Roundup: International Women's Day In the Rearview Mirror

Roundup: International Women’s Day In the Rearview Mirror

Mar 9, 2010, 9:44am

A Roundup of International Women's Day stories, including free hospitals, birth control in Afghanistan, and the plight of the U.S. woman.

Yesterday was International Women’s Day, a chance to recognize the struggles women still have across the global, especially when it comes to reproductive healthcare.

Huffington Post lead the way with numerous stories on the status of women across the globe. Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, provided a guest article on where women have come from on this, the 99th International Women’s Day.

Ninety-nine years later, where are we? It’s a completely different world for women — and yes I mean world, because the movement for equality is global. Compared to just ten years ago, more women today have jobs and are saving money for their families. More girls are attending primary school than ever before. The number of women in positions of authority in governments, including in legislatures, has nearly doubled in the past decade. While this is progress that we joyfully celebrate, we still have a long way to go.

Sharon L. Camp agrees with Richard’s assessment, and further argues that investing in women, especially via family planning access, is a win for the community as a whole.

As political leaders, policymakers and advocates gather at the United Nations to assess global progress on these issues, they will have at their disposal a clear roadmap to guide future investments in global reproductive health–a December 2009 report from the Guttmacher Institute and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) documenting the enormous benefits that accrue from increased funding for both family planning and pregnancy-related and newborn care.

The report found that doubling the world’s current annual spending of $12 billion on family planning and maternal and newborn health programs in developing nations would radically cut the number of mothers and babies that die each year–maternal deaths would drop by 70%, and newborn deaths would be reduced by 44%. A host of other health, societal and economic benefits would follow.

Finally, at Huffpo, Rahim Kanani highlights one sure place that investing in women could make a radical difference: Afghanistan.

With more than half a million women dying each year from largely preventable complications related to pregnancy and childbirth, Afghanistan is now ranked second worst in the world when it comes to maternal mortality behind Sierra Leone. In fact, in 2006, Badakhshan province in northeast Afghanistan had the worst incidence of maternal mortality ever recorded in history. According to UNICEF, Afghanistan’s maternal death rate is 1,800 per 100,000 live births, compared to the U.S. rate, which is 11 per 100,000. While those of us living in free and open societies would agree that the rights of women in Afghanistan are in dire straits, we must also agree that this particular situation demands special attention. Indeed, with regard to these statistics, President of CARE USA Dr. Helene Gayle famously stated, “We have to stop being polite about this issue – we need to start marching in the streets. Post-partum hemorrhage is a nice way of saying we let women bleed to death.”

…

With Afghanistan averaging more than six babies per woman and UNICEF estimating that a mere 10 percent use some form of birth control, improving such damning statistics may not be as hard as it seems. Just last week, the World Health Organization’s journal, Bulletin, published a study conducted in 2005-2006, which involved 3,700 families in three rural areas with different ethnic groups, including both Sunni and Shia Muslims. In this case, the Health Ministry collaborated with nonprofit organizations to spread the word that using contraception was 300 times safer than giving birth in Afghanistan. The results of the study indicated that over the course of eight months, the use of the pill, condoms and injected forms of birth control rose to 27 percent in all three areas — and up to half of the women in one area — once the benefits were explained one-on-one by health workers. “The fastest, cheapest, easiest way to reduce maternal deaths in Afghanistan is with contraception,” said lead author Dr. Douglas Huber to the Associated Press.

But things may be turning around. Mullah’s in the country are now advocating the use of condoms as birth control, as well as advocating more time off in between births.

Afghanistan isn’t the only country taking a renewed interest in birth control. Political leaders in Indonesia are also speaking out for better contraceptive use.

“To have more children is indeed a blessing from God,” [Former president and chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Megawati Soekarnoputri] said at her party’s regional conference in Semarang, Central Java.

“But what comes after that? We have to take care of their health, fulfill their nutritional needs, as well as their education.”

But protecting maternal health isn’t just about available contraception, but better maternal care, too. China continues to provide free prenatal and delivery care in hospitals for rural women, a program which has dropped maternal death from 1500 per 100,000 to less than 32 per 100,000 in the past 50 years. (And yes, I’m trying to imagine free prenatal and delivery care in the U.S., where my last birth cost me $24,000 alone).

When it comes to equity for women and the smallest gender gap, it appears Iceland has the rest of the world beat, hands down.

According to the 2009 Global Gender Gap report of the World Economic Forum, the land of glaciers and puffins, population 319,000, is the most gender egalitarian country on earth, with women having closed 80 percent of the gap with men. Finland (2), Norway (3), Sweden (4) and Denmark (7) are in the top ten too, as is New Zealand (5). You could try harder, Spain (17) and Germany (12) — in 2007 you were in the top ten. And O, Canada: 25. Very sad.

Where did the U.S. come in? A sad 31st.

What’s the lesson for the United States? Wealth helps, but it’s not enough. It’s not automatic that as a country becomes richer and more developed men and women become more equal — especially when conservative religion has power, as in the United States and many nations. To an unusual degree, Americans resist “government” solutions to women’s inequality as an affront to meritocracy and individual initiative. But without paid parental leave and a reliable system of quality childcare, women will never be able to get much further toward workplace equality than they are now. Scandinavia’s extensive and flexible system of support for parents, including single mothers, is one of the major reasons Scandinavia leads the world in gender equality. Similarly, countries with lots of women in parliament — Rwanda is first, with 56 percent — tend to have quota systems, at least at first. The United States seemed to recognize their efficiency and fairness when it supported quotas in Iraq and Afghanistan. But here at home? Hard to imagine.

March 8, 2010

Abortion amendments jeopardize 4 more bills – Louisville Courier-Journal

Democrats Pressure Stupak On Abortion; Split Threatening Health Bill – Kaiser Health News

Man opens defense in abortion protester killing – WLNS

Stupak: Health bill abortion fight can be resolved – The Associated Press

International Women’s Day: Are We There Yet? – Huffington Post

Are Jim Bob & Michelle Duggar “Quiverfull”? – AlterNet

A plea to change Catholic HIV stance – News & Observer

Project Prevention Brings Controversial Sterilization Program to Honolulu – SYS-CON Media

International Women’s Day: The Enormous Benefits of Investing in Family … – Huffington Post

Premarital Sex: Does It Have to Be All or Nothing? – David Horowitz’s NewsReal Blog

Black anti-abortion activists decry ‘womb lynching’ – AZ Central.com