Gendering Mental Health

The collection of essays in this volume focus on the state of mental health of Indian women, with respect to social attitudes, cultural barriers, treatment, policies, safeguards, or lack thereof. The contributors ask fundamental questions: Is 'mental illness' a social, medical, legal, penal, historical, personal construct? Is mental disorder a disability? Do people living with a mental ailment have a 'memory' or the 'insight' to tell their own stories? In dealing with these questions, it seeks to provide a perspective on how women suffering from mental illness view themselves and their surroundings in India.