ABSTRACT
Menopause is a universal event in the lives of ail women. Biomedically, menopause is seen as a biological event and prior to the mid seventies it was characterised as an estrogen deficiency disease (Wilson, 1966; Kase, 1974; Weideger, 1977; Kaufert and Gilbert, 1986). Social scientists argue, however, that menopause is a sociocultural event. The physical changes of menopause are only one part of women's life experiences. They are interwoven with the woman's social status, sex role, personal circumstances, life history and stage of health. 1 Rosenberger, for example, points out that:
while menopause has a biological base, it is an experience that differs according to cultural values. Menopause draws its meanings from more basic concepts within the culture such as the meaning of women's reproductive power, the role of women in the social structure and the relationship of the physical and the psychological
(1986:15).