Every woman counts

Women in Pakistan face an array of problems and gender discrimination. In most families a baby boy is still preferable to a girl. A woman’s right to choose her partner is often denied and results in an honor killing. In some regions girls are not allowed to go to school and educate themselves. Marriages at a very young age, early and closely spaced pregnancies often resulting with the girl dying during or closely after delivery. The figures in Pakistan are very high. Pakistan loses one women every 30 minutes to preventable complications of pregnancy and childbirth, while about 3,000 cases of obstetric fistula occur each year in the country. Statistics show that 1 in 11 children born in Pakistan die before their fifth birthday. Especially in the rural areas these problems are common. It's estimated that around 52% of women in Pakistan give birth at home usually without skilled help. When I came to Pakistan for the first time in November 2009, I wanted to address these different women’s rights issues Soon after meeting the inspirational Dr. Shershah Syed, gynecologist and women’s rights activist, I decided to focus my attention on maternal health alone. This is a too important story to just touch upon and I want to go deeper into this subject. In the months previous to my visit I had an operation myself that completely shook up my world. Seeing what these mothers and expecting women face, made me realize even more how important it was for me to tell their story. The worst part is that most of these deaths and complications surrounding childbirth are totally unnecessary. Young women are dying because they couldn’t reach a sufficiently equipped medical facility in time. Or because the traditional midwife (dai) doesn’t refer the women to the hospitals in time when complications arise and a caesarean section is needed. Poverty and lack of money is a big problem and most families can’t afford the medicine or care they require. Old customs and t...

Channel: Vimeo Video Length: 3m 43s Date Found: Sat, Dec 25 2010 4:47 AM Category: Home Video Date Produced: Sun, Aug 08 2010 10:07 AM View Count: 0