was les important than a man's disappointment about progeny (her partner is a darling. Theres nothing like that going on just to be clear.)
* My periods are all over the place but the doctor tells me he tested my hormones 5 years ago so he wont test them again because we know whats going on *
Again I suggested she tell her GP she'd been trying to conceive forva couple of years and it wasnt happening. No problem getting all the tests plus an ultrasound. Surprise surprise, polycystic ovaries.
But why did getting pregnant open the door when pain and irregular menstruation didnt.
* I'm fairly sure its menopause. I've no energy, cant sleep, i'm struggling to concentrate. I've tried standard HRT but GP wont prescribe testosterone *
I suggested she tell the GP her husband was upset because her libido was absent. Et voila! Prescription for testosterone.
What all of these situations have on common is institutional s*xism. Once a man, who isnt even in the room, is inconvenienced by a woman's discomfort, distress or ill health, the testing a woman needs suddenly becomes available.
These are all educated, intelligent, professional women capable of advocating for themselves.
How much worse must it be for women who dont have advocacy experience or the option to seek private support?
Lack of equality shows up in so many ways. Inequality is far worse when you add Blackness or non traditional gender identity into the mix.
If these sound familiar or you or a woman you love or care for is experiencing this kind of discrimination encourage her to ask her care provider
" do you realise you just told me a man i dont know yet has rights over my body "
" do you realise you refused to do this till I told you a man was inconvenienced "
" do you realise you told me my comfort, concentration and sleep were less important than my husband's s*x drive "
Womens day is still relevant. SO relevant.
And, for the trolls out there. Its 19th November-International Men's Day
