The Podcast by KevinMD Silence is a survival mechanism that costs women their joy
Jan 18, 2026
Priya Panneerselvam, an obstetrician-gynecologist and advocate for women's health, shares her insights on the cultural silence surrounding women's health. She delves into her experiences with patients who hesitate to voice their pain and the generational ties to this silence. Priya emphasizes the importance of breaking this cycle as a form of empowerment and gratitude. She also discusses her educational platform, Ask Akka, which addresses critical health topics in immigrant communities, encouraging women to speak up and challenge societal barriers.
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Inherited Culture Of Quiet Obedience
- Priya Panneerselvam links patients' silence to her upbringing in an immigrant Indian family that valued quiet obedience.
- She observed the same deference in many Spanish-speaking and South Asian patients at her county hospital.
Personal Silence Meets Political Regression
- Priya connects personal family history of enforced silence to broader political moves that control women's bodies.
- She finds it striking and troubling that U.S. policies can regress women's freedoms despite expectations of progress.
Health Literacy And Gendered Injustice
- Priya highlights that health literacy gaps make many women accept abnormal bleeding or pain as 'normal.'
- She also underscores the injustice of HPV testing being available only for women, not men.