“Athra,” a maternal illness in the rural Punjabi-Pakistan, as a source of stigma

Abstract

In the rural Punjab region in Pakistan, some women who experience pregnancy loss are believed to suffer from athra, which is considered a major cause of childlessness. Women with athra can have several miscarriages, and they are prone to stillbirth and neonatal death. This study presents results from ethnographic fieldwork in a rural, religiously diverse Christian–Muslim community in Punjab, Pakistan. The data were collected through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with community members and women who had experienced athra. This study explores the perception of athra in this community, as well as the impact of a diagnosis of athra on the women affected. This study follows the model developed by Link and Phelan (2001) to explore the process through which athra is stigmatised. According to Link and Phelan (2001), stigma occurs when labelling, stereotyping, separation, status loss, and discrimination occur within an unequal power situation.