First, addicts are getting
hooked earlier. The mean age of initial heroin use, according to the last
National Drug Abuse Survey (2002-03), has fallen to 22 from 26.
Second, more women are
using and the country refuses to take seriously the social factors that
contribute to this worsening picture.
Drug addiction can start
in school. Girls at one private institution used hashish in the restroom while
a reporter was there. A headmistress of one girls’ college in Lahore expelled a
group of her students for possessing and using narcotics on the premises.
“The problem of drug
addiction among women cannot be separated from other aspects of their social
conditioning … such as racism, sexism and poverty … that are essential to
understanding drug abuse in women”, said Tasneem Nazir, a clinical psychologist
at Lahore’s Mayo Hospital. S
he said teenage girls are
likely to abuse substances in order to lose weight, relieve stress or boredom,
improve their mood, reduce sexual inhibitions, self-medicate depression and
increase confidence. Women who seek treatment for alcohol and drug problems
report a connection among domestic violence, childhood abuse, and substance
abuse.
One woman said she had
suffered from physical, mental and financial abuse before turning to drugs.
“I don’t know why I didn’t
realise it”, the woman, 42, said of her addiction, but “I didn’t deserve what
my husband put me through”.
Nazir said that to declare
addiction openly is to sign a social death warrant.
“Many addicted women
refuse to go into drug rehabilitation programmes. They are outpatients because
of the shame and stigma attached to substance dependence and addiction. They
cannot stay in rehabilitation centres for cultural reasons and go only for
medicine and advice”, said Dr. Mahmooda Aftab, a clinical psychologist running
a rehabilitation centre.
Nazir suggested that the
way to remedy the problem is to address violence and sexual abuse, unsafe
housing, unemployment, stereotyping of sexual roles, and the lack of health
care and child care, all of which contribute to the depression and hopelessness
linked to substance abuse by women.
Brig. Sajjad Ahmed Bakshi,
force commander of the Anti Narcotics Force (ANF), Punjab, told Central Asia
Online that though information on women’s drug use is limited, drug addiction
has increased steadily among girls and women.
“The youth of today are a
pathetic sight", he said. "Greater attention is being paid to create
awareness among the people about the dangers of drug abuse and the ways to
avoid it”.
Bakshi said women,
especially young girls belonging to “elite backgrounds”, are becoming addicts.
Some women are not aware
of the drugs they are taking. Doctors prescribe a “medicine”, and some
incurious users know little about the side effects.
“There is no restriction
on buying (painkillers or tranquilisers)”, he said.
Many women have been
taking such medicines for months or years and have become dependent on them.
“We came to the doctor for
treatment. The doctor prescribed these medicines, which I used to sleep well
and to ward off worries”, said Hajra, a rehabilitation centre patient whose
name was changed to ensure privacy. “I didn't know the medicines used
prescribed by the doctor are poison”.
Bakshi said the ANF has
established wards at eight government hospitals to provide free treatment. But
most patients don’t know where they can get help, either before or after the
addiction takes hold.
“It is important for women
to have the knowledge and skills to be a positive force in confronting this
problem, especially in drug prevention”, Bakshi said. “It is an imperative of
this time that all sections of society combine their efforts to eradicate drugs
from our society”.
He suggested that for
complete eradication, systematic education and constant community support need
to exist.
“It is essential to …
implement awareness programmes effectively and intelligently", he said.
"Doing so would lead to a better and (more) prosperous future for each
member of the society”.
Society’s view on
addiction also needs to change, according to concerned observers.
“The barriers to treatment
for women must be addressed because most programmes are based on male-oriented
models that are not geared to the needs of women", Mahmooda said. "The
need of the time is programmes must be designed to overcome the current
barriers to women’s access to and participation in treatment”.
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