Indira Gandhi: Tribute To The Iron Lady Of India!

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There could possibly be a lot of controversies and enough repercussions of the leadership of Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi, but the undeniable fact is that she was one of her kind.

India’s first and only, till date, female Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi was also the second longest-serving Indian Prime Minister after her father. From January 1966 to March 1977, and from January 1980 to until her assassination in October 1984, she represented Indian National Congress in an iconic way.

On the 36th death anniversary of the first woman Prime Minister of India, Infano is putting together some of the major facts about India’s Iron Woman.

The childhood influence

Gandhi had always been influenced by the Indian Independence Movement. When she was 5 YO, she burned her favourite foreign doll, influenced by the Swadeshi movement, as the doll was made in England. At 12, she was leading children in the Vanar Sena which included 60,000 young revolutionaries who made flags, addressed envelopes, and conveyed messages.

Born on November 19, 1917, Gandhi was the only daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India. She worked as an assistant to her father before joining the cabinet. She was also elected as the president of the Indian National Congress in 1960. Upon sworn in, she nationalised 14 banks during her tenure.

Led the war with Pakistan

Indira Gandhi went to war with the neighbouring country Pakistan and supported East Pakistan which resulted in an Indian victory and the creation of Bangladesh.

Before this historical victory, ministers who used to call her ‘Goongi Gudiya’ started calling her ‘Durga’ to pay her respect.

“I am not a person to be pressured — by anybody or any nation,” Indira Gandhi said in an interview after the war ended. She was also awarded Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour, for India’s historic victory.

Woman of the Millennium

The idea of equal pay for equal work for both men and women was given consideration in the Indian Constitution under the Gandhi administration.

She also conducted the country’s first nuclear test, Pokhran I. The development of nuclear weapons was authorised in 1967.

She was called the Iron Lady of India during her 16-year long tenure. In the year 1999, Gandhi was named ‘Woman of the Millennium’ by the BBC.

Identified by power, not gender

Indira Gandhi, no matter how controversial her life was, had always been a figure to look upon. She broke several patriarchies to live her life the way she wanted.

From going against her family’s wishes to marry the love of her life to taking actions in the parliament for the nation, she never gave up.

“I think all her life she was more man than woman in the conventional sense, and her identity was defined more by her aristocratic lineage and later by power than by gender,” Sagarika Ghose writes in her book describing Gandhi.

The tragic end

Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her own bodyguards, who also happened to be Sikh nationalists, on October 31 1984, due to the aftermath of Operation Blue Star. She was shot at 31 bullets; 30 bullets had hit her, of which 23 had passed through her while 7 remained inside her.

Her death was tragic! But, it would not be wrong to say that she inspired several women in India. She remained as a powerful icon who shattered several societal rules and led the nation by several examples.

This article is a tribute to the first woman prime minister of India. Infano does not support any political party and intends to only write about the women who made a mark/ are making a mark in society.

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Highlights

After COVID-19 vaccination it is not uncommon to have a 1- to 2-cycle irregular period as the endometrium is part of the immune system.

While few reported heavy bleeding during their menstrual cycle, some others reported early onset of periods with painful cramps and some had delayed periods.

People should not be alarmed due to it and treat it as a minor side effect of the vaccine.

All changes reported have been minor or temporary with no damage to fertility, hormone, or reproductive health.

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Two researchers- Kate Clancy, a human reproductive ecologist and associate professor of anthropology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and biological anthropologist Katharine Lee of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have collected more than 140,000 reports from people who say they’ve noticed a change in their periods after vaccination; Lee and Clancy are formally documenting those cases in an open-ended study on women’s health and reproductive systems post-vaccine.

Clancy’s took to social media after her own experience, “My period after dose one was one of the heaviest I remember having ever in my life,” she says. “I did not anticipate it blowing up to the extent that it has. A lot of emails, a lot of Instagram DMs, and a lot of tweets of people who are just baring their souls to us.”

But Dr. Beachgem, a pediatric emergency response doctor explained in a video that an irregular period, after vaccination is normal and is not detrimental to your health or fertility.

“After COVID-19 vaccination it is not uncommon to have a 1- to 2-cycle irregular period. Your endometrium is part of your immune system, so this can definitely happen,” she explains.

Women are more hormonal than men. During ovulation, the immune system receives a sort of a ‘signal’ to prevent infectious agents from disturbing conception. The cells of the uterine linings also contain some immune cells, which could be affected by hormonal changes and create mild, inflammatory reactions. If the ovulation doesn’t happen, the vaccine could end up spelling some changes to the period cycle.

All three US manufacturers of COVID-19 vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson) have denied that they have seen any irregularities in menstruation or fertility. But the early COVID 19 vaccine trials studies never spoke about reproductive health. This is a huge lapse on their part because they have just disregarded women’s health and the bodies of people with ovaries making them unseen in the clinical trials.

The good news though is that most of the irregularities seem to be short-lived. “From what we have seen so far, it appears that the changes to the menstrual cycle seem to be short-lived, just a couple of cycles,” Lee says.

While few reported heavy bleeding during their menstrual cycle, some others reported early onset of periods with painful cramps and some had delayed periods. But many others had different experiences, too with untimely spotting or bleeding (breakthrough bleeding).

“We started hearing a lot about breakthrough bleeding, from people on long-acting reversible contraception, people on gender-affirming hormones, and postmenopausal people who were years and years out from their last period, sometimes decades out,” Lee says.

However, both researchers say that these irregularities should not be taken as an anti-vaccine argument. A vaccine needs to be taken. But for awareness’ sake, people need to know if there will be an adverse effect so that they are informed and know to expect an irregularity and should not be alarmed due to it and treat it as a minor side effect of the vaccine.

Riley says she believes issues such as the effects on menstruation need to be addressed in future clinical trials of drugs and vaccines: “Because when you can’t answer those questions, you’re asking people just to believe.”

It is only to be informed, aware, and better prepared for women to expect slight changes in their menstrual cycle after ovulation but this should not be a reason for avoiding the vaccination as it is a must. And all changes reported have been minor or temporary with no damage to fertility, hormone or reproductive health. However, if symptoms seem to persist for a longer period, it is better to contact your physician.

Source: npr.org , timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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