Posted 71 days ago
Film Review: A Walk to Beautiful
by Ricci Kilmer, Mustard Seed Associates
I recently was invited to view a film called A Walk to Beautiful with some other women. I was thinking of it as more of a girls’ night out than anything else, but what I saw captivated me. It was the story of women in Ethiopia and a specific birth complication called “obstetric fistula.” Haven’t heard of it? That’s because for those of us in the US and Europe it’s been virtually eliminated. What is fistula? The website for the movie says, “An obstetric fistula of the kind that occurs in Ethiopia (and many other developing countries) is a hole between a woman’s birth passage and one or more of her internal organs. This hole results in permanent incontinence of urine and/or feces.” Why is this a problem in Ethiopia and other developing countries and not here? For many reasons.
Women in Ethiopia perform heavy labor daily. By the time they are eight they are lifting fifty-pound water jars, and by the time they are adults they are carrying burdens that we couldn’t even lift. This heavy labor stunts their growth, including their pelvic bones. In addition, early marriage is a tradition in these cultures, and sometimes girls marry as young as 8 or 9 years old. Women also receive food last. Men are first, then children, and then women. This compounds the problem of malnourishment.
Obstetric Fistula is life-destroying for the women of Ethiopia. A women’s value in these societies is based on her ability to get married and have children. A continual “leak” wouldn’t allow her to do either. In most villages she wouldn’t even be allowed to live with other people. Husbands leave and children can be taken away. She would be an outcast on the same level as a leper. Hospitals often don’t let them in the door, and just getting to a road can be a walk of days.
A Walk to Beautiful is the story of one hospital specifically geared to treat these women. After being met with so much disdain, the dignity with which these women are met is immediately healing. After days or weeks of traveling, women arrive and are welcomed, listened to, evaluated, given a clean bed, and school lessons as they are being treated. They are surrounded by nurses and doctors that encourage them to keep hope and be strong. Many can be healed completely; many need more than one visit.
One of the most beautiful parts of the movie for me was the going home ceremony. When a woman is declared healed, she is given a brand new dress, shoes and head scarf. The colors are bright and cheerful. They are then able to return home with their heads held high and are greeted with joy and celebration. It’s a very powerful symbol of restoration and resurrection, of being made whole once again. The doctors sometimes get discouraged by the small amount of women they are able to treat compared to the large amount of women that still suffer, but they have to remind themselves that even one life is worth the effort, each women is important in the eyes of God.
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