KARACHI, Feb 29: The Epilepsy Association of Pakistan on Saturday launched an education strategy focussing on women and based on the International League Against Epilepsy's 'Out of Shadow' campaign titled 'Women Matter'.

A formal announcement in this regard was made at the third annual epilepsy conference addressed by neurologists, gynaecologist and psychiatrists from across the country besides a Pakistani-American medical researcher, Dr Fawzia Siddiqe.

Professor-Emeritus Hasan Aziz, who is also the association's coordinator, said that it was designed to address the health concerns and unmet needs of women suffering epilepsy.

"Women with epilepsy have special concerns - physical and emotional - about how epilepsy affects them...," he said. Research, he said, showed that women with epilepsy do not always get proper counselling about their special needs, which makes it important for women to educate themselves about their condition, adding that tools would be provided to help women with epilepsy to effective manage their condition, enabling them to improve their quality of life.

"Women Matter" was said to be a campaign created to educate women from their teenage years through menopause and beyond about their unique treatment needs and to provide tools to help them successfully navigate the condition throughout their lives.

Meanwhile, other speakers, including Dr Shireen Bhutta (obstetrician), Dr Unaiza Niaz (psychiatrist), Dr Fawzia Siddique, discussing issues related to epileptic women.

They said that most women with epilepsy have a normal pregnancy and healthy children, research was referred showing women with epilepsy to be at increased risk of reproductive health complications, including contraception failure, infertility and birth defects. -APP