We can celebrate #IWD2019…but we have a long way to go – Dr Ravjot Kaur article

This International Women’s day, Dr Ravjot Kaur wants to celebrate all women. However, she also wants to recognise a lot more needs to be done to elevate South-Asian women suffering with mental health issues, and also highlight how she is trying to do just this.

Women have come a long way from being homemakers – or for Punjabi women, roti-makers – to now being breadwinners and more.

Early 19^th century witnessed many feminist movements, including an arduous campaign for the ‘right to vote’, led by the likes of Princess Sophia Duleep Singh, daughter of the Sikh Prince Duleep Singh (raised in Britain after being kidnapped by the Royal Family) and grand-daughter of famed Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ji, a woman of Sikh background that lived up to the activist remit of her forefathers’ faith.

Despite the work of inspirational female figures like Sophia, over 100 years later we still have far to go.
Today’s challenges for women are both vast and unique to our times; domestic violence, emotional/sexual abuse, rape, mental illness, inequality in work environments, online harassment and more, there are various afflictions which affect women on a day-to-day basis.

Women need to speak out and not hold back. Women need to be united, empowered with knowledge, self-belief, resolve and determination in their respective journeys, and to become their true authentic selves, whatever that means to any individual.

As a Psychiatrist that has worked in London, I have met countless Asian women who have issues doing just this. Some are living with mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression and even schizophrenia. These women try their utmost to serve their loved ones – something expected of Asian women – while continuing to suffer in silence, surrounded by ignorance. Mental illness like this shouldn’t be taken lightly, as in the long-term it can affect everyone around us.

I lost my mother in 2017. My mother was not just an inspiration to me, but to many. She was a voice for the weak, and the life and soul of any religious or social gathering.  Today I pray to continue my mother’s legacy on a wider scale. And with Guru ji’s blessings it seems that this has already begun.

Sikh PA gave me a platform to discuss mental health in the Sikh community (watch it here). As far as I am aware, this was the first event of its type in the UK, open to the public and focusing solely on mental health through a Sikh lens, with a panel of professionals and sevadaars (selfless volunteers) that work in this field

I was invited to sit on the panel and answer questions from the participants. Subsequently, I went on to direct a series on mental health on Sangat TV. Today, I manage Seek Sense (www.seeksense.co), an international organisation that provides individual assessments as well as mental health awareness courses to public, corporates and charities. I also work with charities like Sikh Helpline and Sikh Forgiveness to hold talks in Universities and Gurudwaras across the country.

I recently co-authored a very powerful book (titled “The First Slap”), a book based upon a true-life story of domestic violence. This is a personal yet professional, easy to read book, about a journey from darkness into light, with important elements of learning, linking mental health and domestic violence.

Along with my work on the TV show and the book, I have worked with Dav Panesar, UK’s Pioneer in Mindfulness and Gurmat therapy, on something which will be revealed later on this year.

I thank Sikh PA for helping me to carve out this new avenue of work I do in mental health. Although International Women’s Day is a time to celebrate the work of women, it is what we do every day that makes a real impact.

As such, I pledge to continue to be the supporter of mental health wellbeing, especially in my South Asian community, especially for all of my fellow women.