21 March, 2015

A blog written By Ms Eri Makino, Member of Soroptimist International
of Singapore (SIS)

To mark International Women’s Day, Soroptimist
International of Singapore (SIS), in collaboration with ONE (SINGAPORE) and SIM
University, organized a film and panel discussion event on 21 March, 2015. The
film entitled ‘No Woman, No Cry’ dealt with the subject of maternal
deaths. Focusing on case studies from the US, Dhaka (Bangladesh), Guatemala,
and Tanzania, the underlying intent of the movie was to demonstrate the point
that deaths resulting from complications in pregnancy are preventable in
today’s world.

 

Photograph: Emcee for the event, Ms Kanchana
Varatharajalu, member of Soroptimist International of Singapore.

Each day around the world, approximately 800
women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth,
according to the figure from the World Health Organization. 
Ninety-nine percent of these deaths occur in the developing world — deaths
which would have been avoidable if only these women had access to the relevant
healthcare they needed for safe deliveries. Moreover, the incidence of maternal
mortality is highest among women living in rural areas where often communities
have been found to suffer under the crushing weight of poverty and, in turn, it
has become more difficult to access relevant healthcare under these circumstances.
In fact, the World Health Organization points out that the
astronomically high numbers of maternal deaths in some parts of the world are a
reflection of the inequalities in access to healthcare services and the gap
between the rich and poor.

Since 1990, maternal
mortality has dropped by almost 50 percent, owing to improvements in prenatal
and postnatal healthcare which are becoming more available in countries around
the world. Yet so crucial is the need to eradicate maternal mortality that
improving maternal health has been set as the fifth of the eight Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs).

The
movie ‘No Woman, No Cry’ addressed a range of issues from
obstacles to obtaining quality healthcare services, to concerns such as home
birthing, health insurance and unsafe abortions. For a pregnant woman in a
developed society, one of the first things she would probably want is to find
proper medical care and a facility she can feel comfortable in, so as to ensure
the safe delivery of her precious baby. However, many women around the world
may walk for miles just to secure a dirty old bed in a clinic with no
doctor.  How does she walk such a distance when she is experiencing
unbearable pain, to be told that she cannot get the help she needs and instead,
to go elsewhere? Such is often the case in rural areas, like the segment of the
film on Tanzania demonstrated.

The movie also emphasized
the urgency to address maternal mortality, especially in rural areas, where,
when a woman dies, it has far-reaching consequences on the family. In
agricultural societies, women are the backbone of the community and the family;
they are the workers who undertake an important role in farming and are the
primary nurturers to their children. They also sustain their family in other
ways, for example, in many parts of Africa, it is the women who are responsible
for collecting water for their families.

In an attempt to tackle
the issue of maternal health, we have to realize that it cannot be separated
from the issue of gender inequality. In some parts of the world, experiencing
natal problems often brings shame to the family, upsetting the husband and, in
turn, this may discourage the woman from reaching out for the appropriate
medical care that she so badly needs. We saw a similar example in the film
which focused on the experiences of a pregnant Bangladeshi woman from Dhaka.

The movie also looked at
how cultural and religious misconceptions about pregnancy and delivery can
often lead to inappropriate and even dangerous treatments for the pregnant
women. A woman giving birth in an unhygienic environment can put her and her
baby’s health, or even both their lives at risk. In places such as Guatemala,
where abortion is illegal because of religious reasons, some women seek help in
illegal places which often puts them in dangerous and unsafe situations.

The US case highlighted
in the movie showed the problem of maternal deaths in a developed society.
While quality healthcare is available, not having access to appropriate health
insurance or even reproductive health advice,
stemming from socioeconomic inequalities, can leave women with no access to the
relevant healthcare required to ensure a safe delivery.

The discussion that followed the film raised a range of concerns.
Associate Professor Arul Chib from Nanyang Technological University
talked about how modern communication technologies might be utilized to empower
women and health practitioners, whilst bringing solutions to aid nurses and other female health
workers, who act as the point of contact, thus bridging the gap between
patients and doctors in medical emergencies. He raised the point that giving
the women communication tools also gives them an important role in the
community, which consequently brings about positive change in the larger social
structure.

Physician and gynecologist, Dr.Yang Chua spoke about
the medical missions she had participated in with the project, Global Clinic,
where she elaborated on how it was important to introduce new ideas and methods
of addressing a clinical problem without displacing or dismissing best
practices of the local medical communities. She also pointed out how having a
female doctor in the medical taskforce can be inspirational to the women of the
community. In the discussion, the need for improvements in the doctors’ role
was also pointed out, as many tend to be caught up in the everyday clinical
practice whilst losing the initiative to pursue continuous improvements, such
as upgrading hospital equipment and learning/adopting new methods.

Award-winning documentary photographer, Ms. Bernice
Wong, highlighted
in her presentation, the problems women in poorer countries face in accessing
adequate healthcare services. Through her vividly depictive photography from
Cambodia, the country she chose to focus on for her project, ‘Breath of Life’,
told the real life stories of her encounters with girls and women who underwent
difficulties in delivery, owing to poor and
unhygienic conditions in healthcare facilities, and the lack of accessible
hospital services as well as healthcare personnel.

 

Photograph: Associate Professor Arul Chib highlighted how
communication technologies have been used in women’s access to appropriate
reproductive healthcare services.

The Soroptimist International of Singapore club had decided
that screening the movie “No Woman, No Cry” was
timely and fitting since the club in November 2014 constructed a mother-child
facility to improve maternal and child health in Bos Em, a poverty-stricken
village in the outskirts of Siem Reap, Cambodia. The facility enables
underprivileged women from the village, including the surrounding villages, to
access reproductive healthcare advice, as well as basic healthcare services.
The club also strongly feels that each country needs to address the issue of
maternal deaths by removing the structural forces that have led to this gender
inequality, since women’s well-being is just as important as men’s in any
society. Only then can there truly be sustainable development for each and
every person—men and women alike.

 

Photograph: Dr Theresa Devasahayam, President of
Soroptimist International of Singapore, giving the introductory remarks as well
as describing SIS’s project in Bos Em, Cambodia.

Aimed at raising awareness on a global women’s issue, this
one-hour movie followed by a panel
discussion lasted a total of 2 and a half hours, drawing a crowd of around
seventy students and members of the public. The event was held at the SIM
University.

As the film echoes: “Every mother counts. Every mother.”

 

Photograph: A group photo of representatives from ONE
(SINGAPORE) and Sim University together with some members from Soroptimist
International of Singapore taken after the event.