It is often too easy to say one understands gender equality issues, and I have said so, myself, many times. But a recent debate and discussion in the MISA office over the graphic pictures of a woman in birth, taken in Zambia a few weeks ago, apparently to demonstrate the collapse of the health delivery system as a result of a health workers strike, left me wondering whether there is more to the gender equality struggle and debate than what I know and would want to know. I am left wondering how deep does the gender debate arouse and prickle our cultural, religious and indeed manly sensitivities. I was shocked by what I saw in the pictures. This shock that I expressed in emails to colleagues, both mothers and seasoned activists in their own right, left me wondering whether when we talk about gender there are surface and deeper meanings that we all miss.
First, the two pictures taken in June in Lusaka, Zambia’s capital, are indeed graphic and demonstrate the suffering the woman was going through and the fear on the faces friends and relatives who were trying to assist. The government in Zambia and the women’s movement are up in arms, accusing The Post newspaper of distributing pornography. On its part newspaper says it neither published nor took the pictures but simply forwarded them to select authorities with a note expressing concern on the state of health delivery in Zambia. The News editor was picked-up by the police and made to sign a warned and cautioned statement. She might still face trial.
My interaction with the images brought me to a world which I thought I knew, gender, women, equality. I talk and address these issues all the time. Our discussion on the pictures however brought a dimensions about the gender debate, that when we talk of gender and gender equality it is more than what one says and does but ‘THE LIVED’ experience and how as a man, despite all my good intentions, I can so easily miss the bigger picture.
I argued that maybe this woman was never consulted, did not consent to have the pictures taken and was to some extent used as a guinea pig and tool in a much bigger political game. The response from my two colleagues brought me to realise that maybe there is a cultural framing and societal structure and lenses that we men use to view women, and that there are many things about the women’s body, and role that we are not comfortable with. Women in birth, women in old age, women demonstrating masculinity and women in power are some of the things that came to mind. In the case of the Zambia pictures, President Rupiah Banda’s government leaped on this as an opportunity to reignite its fight with its nemesis The Post newspaper. The government leaped on this as an opportunity to divert attention from its failings on health delivery. The government lambasted the newspaper for distributing pornography. Cheering on the government corner, lo and behold, was the women’s movement in Zambia in all its shades and colours. The groups raised dust accusing the newspaper of disrespecting women’s bodies, dignity and all sorts. The political opportunism of the government is well understood, that is what politicians are like, quick at blaming and quick at diversion. What about the Zambia women’s movement?
We agreed in the short discussion that while we are all activist, still we are men and women, we belong to families, and we belong to a society. We belong to religious groups, we hold political views and opinions, and we carry our baggage wherever we go. This brings us back to the Zambia women’s movement. Which hat where they wearing when they attacked The Post newspaper and whose interests were they advancing between the suffering women and President Banda? Where they wearing their activism and gender equality hats or their cultural hat as submissive women who should be all fearing and in perpetual awe of the powerful men, or maybe they just decided to take a political stance against the newspaper?. It became clear in our discussion that the Women’s movement in Zambia and indeed a broad section of civic society did not take time to reflect and think deeper about these pictures. These pictures were not concocted, but ‘THE TRUTH’. The truth that women in Zambia, poor women who cannot afford private hospitals, doctors or even to be flown to Johannesburg are giving birth in the open, with no health care, traumatised and possibly dying. It was explained to me, that the baby that was being born as shown in the pictures, was in fact ‘breached’, that is coming out legs and body first, instead of head first. It was further explained to me by my colleagues that the baby would probably die and that should the mother have been receiving medical care, this situation would have been corrected. For me the birth was a messy affair that I could not comprehend. For our Zambian women movement it becomes clear that they missed the bigger picture that the Rupiah Banda government should be held accountable for putting the lives of women in serious danger. It is possible that the baby in those pictures died, it is possible also that the mother died or is seriously ill. Forget the privacy issues, lets us look at the bigger picture, the public good and interest issue, which is the lives and health of women. This is the message my colleagues emphasised on me. The concerned Minister of Health, in a democracy might have resigned and an official enquiry set up. In Africa life is cheap hence the Zambia government got away with a gross human rights violation. And those who are supposed to be the avant-garde fighting for women rights were sleeping. Again this raises another issues, how related are gender issues to politics and are women’s groups prepared to challenge politicians and get dirty in the process. I think not, women’s movements throughout Africa still have a long way to go. Gender equality is conducted as the neatest, most innocent, most unthreatening and apolitical process in the world. My experience with the Zambian pictures has taught me that gender equality is a messy business, highly political, about life and death. Women’s groups in Zambia and in Africa should be prepared to tackle these issues beyond rhetoric, hotel conferences, glossy newsletters and radio talk shows but tackle the root cause of the problem, which is political and cultural.
Key in this process are issues of access to information and how they are linked to the need for the public to know. If these picture had not been taken it is possible that the citizens of Zambia would imagine and indeed think that all is well, hence not challenge their government on its shortcomings. Access to information is therefore a critical element that either determined the life or death of the woman and the baby. It is access to information at various levels and in various stands that was shortcoming. Access to health information, i.e. did this woman have access to information on her condition, did she have access to information on alternatives, did she have acces to information on heath facilities and services available if any?. If not does the Zambia community have access to information on how much the government is spending on health, does society have access to information on the causes of the strike and government actions to resolve the crisis. These questions will never be answered, but are the cause why civic society should remain true to its calling, that is seek accountability, transparency and a better life for citizens. The woman and the baby in those pictures deserved better. The Zambia women’s movement needs to wake up, President Band and his government are politicians they can be voted out should Zambians decide so in 2011. // End//
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