The Women and Child Development Ministry has proposed a “health card” for women for their compulsory health check-up on a regular basis, Union Minister Maneka Gandhi said on Sunday.
“We are proposing a compulsory health card for women making five to six most vital tests compulsory,” Gandhi said during an event on the occasion of International Mother’s Day here.
Gandhi put the onus of ensuring the annual check-up of women on their husbands, saying it is often the negligence on their part that aggravates the condition of a woman suffering from diseases such as cancer or TB.
“It will be the responsibility of the woman’s spouse to ensure that the tests are done and it has to be done every year. If anyone does not, many other avenues and direct transfer benefits would be stopped.
“As an MP I often see that women are brought with serious illnesses by their husband at their last stage. There are various excuses by husbands to not take her to hospital,” she said.
Women and Child Development Ministry, which Gandhi is in charge of, has proposed the measure although Health Ministry will have to work on the proposal and implement it, she said.