that the main cause of fistulas are the fact that there is a lack of fistula services. The statistics that then go to back this statement up are numbing. It was said that out of the 77 million people living in Ethiopia, there are only 146 gynecologists and obstetricians and most of them are in the cities. This is where the matrix of domination meets gender segregation in that women who are poor and rural don’t receive proper services but often times women in the cities will not be able to receive care either, on the basis that they are women.
One of the doctors at the hospital said that obstetric fistula is something that people do not want to talk about. Women’s health concerns are disregarded by a majority of men in many societies, especially somewhere such as Ethiopia. It is almost as if people believe that if the problem is not discussed, that it will go away. The doctors said that this is clearly not the case and that there needs to be more of an effort placed on acquiring obstetric services throughout the country but the extreme gender apartheid is not going to allow for that to happen. By discounting the health concerns of women, gender apartheid is strengthened.
4.) I want you to provide a solution to combating obstetric fistula. What is the sociological answer to stopping the epidemic in Ethiopia? What would it take to end this preventable injury in the peripheral parts of the world? Think about this question carefully… in the long run what would be a permanent solution? It is difficult to come up with one concrete answer that could ultimately solve the problem of obstetric fistula. From a sociological perspective, I would say that it is the responsibility of everyone (including those from other parts of the world) to make sure that resources are more than adequate for women in peripheral areas. In the documentary, one of the doctors said that this is something that is 100% preventable. Why, then, are 100,000 women in Ethiopia alone suffering from obstetric fistula? Another one of the doctors that spoke in the documentary said that the main cause of obstetric fistula is a lack of obstetric services. If women have to travel over a day just to receive the medical attention that they have been waiting for, something is most certainly not right with the system that is currently in place. If there are 77 million people in Ethiopia and only 146 gynecologists and obstetricians, we need to increase the focus that the society has on maternal health. This is not solely a problem of raising enough money but rather teaching countries to value the lives of women and helping them want to provide women with the services that the deserve and require. As we have read in Half the Sky, an increase in education is always a very positive way to combat disease and young pregnancies amongst women. Perhaps that is a place that Ethiopia could start at, encouraging more schooling and having more opportunities and incentives available for girls who choose to go to school. There is proof provided in the book that says that this method has worked elsewhere to combat serious problems, so it might prove to be a strong model for Ethiopia. Another crucial element of obstetric fistula is that there are not nearly enough hospitals for the women who need help. As in Half the Sky, a hospital was created specifically for teaching girls how to become midwives so that they could assist in births at their home villages. This is something that would also be very beneficial to have in Ethiopia, but they would also …show more content…
A liberal feminist would want to look at how cultural traditions and gender socialization have played a role in Ethiopian society in a historical sense. A liberal feminist would believe that the only way that this problem could be solved would be to create policies that are designed to create equal opportunities for women. Perhaps they would propose legislation that said that children have to be enrolled in school for a certain amount of time or that more schools need to be created. They might propose the creation of more hospitals or seek legislation in other countries, such as the United States, to send aid for maternal health to countries such as
One of the doctors at the hospital said that obstetric fistula is something that people do not want to talk about. Women’s health concerns are disregarded by a majority of men in many societies, especially somewhere such as Ethiopia. It is almost as if people believe that if the problem is not discussed, that it will go away. The doctors said that this is clearly not the case and that there needs to be more of an effort placed on acquiring obstetric services throughout the country but the extreme gender apartheid is not going to allow for that to happen. By discounting the health concerns of women, gender apartheid is strengthened.
4.) I want you to provide a solution to combating obstetric fistula. What is the sociological answer to stopping the epidemic in Ethiopia? What would it take to end this preventable injury in the peripheral parts of the world? Think about this question carefully… in the long run what would be a permanent solution? It is difficult to come up with one concrete answer that could ultimately solve the problem of obstetric fistula. From a sociological perspective, I would say that it is the responsibility of everyone (including those from other parts of the world) to make sure that resources are more than adequate for women in peripheral areas. In the documentary, one of the doctors said that this is something that is 100% preventable. Why, then, are 100,000 women in Ethiopia alone suffering from obstetric fistula? Another one of the doctors that spoke in the documentary said that the main cause of obstetric fistula is a lack of obstetric services. If women have to travel over a day just to receive the medical attention that they have been waiting for, something is most certainly not right with the system that is currently in place. If there are 77 million people in Ethiopia and only 146 gynecologists and obstetricians, we need to increase the focus that the society has on maternal health. This is not solely a problem of raising enough money but rather teaching countries to value the lives of women and helping them want to provide women with the services that the deserve and require. As we have read in Half the Sky, an increase in education is always a very positive way to combat disease and young pregnancies amongst women. Perhaps that is a place that Ethiopia could start at, encouraging more schooling and having more opportunities and incentives available for girls who choose to go to school. There is proof provided in the book that says that this method has worked elsewhere to combat serious problems, so it might prove to be a strong model for Ethiopia. Another crucial element of obstetric fistula is that there are not nearly enough hospitals for the women who need help. As in Half the Sky, a hospital was created specifically for teaching girls how to become midwives so that they could assist in births at their home villages. This is something that would also be very beneficial to have in Ethiopia, but they would also …show more content…
A liberal feminist would want to look at how cultural traditions and gender socialization have played a role in Ethiopian society in a historical sense. A liberal feminist would believe that the only way that this problem could be solved would be to create policies that are designed to create equal opportunities for women. Perhaps they would propose legislation that said that children have to be enrolled in school for a certain amount of time or that more schools need to be created. They might propose the creation of more hospitals or seek legislation in other countries, such as the United States, to send aid for maternal health to countries such as