Working for Change 13
Working for change in your community
You can improve your health and the health of other women
in your community by sharing this book and by talking with
them about women’s health problems.
Talking with others can be hard. Women often feel shame
(for example, when talking about parts of the body) or fear
about what others will think. Yet talking with others is the only
way to learn more about health problems and to discover their
causes. Often you will find that other women are worried
about the same things, and want to discuss them.
Get a small group of women together to talk about health
problems in your community. Try inviting women who are
friends of your friends, neighbors, or women you work with.
Once you have identified a health problem that many women
share, it is often helpful to meet again and invite others to
discuss it and learn more. When you meet, think about the
root causes of the health problem, and plan the changes you
can make in your families and community. For ways to work
with a group to plan and carry out actions for change, see
pages 26 to 31.
➤ Because social
conditions affect
them differently,
women and men
may need to find
different solutions
for the same health
problems.
My back hurts so much these
days from having to carry
water all the way up the hill to
my house. The health worker
says I shouldn’t carry heavy
loads when I’m pregnant—
that’s how Mari lost her
pregnancy. But how else would
my family get water?
It isn’t a problem just
for women who are
pregnant! My back
is always hurting
too. I finally got my
husband to start
helping me carry
water every day.
I was visiting my sister
the other day, and where
she lives they got the city
to put in some water taps
close to the houses. It’s
great, she doesn’t have
to carry water very far at
all. Everyone loves it.
Maybe we could get enough
people together to convince
the city to do the same thing
for us. But we would need a
lot of people. And we would
need to know who to talk to,
and decide where we wanted
the water taps.
Well, we could talk
with José. He’s
a teacher and
everyone respects
him. He could
probably help.
By meeting with a small group
of women, you can learn more
about a health problem and
what can be done to solve it.
Where Women Have No Doctor 2012