The International Meeting in Women and Health

By Maria Eugenia Jelencic

About 600 women from five continents met in San Jose, Costa Rica last May for the 5th International Meeting on Women and Health. The meeting was organized by the Feminist Center of Information and Action (Centro Feminista de Informacion y Accion CEFEMINA) of Costa Rica. There was a large representation of Costa Rican women and Latin American women in general but there were very few Asian women (about 20) and even fewer African women (no more than 10). The Women and Health Movement has developed quite well since 1977, the year of the First International Meeting on Women and Health in Rome, Italy.

That first meeting marked the discovery by numerous groups and organizations of others like themselves who were working in this area in different countries. The San Jose meeting was a demonstration of the vitality of the movement. As well as the three central workshops - on Reproduction Rights and Population Problems, Medicines and Drugs, and Community Health - there were 130 other workshops proposed by the various groups who took part in the meeting.

One Hundred and Thirty Workshops

It was not easy for the organizations to find time during the week-long Costa Rican meeting to discuss all the problems, work methods and future plans which the women had brought with them.

The initial program had to be modified and adjusted several times, in order to give voice to each problem. First there were the specific, daily problems which confront women as subordinate gender. As one's state of health is conditioned by all the aspects of life - by factors of a social, economic and political- cultural kind it is not possible to think of a woman's health in isolation from her role in society. In the majority of the countries represented, women's groups are the only place where these problems can be confronted. An indication of the work some of these groups are carrying out was given by workshops such as the following: Circumcision of Women in Sudan, Women Under Muslim Law, Mental Condition and Female Condition, Physical and Mental Illness in Women as Resistance to Patriarchy, Alternative Sexual Education, Subjected Body - Despised Body, Effects of Drugs on Lactation, Psychosocial Elements of Maltreatment of Women, Self- Help Groups, Domestic Violence and many others.

Interest was particularly concentrated on the problems of reproductive rights. One Latin American woman, referring to this problem in her region, in the workshop "The Role of the Catholic Church in Reproductive Rights" said : "Our continent is profoundly religious, therefore, the question of reproductive rights is bound up with the religious question.

The Catholic Church - which holds great influence in Latin America - is opposed in an intransigent way to the free choice of women in regard to reproduction and puts pressure on them by fostering their feelings of guilt when confronted with the need for abortion. The feelings of guilt, we know, give rise to a series of mental illnesses which affect us as women. Moreover, the reality of clandestine abortion in the region is dramatic and especially harms women who have few resources, because these days abortion outside the law is a lucrative business in all our countries."

Workshops on Chernobyl, Bhopal, environmental pollution and about the abuses of new reproductive technologies, could not be forgotten. Problems which these days are real threats are often attacks on human existence itself. What should be done to change this state of affairs? What contribution should women make and how should they do it?

The movement must significantly increase its organization and reinforce itself as a pressure group to promote political change. Are women going to continue to do the basic work while the politicians decide on other levels? That was a question frequently raised by the participants. "This cannot be accepted," it was concluded. We must see how we can influence the political decision-making levels.

Communication, A Health Factor

However, it is not possible to wait for a meeting every two or three years to find out all about the wealth of work being carried on. There is a lack of adequate instruments of communication and communication materials whose content effectively supports health programs. At the same time, materials which can be utilized with women who do not know how to read, are also necessary. In the rural sectors or in the poor suburbs of the cities of the Third World, lack of information is critical and is the basis of much abuse: forced sterilization, and experiments with contraceptives on poor women are just some of these violations.

In the workshop Audiovisual Communication as Support for Women's Health Programs, coordinated by Isis International, the state of communication as a factor in the development of women was analyzed. In this regard, Marcia Roeder of the Amauta Association, from Cusco, Peru, pointed out the following: "For this work we need materials which take the woman's point of view and which promote their participation and organization." Other participants in this workshop pointed out the deficiencies of some support materials produced. One said: "Many educational and development products distort the reality and the body of women. For example, there exist materials on reproduction which leave out lactation, which is the last phase of reproduction." At times, a woman's body is reflected in the educational tools, as if she were an imperfect man, or women are simply ignored. Other times, these materials actually reinforce discriminatory attitudes. So it was recognized that there was a need to produce training programs and exchange of materials produced by some women's groups.

Isis International - as was explained in this workshop - is working in this direction. Among its projects is a low-to-medium cost training workshop for health workers in groups in the Latin American region. Ana Maria Portugal, from Peru, who was present at this workshop, informed those present that a network had been initiated in Peru which provides audio casettes containing programs for women. Ilet Mujer is also promoting a Latin American radio network. In India in the last three years there have been two seminars in video training for Asian activists. All these activities, even if only small steps, are contributing to improve communications among women.

 

 

 

 

The Importance of Networks

It is necessary to reinforce the organization and the coordination at the international level of the Women and Health Movement. Only in this way can the actions undertaken reach the strength required to change things and the experiences of the various groups become part of a common heritage. This idea prevailed in the majority of the debates.

The groups which participated in the workshop on the Health Network of Latin American and Caribbean women indicated how valuable the creation of this network had been in breaking the isolation of groups working at the local level and how it had also helped towards coordination at a regional level. This network started in 1984 and now includes 500 organizations and groups in the region. Isis International, which coordinates the Health Network from its office in Santiago, Chile, edits a bi- monthly bulletin. According to those who participated in this workshop, the bulletin has proved to be very useful for maintaining contacts and providing information.

