Giving Birth to Progress

Giving Birth to Progress

By Isobel Coleman and Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

This article, being about women in Afghanistan, shows a substantial amount of progress and growth for women's health. Many third world countries really struggle with healthcare, which leads to shorter lives to all. In general, women have a high risk because if she becomes pregnant, her chances of survival are decreased, even with or without healthcare. If you add the fact that these women do not have any type of help or healthcare on a regular basis and add pregnancy on top of this, their lives are in greater danger than anyone else. These Afghan women have finally received some help. Giving these women some help with their pregnant life shows great progress and hopefully will spread to other third world countries. This will preserve the life of the child and the woman, and inspire other Afghan women to want to make a difference. These midwives that are in training will save many lives which will inspire others to become mid wives and learn about helping other women get through pregnancies. If education for women, even at such a small rate, increases in these poor countries, it gives the country hope to begin to grow, and possibly help the economy as more jobs will open asking for healthcare. These midwives bring in some income, although small, helps the country and will continue to inspire other women to study and become midwives, not just for their health, but for others and their children. This income shows other women, men, the community and even the country that women can make a difference especially when the wives are bringing in money along with the husband. This shifts men's attitudes about women in this country thus giving them more say to what happens in the family. It is no longer just the husband's family. Many people, not just in poor countries, believe that the man or husband runs the family just because he is the working man and brings home the big paycheck. This story will help women everywhere that the husband and wife are equally yoked, and share the same responsibility of providing for the family. The woman can also be the head of the house hold as well, not just the husband; after all, she's the one actually giving birth to the children. Women giving birth are under appreciated, as men do not realize that they do risk their lives for the children and go through the most, physically and emotionally. If the women now in this small country is giving birth, surviving, providing for the family, and living on to help other women do the same, I believe that this story needs to be broadcasted to help inspire women, but also open the eyes of some men that do not understand what they go through, and most of the time without saying anything at all. Families need to be more equal between the man and woman, because who is to say that the woman cannot take care of the man financially?

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