Abstract
Gendered health disparities in India continue to persist due to deep-rooted social, cultural, and economic barriers that limit women’s access to adequate healthcare, nutrition, and social support throughout their lives. Conventional health indices often overlook the multidimensional and age-specific nature of women’s deprivation, necessitating the construction of an age-weighted Multidimensional Women’s Health Deprivation Index (MWHDI) using NFHS-5 data. This study applies Principal Component Analysis alongside the Alkire-Foster framework to measure and compare levels of deprivation across rural and urban areas in all states and Union Territories. The findings indicate moderate overall deprivation, with rural MWHDI (0.2322) marginally higher than urban (0.1896), highlighting persistent spatial disparities. Substantial regional differences emerge; Bihar, Manipur, and West Bengal demonstrate relatively better outcomes, while Goa, Mizoram, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu record higher levels of deprivation. Among Union Territories, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Ladakh perform well, whereas Puducherry and Jammu & Kashmir remain more deprived. The study underscores the importance of region-specific policy interventions to address these variations. Additionally, the age-weighted MWHDI reveals population sensitivity, being primarily influenced by the middle-aged cohort (20-39 years), which may obscure the heightened vulnerabilities and unmet health needs of elderly women.