The bulletin is a means of expression where network participants can send information about their work and suggestions to improve work together. Some groups reproduce the materials and campaigns which the bulletin promotes, in order to adapt them to their particular context and make them known in their sphere of action. Isis International announced to the meeting that the new edition of the bulletin of the Network is in English as well as Spanish. "This new edition of the bulletin will give us the possibility of closer ties with some countries in the Caribbean and with women in Asia and Africa," Amparo Claro and Ana Maria Gomez, of Isis International, pointed out.

The workshop of the Global Women's Network on Reproductive Rights, which includes about 600 groups, was another confirmation of the effectiveness of the networks. "When we began to coordinate with other Asian groups we discovered that many population control policies which were being implemented in India were the same as other countries in the region," said one representative from Saheli, an Indian organization. In general, the opinions of workshop participants confirmed the network had meant for them the attainment of a more global perspective of the work they were doing and had allowed for coordinating action at different levels to oppose all abuses against women, which are often similiar in different countries in the same region.

"Through the network, solidarity and vigilance among women can be intensified," said one participant in the workshop on Drugs andMedicines. If we are better coordinated, women in developed countries can exert pressure to make sure tliat medicines and contraceptives which are prohibited in those countries are not sold in Third World countries as they are today."

 

 

 

 

Health - A Political Problem

In a final document, signed by the Third World women present at the conference, severe criticisms were made of the majority of health policies implemented in these countries.

The document says that to solve the health problems which confront the people of these countries, political goodwill is required.

In one section of the document it says "Health policies implemented in our countries are based on profits and on power for elites (..) Added to this is the deterioration of the economic situation of the developing countries as a consequence of International Monetary Fund tax policies, which are the cause of poverty, hunger, unemployment and lack of housing. In consequence, serious health problems for millions of people, especially women, are created.

In the workshop on Community Health, similar ideas to those contained in the Declaration of Women of the Third World were expressed. In the inaugural discussions of this workshop it was said: "Statistics do not measure the living conditions which lead to the state of illness in which our countries are to be found (...). Prevention goes further than technical means. Health is a question directly related to the quality of life. However, in developing countries, one observes enormous differences in relation to the right to health between different regions of the same countries as well as in different suburbs of the same city."

The Next Conference in the Philippines

The situation is complex. Can support for the Women and Health Movement help to improve the situation? We think so. In many places the Women's Health Movement is still in its initial stage. One woman from the Dominican Republic gave the following statement: "In my country, the fact of thinking about health as something organized and specific is something new. When women start to establish what is necessary to claim health rights taking mto account the specific point of view of women and respecting the bodies and the minds of women, it is considered a deviation from the fundamental problems."

In the next meeting, planned for 1989 in the Phillipines, it will be possible to evaluate all the advances achieved in these two years of work. However, in the meantime, we must keep in contact, tighten our bonds and work in a coordinated way. There is no other way to achieve significant advances.

Why More Caesarian Births?

 

 

 

 

It is only in the last fifty years that rapid advances in Caesarian techniques have made birth by Caesarian section a relatively safe operation, and therefore an option which is not confined to being a last resort in an emergency. In the last twenty years, the number of Caesarian sections has increased, in some cases at an alarming rate, in many countries. Recent studies are showing that this increase is not always for medically justifiable reasons. Why have such large increases occurred in some cases? The Women's Global Network on Reproductive Rights looks at this issue in its October-December 1986 issue. It examines the situation in the USA and Britain, where trends have been broadly similar, and then concentrates on Brazil, where there are some striking similarities and differences.

For more information, contact:

Women's Global Network on Reproductive Rights
PO Box 4098 1009
AB Amsterdam
Netherlands

 

 

 

 

Primary Health Care

In the East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea women's clubs have been used by health officials as a means of developing village level health improvements. Clubs select one woman to be their Marasin Meri (Medicine Woman) and Provincial Health Department officials give her training. They also organize village workshops to gain leaders' acceptance of her work in curing minor infections and sicknesses. Popular drama is used to encourage village cooperation and support. Comic books and posters in pidgin about common sicknesses are also distributed and clean water is provided through pumps and water tanks.

For further information, contact:

Bill Lapai
Primary Health Care Co-ordinator
Box 72, Maprik, ESP
Papua New Guinea

Not All In The Mind

Pre-Menstrual Syndrome (PMS) affects many women but is often not well understood. You may be one of the many women sufferers who are confused, wondering if you are going crazy or feeling alone with this problem. You may have a hard time finding the help you need and the understanding you deserve. Women's Health Information Centre Fact Sheet No. 4 provides much useful information on the physical and mental symptoms which occur before a period. It talks about some of the more common approaches to PMS and where to go for more information.

For more information, contact:

Women's Health Information Centre

52 Featherstone St. London EC1Y8RT, UK

Black Women and Health (WHIG Newsletter)

The Women's Health Information Centre (UK) is predominantly a white organization but its Spring 1987 Issue concentrates on Black Women and Health. This is as part of an attempt to challenge racism and to make the organization more oriented towards and accessible to black women. The newsletter's line is that the health issues concerning black women and health are not about diseases but rather how racism affects the health of black women. Black is used to describe all people who are subject to racism and racialism in British society. The newsletter presents a series of articles aimed at not only representing the oppression of black women from a wide variety of origins but also at attempting to challenge racism together through.communities.

 

 

 

 

For more information, contact:

Newsletter Group
Anjona Buckman
Women's Health Information Centre
52 Featherstone Street
London EC 1, UK