In Nepal, most
of the Elites and tuppa bata palayeka people who are holding big big
positions are VERY SELFISH and ONLY AFTER MONEY, POSITION and POWER and
can't think about deprived people and women/girls pain and suffering. It is because their ideology is guided by the religious dogma and doctrine like the Law of Manu (Manusmriti) and think that they are superior and women are inferior. For example, treating women as unequal in a normal practice and phenomena in our society. In the Law of manu it has stated that women, that is, even women belonging to
Brahmin,
Kshatriya and
Vaishya varna are not entitled to
upanayan and the study of the Vedas. For them, marriage is equivalent to
upanayan and service of their husbands is equivalent to the study of the Vedas in the
gurukul [Manusmriti II: 67]. Even if the husband is morally degraded, engaged in an affair with
another woman and is devoid of knowledge and other qualities, the wife
must treat him like a god
[Manusmriti V: 154]. A widower is allowed to remarry but a widow is not
[Manusmriti V 158, 167].
Besides, women are not considered fit for being free and independent.
They are to be protected in their childhood by father, in youth by
husband and in old age by son
[Manusmriti IX 3
]. They should never be allowed by their guardians to act independently
[Manusmriti IX 2
]. A woman must never do anything even inside her home without the consent of her father, husband and son respectively
[Manusmriti V 147
]. She must remain in control of her father in childhood, of husband in youth and of son after the death of her husband
[Manusmriti V 148
].
Therefore, knowing these religious beliefs and tradition it sounds to me that in Nepal women/girls are mainly born to be killed,
murdered, abused, harassed, discriminated and tortured that's why they
don't deserve to be saved and protected.
Otherwise, our health
policy makers , planners and decision makers would understand,
internalize and act accordingly as Professor Mahmoud Fathalla, past
president of the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics,
said: “Women are not dying because of diseases we cannot treat. They
are dying because societies have yet to make the decision that their
lives are worth saving.”
There are many best practice across the globe that has proven as a successful strategy in saving the lives of pregnant women and their newborns which can be replicated and adapted as per the country context but our health policy makers, planners and decision-makers are just trying to do patches kind of activities as per the donor interest. "Investing in Maternal Health: Learning from Malaysia and Sri Lanka" report published from the World Bank in 2003 is one of the best report which has analysed in detail how maternal and newborn health can be improved even resource poor settings with limited fund if policy makers and planners are committed in saving the lives of pregnant women and their newborns. These two countries in the past 50-60 years were able to bring significant changes in maternal health in their countries by mobilizing community level "Competent, Confident, Committed and Compassion" healthcare providers, MIDWIVES. The report provides the most comprehensive and detailed analysis available on the factors behind the decline in maternal mortality in Malaysia and Sri Lanka in the past 50 to 60 years and the magnitude of health system expenditures on maternal health.
Unfortunately in Nepal even to date we don't have such human resource for health who are fully equipped with "4 C" who can deliver women friendly humanistic care in holistic approach respecting women's birth rights and being sensitive towards their culture and tradition.
Here is the case from one of the most remote and deprived place of Nepal to back up my views about the situation of women and pregnant mothers. The below news entitled "Maternal health crisis in Bajura" was published on 22 August 2012 in the National Daily Newspaper of Nepal.
BAJURA: Four women have died within a period of four months in Bajura district due to the lack of adequate maternity service.
According to Sharmila Shah, Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) at the
District Hospital, there are no doctors in the hospital since April.
Thanks to the health service of Nepal, Juna BK (20) of Kotila VDC died
last week in Kolti Primary Health Center where she was admitted to
deliver baby. “She had twins in her womb but was unable to deliver
babies in normal condition,” Assistant Health Worker (AHW) Ashok Singh
said, adding that, “If there would have been a doctor for surgery then
she would not have lost her life along with the babies.”
In
the same way, Tiuki BK of Kailashmandu, Basu Mijar of Kuldaibamandu and
two from Pandusain VDCs died since April due to the lack of maternity
health service in the district.
According to ANM Shah, regular
health check up service for would-be moms has also been halted in the
district as the hospital and health centers have been facing scarcity
of doctors.
Meanwhile, locals of remote villages have been
found indulging in superstitions and visit witchdoctors rather than
hospitals even for the delivery cases.
Pregnant women are
compelled to work hard as normal persons due to the lack of awareness
and social belief. After the transfer of as many as 24 women health
workers from Bajura in June, male health workers have been handling the
delivery cases. In District Hospital, the vacant quota for two doctors
have still remained unfilled.
Since, various governmental and
non- governmental organisations have been working in health and
awareness sector in the district, all their efforts and money went on
vain. “The impact of such organisations in the district is almost
zero,” said Sher Shahi, representative of the Civil Society.
No wonder most of the health posts in Bajura district have been running
by office assistants. According to health worker Dilram Bhatta, it is
common in the district to run the office by an assistant. Bhatta has
been the in-charge of the hospital since five-months.
Reference:
2. The World Bank 2003. Investing in Maternal Health: Learning from Malaysia and Sri Lanka. Accessed from http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2007/08/28/000020439_20070828164038/Rendered/PDF/259010REPLACEM10082135362401PUBLIC1.pdf
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