Chapter 7 Maternal Mortality and Edna's Hospital

"You are the pioneers." -Edna Adan to her graduating class of midwives

Class discussion commenced with a video clip from the documentary Half the Sky, which follows Nicolas Kristof on his journey to some of the countries he writes about in the New York Times and the novel, Half the Sky. The particular clip from the movie we watched chronicled Kristof in Somaliland accompanied by actress Diane Lane. The two visit Edna Adan and the hospital she founded to combat maternal mortality in a country that is not even recognized by the rest of the world.

Edna Adan grew up in Somaliland and was the first girl from her country to win a scholarship  to study in Britain. When Edna was eight years old her mother forced her to undergo Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Edna's father returned from out of town livid the practice was performed on his daughter. Edna realized that if her father, an educated doctor, denounced FGM then surely what happened to her was wrong. A father's love influenced Edna Adan to become a voice for victims of FGM. Edna  provided astonishing insight into FGM which is a practice that 3 million African girls are forced to undergo every year. The trauma their bodies experience during the process leaves a lasting impact on the reproductive organs, therefore leading to an increase in the number of childbirth deaths. A question brought up in class asked us to consider ways to stop the practice if acting with U.N. power. A student pointed out that the foot binding process was eradicated in China once people realized some of the negative effects which occurred later in life. Those in areas where FGM is occurring need to grasp that FGM leads to long lasting impacts and increases the chances of maternal mortality. Educating communities that view FGM as status quo is a necessary step to eliminate the horrendous act. 

Here is a link to the website for Edna's hospital to learn more:

http://www.ednahospital.org/ 

The class also discussed the varying reasons why FGM occurs and observed from the film three main reasons: tradition, religion, and money. Edna explained that Islam does not encourage FGM and that the practice is a matter of tradition. Though this point is valid, a student noticed that the local woman that Diane Lane and Kristof talked with said she would prohibit her son from marrying an uncircumcised girl because of God. Another perspective was brought to light when the pair met with a woman who performs FGM for a living. Both Lane and Kristofs’ jaws dropped as the woman told them she performs over 10 FGMs per day. Lane inquired further into the woman’s financial motive and realized the woman would not perform FGMs if she could make her money another way.

I would highly recommend taking a look at this link to an article from the U.N. which was posted the day after our last discussion. The site includes an interactive map where you can choose a country and learn about the prevalence of FGM in that country, the number of religious leaders who have denounced the practice, and whether any laws exist there prohibiting FGM.  http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp/www.wmo.int/story.asp?NewsID=47092&Cr=genital&Cr1= 

Chapter Seven also followed the story of Prudence, a young women in Cameroon who died after being taken to a hospital for childbirth complications. The doctors were not compelled to help her and Prudence’s husband was educated enough to notice the injustice occurring. As a class, we discussed that if Prudence had been male, her family would likely have made more of an effort to find the funds to get her to a hospital sooner. A classmate pointed out that a relative of Prudence’s used a cell phone, implying that the family possibly had more money for the surgery than they let on. The tale of Prudence is one that happens every minute all over the world. A woman is not just dying because of childbirth, she is dying because she is a woman.

“Giving birth should be your greatest achievement not your greatest fear.” ~ Jane Weideman