I pray men also to develop Fistul so that they appreciate the female victims – Otiko Djaba

General News of Monday, June 3, 2019

Source: Modernghana.com

2019-06-03

Executive Director of the Henry Djaba Foundation and former Minister for the Status of Women, Children and Welfare, Mrs. Otiko Afisah Djaba, deridedly criticized the irresponsible men who lasciviously subject their female victims of obstetric fistula to different types of violence.

Saying, "It's unfortunate that fistula is only about women." In fact, I pray to God to allow men to experience fistula so that they can appreciate and respect the women who are are affected ".

According to her, it was highly unacceptable for a man to victimize, abandon, stigmatize, divorce or hunt their wives because of the state of their obstetric fistula, which resulted from difficulties or complications in their lives. l & # 39; childbirth.

During her live TV show "Let's Talk Ability" on TV3, Ms. Otiko Djaba is moved, after health experts have presented telling stories about how the majority of victims of Obstetric fistula are subject to different forms of abuse, torture and discrimination. and social exclusion among the others mainly headed by their own husbands and close relatives.

The internationally renowned gender campaigner has urged men to always pay attention, support, care and love to fistula victims, without physically and emotionally torturing them.

Giving birth to children is without a doubt a source of great joy and dream fulfillment for all women, especially those who are getting married legitimately. In typical African or Ghanaian structures, many married women have lost their marriages or have been severely driven out of their married homes by their parents-in-law for their inability to give birth to children after years of marriage.

However, pregnancy in Ghana and parts of Africa has become a monstrous journey in the lives of many women, with the so-called joyful expedition now badociated with many of the dangers and complications that most women fear and limit. their interest in having children.

Many women in Ghana have died / lost their lives by giving birth to children. Others have also developed complications during pregnancy, such as badl bleeding, sudden swelling of the hands or face, abdominal pain, severe headache, dizziness, persistent vomiting and blurred vision, which can even be qualified as "minor problems".

Some women with bacterial, viral or parasitic infections before or during pregnancy are usually faced with complications resulting from urinary tract infection, bacterial vaginosis, cytomegalovirus, of hepatitis B virus, yeast infection and toxoplasmosis, infection caused by a parasite found in cat feces and raw meat.

Obstetric fistula

However, one of the dangerous conditions that stifles or stifles the pride and dignity of many Ghanaian women in silence is obstetric fistula.

About 100,000 to 150,000 pregnant women worldwide suffer from fistula each year, with girls being the most affected.

Obstetric fistula is caused by prolonged and obstructed labor, which damages the pelvic tissue that removes the bladder, resulting in uncontrollable leakage of urine or feces.

The main contributing factors are poverty, illiteracy, low status of women and gender inequalities, malnutrition, early pregnancy, lack of awareness, socio-cultural practices, lack of access family planning and emergency obstetric care.

Many people in Ghana are not aware of the devastating situation that makes them vulnerable for the victims.

In Ghana, at least 700 new cases of fistula are registered each year. The majority of women with this disease live in isolation because of the rejection and stigma they face from their parents, friends, and society, even if it is not the case. not contagious.

This condition prevails in the 10 regions of Ghana, but the northern region has the highest prevalence, followed by the Ashanti, western, central and higher regions. Currently, two major hospitals provide specialized care for fistulas – the Mercy Women's Catholic Hospital in the Mankessim-Central Region and the Tamale Fistula Center, Tamale Central Hospital in the Northern Region.