I’ve got a longer piece coming out on Sunday for Mother’s Day, but just to get you in the mood:
This week in the retail run-up to Mother’s Day here in the United States, I’ve been particularly aware of stories about Mom’s in the news. I cannot believe it has taken this many years for the medical establishment to admit that episiotomies are not beneficial. No kidding, women’s health advocates have known this for decades. The arrogance of doctors in insisting that women’s anatomy is not perfectly designed to deliver children is amazing. While not having nearly as horrific an impact on women’s health that Female Genital Mutilation has, the concept is similar, namely a patriarchal attempt to control women’s bodies by harming them in vicious, painful ways.
Turns out that the worst place on earth to be a mother is in Mali, according to a new report from Save The Children, A Mother’s Day Report Card: The Best – and Worst – Countries to Be a Mother and Child . The U.S. ranks 11th out of 110 nations, and thank goodness we liberated Afghanistan where,
“Afghanistan finishes in last place. More than 1 out of every 7 children in Afghanistan dies before his or her first birthday, 87 percent of the population is without safe drinking water, and 25 percent of children are suffering from malnutrition. The situation for Afghan mothers is equally dismal: 1 in 6 mothers dies in childbirth; 86 percent of all newborns are delivered without trained health personnel, and 96 percent of women are not using modern contraception to space their births at healthy intervals.”
In an ominous report out of Canada, the Globe and Mail reports that,
“Children appear to be a new weapon in domestic abuse, with fathers killing them to punish their wives for leaving an abusive relationship, according to a special report of the Ontario chief coroner’s office, released yesterday.”
Unfortunately we had an example of this earlier this week in my own town with a father holding police at bay for five hours by threatening to kill his three children in a domestic dispute.
Thankfully however, a 13-year old girl in Florida will not be forced to become a mother against her will, despite the best efforts of the state of Florida.
Dolores Huerta has an interesting piece up on Alternet exhorting Mom’s to become activists. She’s right of course, although a comment posted about her article accurately points out that we ought to expect a lot more of the non-Moms in this world (especially the Dads). And as a single Mom activist, I can attest to the exhausting juggling act that this involves. Awhile back I heard a quip to the effect that if you had an impossible job that needed doing, ask a mom to do it, she’s used to it. And really, what’s the choice?
Addenda: Let’s send some really thorny roses to the compassionate folks at Spencer High School in Columbus, GA for this gem:
Student Suspended Over Call to Mom in Iraq
“A high school student was suspended for 10 days for refusing to end a mobile phone call with his mother, a soldier serving in Iraq, school officials said.”
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