One of the solutions that is continually suggested
throughout this book is giving these women an education. Education is not the
only solution but it is one that can fix a lot of the issues these women are
facing. Even a small amount of schooling can change these women’s life forever.
One women, Mamitu Gashe, suffer a fistula during her first pregnancy. After
making her way to Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital and receiving treatment she
began to work there. She started out as an assistant. She would make beds and
help during fistula surgeries. Soon Mamitu was entrusted with small surgical procedures
such as suturing wounds closed. Eventually she learned how to do fistula
repairs and was allowed to do them on her own.
Addis Ababa Fistula hospital does the most fistula repairs in the world
and a woman with absolutely no prior knowledge of biology was able to learn and
became a master surgeon. This women who was denied a basic elementary school
education was a master surgeon who eventually taught other to do fistula
repairs. She took charge of the training program at the hospital and even began
taking classes to learn how to read. Mamitu should not only be a role model to
women in these circumstances but she should be to every women. She picked
herself up and made something of herself in a world that believed women were to
weak or incapable of accomplishing such a task.
Our society had its civil right issues supposedly fixed in
the 60s with an amendment being placed in the constitution. Unfortunately a piece
of paper has lacked the power to change some people’s points of view. American
women are still looked down on in many aspects of our society. Women’s wages
are less than that of a man because we may not be able to handle the work load
or because one day we may become pregnant and they have to pay for maternity
leave. In sports, occupations, and marriage all have traditions. These roles,
however, are not traditions they are stereotypes. There should never be assigned
roles or specific jobs that only one gender can do. Not only are women facing this stigma today
but the next generation of children are being raised with the same gender
discrimination.
This video hit me especially hard because I play softball
and there is a stigma that it is not really a sport. Even when it was proven it
is harder to hit a softball then it is a baseball men still believe there sport
is harder. We have come a long ways in our thinking by allowing there to be
female sports but there is still the sigma that male athletes are stronger then
female athletes. This girl broke out of the social taboo just like Mamitu. With
a little education and self-respect both of these females have become role
models. It is really amazing what a little education a can do for self-esteem.
It may even push you to learn to read like Mamitu or play a sport that is male
dominate. Everyone believes our education system is broken and in some ways I
believe it is but I challenge you to find something positive education has
given you.
I think your point about educations and stereotyping of woman is such a good point. My mom never completed her education after high school because it was expected that woman didn’t need an education, they just need to get married. It’s so inspirational to see that such little education can bring a woman a long way. I think the video is just as inspirational as Mamitu Gashe’s story. I also think that she should be everyone’s idol because what she did is so brave and inspirational. Most people think that woman in the United States have been granted fill rights, but most don’t see that there’s still so much to be done to get to the point of equality. Overall, I don’t think it’s right to think that woman don’t need an education. I think that it is just important for every woman to have a right to an education as any man.
ReplyDeleteEducation and awareness are the two major issues that need to be addressed in order to give women rights in countries where they have none . My grandmother came from Colombia as a nineteen year old and went to a Western Michigan University on a full ride scholarship after teaching herself English. She is now an English and Spanish professor. In Colombian culture women are not seen as equal to men. In my grandmother's family she was expected to cater to the needs of her older brothers and father, she did not have the freedoms of men in society. In Colombia she had no money and lived in poverty. I find her to be a hero because she made a life for herself independently, on her own without the help of anyone but herself. She is an example of how beneficial education is, it helped her tremendously. She also is an example of how strong women are, just as strong as men.
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ReplyDeleteIt’s amazing that one person can do that. To think that she never got an education and still became a master surgeon is awesome. I really like the fact that she ended up getting a small part of education when she could. I think it says a lot. She suffered a bad thing but she picked herself up and ended up being amazing for it. That video is so sad. Just because she is a girl, doesn't mean she is not allowed to play. I really liked the part where she wanted to respect the other school's rules but even if they were playing on neutral grounds I feel that she could have played. I also liked the fact that she was brave enough to go ahead and see if she could join the boy's team.
Education is taken for granted for most of us in the United States, but to others in developing countries it is everything to them, it may even mean their survival. It is hard to appreciate something we grew up having and most the people we knew around us had, that is education I am talking about. I don't think education can change stereotypes, but it is a start. I do not agree with women still be suppressed by man. In my place of work, I make more money then most the men, and in the education field I would assume that the women actually make more since there are more women then men in that field, but yet no one says that the man is stereotyped against. Men are subject to predigest as much and as equally as women, but it is not often thought about or questioned.
ReplyDeleteMamitu Gashe's story was very inspiring to me also, in a tragic but memorable way. She went from being abused, to almost dying while losing her baby, to embarrassed to independent and determined and happy. There is much to learn from her story and all the stories in this amazingly written book of courage.
