The Women I'll Be Thinking of This International Women's Day

Plus a special interview with award-winning Obstetrician, Gynaecologist and author, Benjamin Black

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There was a conversation recently on X about there not being much noise around International Women’s Day this year. ‘Have I missed all of the events’, one journalist joked. ‘Or have we finally managed to find true equality?’

In all honesty, I’m not surprised that events around IWD feel a little quiet when equality sadly feels even further away than normal.

I usually enjoy the celebrations around it all, and the opportunity to see women supporting one another and recognising their achievements. But it’s not quite hitting in the same way this year. The social climate is understandably different.

I don’t know if you saw that Grazia interview this week that featured Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty talking about how they split their domestic chores in celebration of International Women’s Day? It’s as tenuous as it sounds. If you haven’t seen it, take a look at the comments and the outrage it created. The long and short of it was that given the shape of the world and Rishi’s hand in certain recent events, it was ill judged to say the least. Grazia’s female readership did not feel very understood.

It’s this kind of performative nonsense that annoys me about IWD. As journalist Stacey Duguid so brilliantly pointed out on her Instagram page this week, what about the single women? The women who can’t afford their rent? The women who are working and looking after children with special needs or their elderly parents? Why aren’t big media publications shining a light on those women and how they’re navigating life in 2024?

No one really wants to see a couple in the top 1% talk about how they split their chores when we’re in the midst of a national recession. Of course, while life isn’t easy for many British people, there’s a collective concern for events further afield, too.

From Ukraine, to Israel, Gaza, and Sudan, human suffering is at an all-time high. I don’t think many of us ever thought we would see such scenes unravel in our own life times.

According to the World Health Organisation, ‘women, children and newborns in Gaza are disproportionately bearing the burden of the escalation of hostilities in the occupied Palestinian territory, both as casualties and in reduced access to health services, warn the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)’. There are also an estimated 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza with approximately 180 women giving birth each day.

Can you imagine being pregnant in a war zone with no access to clean facilities, a working hospital or pain relief? Where are these women giving birth? Who is there to help them? And how do they begin to live life with a newborn baby and no safe home to go to?

Meanwhile in Ukraine, the United Nations Population fund states that, ‘The war in Ukraine continues to take a heavy toll on the lives of millions of women and girls – from exacerbating the risks of gender-based violence, sexual exploitation and abuse to eliminating livelihoods and increasing poverty levels. Displacement and the large-scale destruction of infrastructure has also left services for survivors of violence, health care and other critical forms of support out of reach for many”.

Let us not forget either that 14 Israeli women still remain in captivity in Gaza. God knows how they are coping.

So today, I wanted to celebrate IWD not by telling you how my husband and I split the washing up, but by recognising and acknowledging the realities of many women around the world. This isn’t the time to be turning a blind eye and hoping it all goes away but to really be thinking about how us as individuals, organisations, journalists, and creators can do something, no matter how small.

I’ll also be thinking a lot today about the work of all of those incredible people working tirelessly in terrible circumstances to help the women, children and of course, men, who played no part in the mess that surrounds them.

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THE INTERVIEW

Benjamin Black: Obstetrician, Gynaecologist and author

I was lucky enough to receive an email a couple of years ago from a wonderful human, Benjamin Black an Obstetrician, Gynaecologist and author of Belly Woman. Benjamin very kindly sent me a copy of his book which recently won The Moore Prize for Human Right’s Writing, and it is life changing in every way. It examines what happens to pregnant women when a humanitarian catastrophe strikes and his extraordinary true account of what it was like to work on the frontlines of maternal healthcare during a deadly Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone in May 2014.

I feel a little better about the world knowing there are people like Benjamin in it, and I hope you enjoy this short interview.

CAT: Can you explain a little bit about your amazing book, Belly Woman, and how you came to be in Sierra Leone at the centre of an Ebola outbreak?

BENJAMIN: Imagine yourself at the centre of a massive humanitarian crisis and having to make decisions where no option is good. Belly Woman is an intimate journey through the greatest health crises of our times. In 2014 Sierra Leone was ranked as having the highest rate of pregnancy-related deaths in the world, I was deployed as a doctor woking in a referral centre for complex maternity cases. In the same year the largest ever Ebola epidemic swept through the region decimating access to healthcare. Belly Woman is a firsthand testimony of being present, witnessing and responding to evolving catastrophes. The book is a very personal account, reflecting on family, faith and the emotional consequences of aid work. As the Covid pandemic surges there’s an opportunity to reflect on whether lessons were learnt, or if we are destined to keep repeating the same mistakes.

