Kalam asks ministries to work to address mental illness

New Delhi, Mar 8 (UNI) President A P J Abdul Kalam today called for tackling mental illness, particularly among women, with proper education and awareness and asked Ministries of Health and Family Welfare, Women and Child Development and Social Justice to combine efforts to address the issue.

''By tradition, in our country and elsewhere there is a hesitation to accept mental problem as an illness.... This has to be tackled with proper education and creating adequate number of psychiatrists by our educational system,'' Dr Kalam said in his address at inauguration of a seminar ''Mentally ill women- Is Destitution the only answer?'' He said respect for womanhood, especially those who are mentally ill, should be a mandatory societal requirement of all citizens of the country.

''The developed status of the society is indicated by the respect the society gives to its womanhood. We have to respect the womanhood especially when they are mentally ill and they are not able to look after themselves,'' he observed at the Seminar, Organised by the National Commission for Women.

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