Mamitu Gashe is a great example of how perseverance and hard work can liberate a person from the restrains of sociological, cultural and gender barriers and free them from the imprisonment of poverty. Many people want to blame society as a whole for the plight of impoverished people. True it may be that most people do not want to be poor or uneducated and so when they are these situations others are to blame. However Mamitu Gashe is proof that anyone anywhere can improve their own life and help others by believing in themselves.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you when you say that women receiving an education is a solution that would contribute to solving problems. I also agree with you that it is not the only way, but it definitely is a solid start. Reading about Mamitu and what she made of herself, is truly remarkable and an inspiration. More women need to be given the opportunity to pursue an education, but this is much more easily said than done. I think that these women would benefit much from a vocational education, just like Mamitu did. Taking a route like this could potentially solve a few different problems. ONe of them being filling positions at hospitals in rural areas, which currently have very few employees. Another problem that could be solved would be keeping women from getting pregnant in the first place. If they are in a hospital working and have a responsibility to take care of each day, they are less likely to end up getting pregnant.
ReplyDeleteWhile my plan seems to be simple, I know that it would take a lot more planning and time to solve any one of the problems I talked about above. Changing the way that these hospitals are run has the potential to improve the mortality rate significantly.
I believe that Mamitu Gashe is an excellent example of moving forward from your past, taking something you learned from that, and using that to help other women who is going through what she had experienced. I love that. I think it's so great to use something that has once hurt you, or effected you in any way, and use it to strengthen, and lighten your future. If I were to do such a thing as she did, I'd try to help women who are depressed. As I once was, I'd love to help women who now are, and to help them find a light such as I did. It's also such a great thing to overcome something that has once held you back, and then to turn your life around and push you forward. I admire Mamitu Gashe for doing such.
ReplyDeleteAs far as education goes, I love school, especially now. I'm finally taking all of the classes I love and am working towards my dream. It's a huge difference when you love what you're learning in school. Although I think when I was younger and not taking as many classes I was interested in, I did take school for granted and didn't think it was important. I actually took a year off from school, last year, and wasn't sure if I wanted to continue after 2 years of college. Within that year I found something I was passionate about (tutoring), and decided to continue my education. I believe that once you find something you're passionate about, and something that doesn't really seem like work to you because you love it, then you should press forward 110%. Like some of these women in this book like Mamitu, she pressed forward with something she knew meant a lot to her; freeing and healing women.
I can completely agree with the book's stance on how big of a difference an education could make. It really makes me think of a TV show I was just watching. I always watch the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and just this week there was an episode about a girl in Asia who took a stand about education in her country. I can't remember her name, but she is amazing. She just wrote a book. She is only sixteen years old, and one day (when she was about fourteen), she was riding a public bus to school. She was going a long way to get a good education, and the Taliban didn't like that she had been talking about getting girls education. So, while she was on the bus, they shot her in the face, aiming to kill her. She ended up surviving the ordeal, and now she is a huge activist trying to get more women education. She is only sixteen now, and she goes around the world speaking about the issue. It is really inspiring and can make a huge difference.
ReplyDeleteI understand that education is important but there has got to be some addition tactics used to combat the unfair treatment of women. Speaking to a man or men and building awareness on how they view and feel about women. Educating men about the affects on how they treat women will determine the functions or dysfunctions of the world.
ReplyDeleteEducation is a big factor in improving the lives of the women we have been reading about, but it is not only the women who need an education. These girls and young omen are in need of a school education to lift them up,and the men and women need to be educated in female health issues. Here in the U.S. the majority of men would kbow something was wrong if his wife was in labor for three days and he would get her the help she needed. The story of Prudence shows how the lack of education on everyone's part ultimately caused her death. Her husband was an educated man, it says he is a teacher, but he didnt seem to has the knowledge of female issues to be able to help his wife survive.
ReplyDeleteHayley, the girl you mentioned is Malala Yousafzai. Her story is so relevant to what we are learning in this class, I'm glad you thought of her! She is most certainly an inspiration. I can only hope that her message is an inspiration to all Pakistani women who share her story. Sometimes it takes a leader like Malala to help others realize what they truly deserve in life.
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ReplyDeleteAs I've commented before education is key. Watching my own mother go though schooling to become a successful dental hygienist and later a successful dentist has made a large impact on my life. My dad never attended college so it was a different atmosphere in my family while growing up. It is unfortunate that women are paid less than a man would be in the same job, I don't quite understand why that issue hasn't been addressed; it seems wrong that gender would qualify for better pay and not being better qualified for the position.
ReplyDeleteThere are too many excuses as to why women are paid less in the employment field, but don't forget that women are paid less in the sports and media fields as well. This isn't new to this century and substantial progress has been made in the way women are treated in the work place. While teaching and nursing remain female dominated fields, the stigma is changing and men are entering those fields which in some ways is good but it also creates a glass elevator where men outshine women and are promoted faster. The ERA (equal rights act) was barely blocked in the seventies when it almost reached enough ratified states but time has passed since then, giving anti-women organizations a window to slow the progress. Now when female politicians even bring up the subject they are ridiculed and their sexuality questioned as if wanting equality means losing femininity. It's exasperating to say the least.
ReplyDeleteI'm in agreement with the education piece, I just think educating the women is not enough. Educate the men as well. Educate the children early on. And when that generation is educated, it should be mandatory that they repay the next generation by educating them. Start a positive generational cycle
ReplyDeleteWhile gender discrimination is still an issue, I believe it is not nearly as prevalent as it used to be. Many males (myslef included) are now treating females as their equals. Perhaps I notice this more because I am in the younger generation who, in general is more accepting than the older people. I know for a fact, at my work all the males and females are getting the same pay (although that might just be because we are all getting minimum wage :P)
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