Mirror mirror on the wall, is the problem big or small?
I stood as close to the mirror as I could to find the reason for the unexpected pain in my throat. There was only so far I could see, the flashlight wasn’t helping either. Additionally, I wasn’t even sure what a potential problem would look like. I felt anxious about the pain and frustrated about not being able to reach its cause.
I find echoes of my anxiety in conversations with the people we design solutions for. Priya* tried to find the cause for the unexpected bleeding in her vagina. Ayesha* surfed through the internet for clues to diagnose the pain in her abdomen. “I don’t remember anything about that week except the anxiety,” said Anshika* about the time she awaited her periods post sex. Priya and Ayesha wouldn’t fear pain or bleeding in a visible wound on their hand. Anshika wasn’t afraid of her periods shifting a bit here or there.
It was the invisible that made these women expect the worst, and they craved assurance that everything was okay.
This fear of the invisible shows up even when we work with communities to meet health outcomes. It manifests itself through delayed diagnosis, refusal of modern medicine and general dissatisfaction. Underneath emotional reactions lies the right to control the health of one’s body.
People make decisions based on what little they can see and in fear of what they can’t.
You may even hear a plea almost asking to see how the drugs would react in their body. Isn’t it a fair demand to be able to make an informed choice?
Solutions that provide assurance of what’s happening within, truly democratise healthcare.
At TinkerLabs, we designed a physical device that would enable women to see their fertile dates in the coming month. We knew we were on the right track when a woman in rural Gopalganj said, “Now that I know, I am fearless.” She could finally take charge of her fertility in whatever way suited her. She felt empowered. Consulting a doctor needed time and money and had scope for stigma and provider bias — all this only for health providers to give words to signs that her body was already showing.
I imagine a future where we can see within and respond to the needs of our bodies through protection and care. We use contraceptives of choice without coercion. We test for HIV or TB without raising doubts. We assess the risks and benefits of different drugs for our unique bodies. We collaborate with health providers to make personal choices. We exercise our right to good health, with confidence instead of fear.
