https://soundcloud.com/shivani-das-983855902/frailty-and-faith-pt2?si=a553e96cf7a44cbf87c037e59174c1a1&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
The episode "Frailty and Faith", is an attempt to capture the life of a medical health professional and her work during the pandemic.
This episode is in Santhali. The host for this episode is Dewla Hansda, a Gender Studies Scholar and the respondent for this episode is a recent MBBS graduate who has preferred to stay anonymous.
This podcast is created by Shivani Das and Shivani Sankhla, as part of the Ideosync UNESCO Information Felłowship, June 2021 special cohort on intersectional feminism and digital rights
PART B
Intro: Johar! Welcome back to part 2 of the episode ‘Frailty and Faith’. I am your host Dewla Hansda. I am with my guest who is a doctor and was sharing her experiences of service during the pandemic.
Dewla: Your graduation is over and with age, our family begins to talk about marriage and “settling down”. With respect to this, what is your dynamic with your family like?
Respondent: Graduation is done but MBBS is not enough. Also, I feel like whatever I want to achieve, I have not done that yet. I do not feel that satisfaction yet. I feel like I want more to do.
Hence, I do not feel like “settling down” yet. My parents keep asking me and families keep coming but I told my parents that I will be unable to do these two things together. I could either study or take care of my personal life. It doesn't feel like a big achievement yet and I have just finished graduation so I am very confused about what to do. Do I take a drop year or continue my job? Because preparing for MD is doubly tough. I need a lot of focus on this. At present, I do not think of anything.
Dewla: As an Adivasi, especially a woman, do you feel like you are treated differently? If so, please share any instances with me.
Respondent: Yes, it is very common. Firstly, there is a general understanding that women are only nurses. At first, we thought that maybe it is because we are younger. However, surprisingly, between my batchmate who is a man and a senior doctor who is a woman, a person will still address her as “nurse”. It has been around one year since my internship and people still address us as “nurses”. Even in OPD, we are addressed as nurses despite the fact that only doctors are supposed to prescribe medicine in the OPD. I think even after I have done my MD, people will still call me “nurse”. Apart from that higher preferences are given to men to scrub in or any important work. Even when asking questions, the senior doctors ask the men first to answer and then us. It is not very prominent but we feel discriminated against.
Dewla: This is the end of the episode ‘Frailty and Faith’. I want to thank our guest for sharing her experience. I also would like to thank those listening to this conversation. Johar!