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| Djantou |
BAMAKO, Mali
— Djantou came here from Fangala, her village northwest of Bamako, to repair
her fistula, a hole between the birth canal and
the bladder or rectum caused by prolonged, obstructed labor without adequate
treatment. Djantou’s fistula occurred while she was in labor during her first
pregnancy. Her child was stillborn. She wants to have children in the future
but she is afraid — both of the operation and of childbirth. Djantou is 15
years old.
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| Rokia |
Rokia is
from the village of Tarasso, near the border with Burkina Faso. Twenty years
ago, she also developed fistula during her first pregnancy. The baby was stillborn.
“The urine would not stop,” she said. Rokia has had two operations but both
failed. She is now awaiting her third operation. Although she is 40 years old,
she still very much wants to have children.
Fistula is a
tragic condition that leaves women leaking urine, feces or both. It can lead to
chronic medical problems and cause social exclusion. Women are often abandoned
by their husbands and sometimes by their own families because of their
incontinence and unpleasant smell. They face depression and social isolation —
either self-imposed or by their sometimes unforgiving communities.
