Tradition’s Victims: Obstetric Fistula in Africa
For most people living in the United States, getting knocked up at thirteen is just a television show. However, for women in Africa, such as Wobete Falaga of Ethiopia, the producer of this unimaginable scenario are traditions, and there are no viewers rooting for them to triumph in the face of desolation. This is their life. Married at age eleven and pregnant at thirteen, Wobete Falaga is the result of her village’s traditional values of young marriage and early procreation. After struggling through five continuous days of physically and emotionally taxing labor, her baby was born; however it did not survive (Inbaraj). To top it all off, the brutally long labor rendered Wobete incontinent, or unable to control the function of her bladder. This all too common condition in Africa is called obstetric fistula. During prolonged labor, the baby’s head continuously pushes against the pelvic bone during contractions, eventually causing a hole between the vagina and the bladder or rectum. According to the Fistula Foundation, 2 million women are living with untreated obstetric fistula, the majority residing in Africa (Winsor).
When the tribal traditions of home birth clash with the limited access to hospitals and the lack of doctors trained to perform emergency cesarean section surgeries, it is almost impossible to get professional help even if the family wanted it (Lafraniere). Unfortunately, as soon as the women develop obstetric fistula and become incontinent, they are ostracized from their community due to the popular belief that they are cursed or even witches (Winsor). Shunned by their own parents, they become like ghosts themselves and resort to spending their days indoors without human company. In a study conducted by the International Journal of Women’s Health, eight women living with obstetric fistula were asked what they believe to be the causes of their misfortune. The responses ranged from “being cursed”, “the will of God”, to “it is my fate” (Gebresilase). Illustrating the belief and dependence to which most women accredit their village traditions, these antiquated values have a defining effect on women’s health.
While the surgery required to fix obstetric fistula is relatively inexpensive, costing only three hundred dollars, this is an exorbitant fee that will largely go unpaid due to the widespread poverty within rural African villages (Lafraniere). Even if the women opt to receive the surgical procedure, after returning to their village completely healed they will continue to follow the cycle of young marriage and unsafe pregnancies. Dr. Catherine Hamlin, the leading surgeon and obstetrician at the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, aims to combat this by providing literacy training for her patients, hopefully changing their mindset of poor self worth. Additionally, the hospital has partnered with the Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association which works to inform the patients on their rights as women to have the opportunity of becoming more than just a baby making machine at the demand of their husbands (Inbaraj).
While the lack of hospitals and poverty within Africa can eventually be addressed with time, the village traditions which contribute to the widespread development of obstetric fistula will most likely remain the same. As these traditions continue to block women’s desire for education and their rights to receive medical attention, this situation becomes more dangerous. Within tribal based Africa, a grand societal change to aid tradition’s million victims is largely overdue. Without any steps taken to break the vicious cycle leading to obstetric fistula, the reality of the women in Africa will soon become too painful to watch.
Works Cited
Gebresilase, Yenenesh Tadesse. "A Qualitative Study of the Experience of Obstetric Fistula Survivors in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia." International Journal of Women's Health. Dove Medical Press, 8 Dec. 2014. Web. 07 Mar. 2016.
Inbaraj, Sonny. "Married as Children, Women With Obstetric Fistulas Have No Future." Public Reference Bureau. Web. 07 Mar. 2016.
Lafraniere, Sharon. "Nightmare for African Women: Birthing Injury and Little Help - The New York Times." New York Times. New York Times, 28 Sept. 2005. Web. 4 Mar. 2016.
Winsor, Morgan. "A Fate Worse than Death for Scores of African Women." CNN. Cable News Network, 23 May 2013. Web. 04 Mar. 2016.
I appreciate the way you started off the paper with your intro, it had a great hook, as well. Obstetric Fistula is a very critical disease in Africa, and must be treated and prevented accordingly. Is there any way for the continuation of obstetric fistula in Africa to stop becoming a reality?
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the way you took an issue not many people have heard of and explained it clearly and understandably.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised by how widespread this one medical issue is.
The most interesting part of the article was how you described the social and cultural stigma that accompanies this disease.
Do you know if there are other medical conditions where the victims are treated similarly?
1) I really liked how you connected this issue back to the traditional customs and values engrained within the African culture. I thought it was an interesting topic and I have never heard about it before.
ReplyDelete2) My main take- away is that this problem is not widely known and it is one that needs to be solved quickly to prevent any more deaths or misery from young girls.
3) How did this custom become engrained in African culture? What would be an idea to solve it?
I really liked how you chose an interesting topic that isn't very widely known, but you elaborated on it well and by the end of the article I felt like a knew a lot more about obstetric fistula. My main take away, is that there needs to be more awareness concerning this issue in order to improve the lives of future generations of South African women. Do you think that there is a way to stop the catalysts of obstetric fistula considering that they are so deeply ingrained in African culture?
ReplyDelete