“Women are not dying of diseases we can’t treat . . . They are dying because societies have yet to make the decision that their lives are worth saving.”
-Mahmoud Fathalla, Egyptian physician & women's health advocate
In Afghanistan the risk of a woman dying during pregnancy or childbirth is 1 in 8.
In Pakistan the under 5 mortality rate for girls is 3 times as high as for boys because girls are often mistreated, neglected and even abandoned.
In one area of India 3,000 girls are killed at birth every year.
In China an estimated 50 million women are missing from the population- a serious gender imbalance.
There are about 6 million abortions yearly in India- 90% are female. This foeticide is organized crime- knowledgeable, paid, contract killing- but no doctor has actually been punished.
Women who don't have boys are considered worthless, abandoned by their husbands, beaten, burned with acid, even killed.
It is hard for me to believe that in the 21st century we still see these injustices against women. Societies throughout the world need to recognize that women are worth saving and we need to do something about it.
African Proverb: If you educate a boy, you educate an individual. If you educate a girl, you educate a community.
African Proverb: If you educate a boy, you educate an individual. If you educate a girl, you educate a community.
2 comments:
this is so moving Al. Where did you get all the facts from? Are you learning about it in a class? It is so sad the injustices that people still suffer from, I think it will be that way until the Millenium but we can still stand up for what is right!
Thanks Heath! Most of that came from a movie I watched for my development class called Missing Women: Female Selective Abortion & Infanticide, and I read the quote when I was studying for my public health exam yesterday. It's pretty crazy! Hope finals are going well and can't wait to see you on Friday!
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