Let’s say you’re a woman. You’re with a male partner (long-term, short-term, very short-term…) and you’re feeling rather, erm, amorous. Having a baby may or may not be part of your bigger picture, but it’s definitely not what you’re looking for right now. So, what do you do? If you’ve planned in advance, perhaps you’re on the pill, or maybe you open the nearest drawer or scamper off to the bathroom to grab an alternative form of contraception. In the worst-case scenario, one of you quickly throws on some clothing and runs off to the nearest pharmacy or convenience store. With protection taken care of, you begin to…
Ok. Now that I’ve got your attention, try to imagine what might happen if you couldn’t get those contraceptives. Try to imagine that you are one of the more than 200 million (!) women around the world who are denied access to any form of modern contraception, or even to decent reproductive health care. Without access to family planning and maternal and newborn care, one woman dies every minute during pregnancy or childbirth.
Since 1957, Pathfinder International has been working to introduce quality reproductive care to remote communities around the world, and now, in honor of International Women’s Day (to be held tomorrow, March 8th) they are on a campaign to raise awareness about maternal and newborn care, family planning, and reproductive health in the developing world. Pathfinder launched the 200 Thousand for 200 Million campaign with the goal of reaching 200,000 video shares on Girl2Woman.org, in order to raise awareness about the 200 million women around the world who want, but lack access to contraceptives. For every share on the site, $1 is donated to support reproductive health care in the developing world.
This is an issue that needs more awareness and visibility. To find out more about this ambitious campaign and what you can do to help, please check out this article on the Pathfinder International website.
Just think. In the two minutes that it’s taken you to read this blog post, two women died during pregnancy or childbirth…
Read, noted and shared. Thanks Liza.
Thanks for sharing, Robin!
Yeah, well, but I would say that the post doesn’t stress enough the man’s responsibility in that amorous situation. I would use a picture of a condom rather than the one of a pill.
I considered it, but thought that using a picture of a condom would make it more about sex and less about women’s reproductive issues in general.Taking the pill is something a woman can do by herself, something that she can take responsibility for, whereas with the condom, it can be about convincing the man to wear it, and we all know that doesn’t always succeed. Taking the pill is about the woman taking charge.