Tuesday, November 10, 2009

World War for Women's Health


In many people’s minds, a stereotypical AIDS patient is homosexual or African. Now, we can add female to that list.

The World Health Organization has declared that “the AIDS virus is the leading cause of death and disease among women between the ages of 15 and 44”, according to this article.
Several risk factors include: unsafe sex practices, the inability for women to obtain contraceptives, and iron deficiency.

This information was released in a 91-page report by the World Health Organization yesterday in which they tried to illustrate the inequality women face in health care. For example, diseases that affect only females are given little attention, as women are viewed as second-class citizens in some countries.

The fight for reproductive rights and access to health care is still a battle for the women in the United States. Imagine the magnification of such a problem in countries where women have fewer rights and freedoms.

A co-worker of mine presented a program about feminism last week. She showed a video where people discussed their reasons for identifying as feminists. A quote from that video really struck me; one woman said “Being a feminist to me means I’m connected to every woman on the planet”.

Women around the world need access to information, health care, and contraceptives. We must wage a “World War” for the lives and well-being of women around the globe.


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