Recognising women’s right to health and addressing the underlying gender inequities and discrimination are well-established necessary actions for reducing health inequities globally (Pederson et al, 2014). It is imperative to understand that patriarchal social norms along with their intersections with socio-political categorisations of class, caste, race, disability, religion, occupation/work, ethnicity, migration status etc, play a crucial role in determining the health of women, girls and gender non-binary individuals, particularly from marginalised groups. Power is central to any marginalisation and inequality. Health policies and interventions necessitate an understanding of this power to analyse the poorer health status of certain groups/ communities as well as the barriers faced by different groups in accessing health information, knowledge, care, and services.

States bear responsibilities to respect, protect, promote, and fulfil rights related to health, with particular attention to vulnerable and marginalised population groups, without any discrimination. Despite these longstanding agreements and commitments towards the pervasive problems of gender gaps and discrimination forming global challenges to health, much work is still achieving the explicit goal of gender equity within the health policy and health promotion discourse. The impacts of gender on health and its determinants continue falling through the cracks of this apathy.