CAT: What was it like working on a maternity ward at that time and in an Ebola Treatment Centre? 

BENJAMIN: Emergencies in pregnancy are time critical; every second counts when a woman is haemorrhaging or a baby lacking oxygen. Ebola, on the other hand, is a lethal contagious disease which requires calm and careful decisions to ensure healthcare workers are kept as safe as possible. This dichotomy is further complicated as the symptoms of Ebola (fever, bleeding, abdominal pain, seizures, miscarriage, etc) mirror those of a pregnancies in trouble. Ebola is transmitted through body fluids, the care of pregnant women often involves exposure to large amounts of blood, amniotic fluid and all other fluids, in addition the procedures (e.g. caesarean section or controlling bleeding) are high risk. It is all of this, coupled with the broader context of a population in extreme poverty and lacking in trust of authorities, which came together creating agonising choices for healthcare workers and women alike when facing maternity care at the time of an Ebola epidemic.

CAT: What lessons can be learned from this crisis and what has changed since 2014?

BENJAMIN: There are many lessons that can be identified from the Ebola epidemic and Covid pandemic - whether they’re learnt is another matter. In the Ebola aftermath there was, rightly, substantial criticism of how long it took for there to be genuine engagement with affected communities, listening to their concerns and working with them at grassroots level. Had this been done earlier there may have been less space of disinformation and conspiracy theories to take hold. Looking at the Covid pandemic, we saw the same errors made. Marginalised groups were spoken to, rather than listened to, and communication was not tailored to the needs of a diverse population. Similarly, while the Ebola epidemic demonstrated the vital importance for pregnant women to continue feeling welcomed and safe at health services, responses in Covid increased anxiety through restrictions on birth companions and fears of hospital transmission of disease. There are some positives though, Ebola vaccines, treatments and management have advanced and there’s a greater acceptance that pregnant women must have equal access to care, including new medicines. Again, this also came out during the Covid pandemic.

CAT: Your work has led to you becoming a brilliant advocate for pregnant women who are living and giving birth in unthinkable circumstances. How important is it to you that the stories of these women are told? 

BENJAMIN: Readers often tell me how shocked they are that this is a reality for women and their communities a mere 6 hours flight away. A core aim in writing Belly Woman was to bring these stories into the mainstream. The next time someone's watching a segment on the news about a war, refugee crisis or earthquake I want them to have the wisdom to ask, what about the pregnant women? How are sexual and reproductive rights being protected? 

It’s not my intention to be the voice of these women, given the means and opportunity the affected communities are much more qualified than I am in speaking out. I recognise I’m in a position that allows me to share these events and that this is a responsibility I have. While writing Belly Woman I was often in contact with Sierra Leonean colleagues ensuring the stories shared were true to their recollection too.

CAT: Congratulations on your award for The Moore Prize for Human Rights Writing. What does this mean to you? 

BENJAMIN: Thank you! The Moore Prize is the only international human rights award for literature and this is the first time it has gone to a book with a health-related theme. I’m incredibly proud that Belly Woman received this recognition, it feels very fitting that it comes at a time when we're seeing global sexual and reproductive rights under increasing pressure. When I pitched Belly Woman to literary agents and publishers I received comments that there wouldn’t be enough interest in maternal health, humanitarian crisis or African women to justify proceeding with the book. I found this deeply offensive to readers and small-minded of the industry. For me, this award, validates the pursuit to share this vital story and the trust that others would want to share in furthering the plight of women and their communities in fragile contexts. For other writers facing industry barriers, I hope Belly Woman winning this prize will give you the courage to push forward too. 

CAT: How do you think the global community is continuing to fail to protect the human rights of women across the world and what is the global disparity in pregnancy-related deaths in 2024?

BENJAMIN: Virtually every pregnancy-related death is avoidable. When we see poor outcomes, what we are seeing are political and economic decisions where women’s health and maternity care is not a priority. The full spectrum of sexual, reproductive and maternal health is interlinked, there needs to be access to contraception, safe abortion care, STI testing and treatment, sexual violence care, alongside pregnancy services. Beyond clinical care, if we truly want to improve outcomes, we must invest in education, empowerment and economic opportunities for women and girls. Sadly, we see today a stagnation in progress. This should concern all of us. 

CAT: What needs to happen for women’s rights to be better protected? (For instance, pregnant women in Gaza are currently living in terrible circumstances with minimal healthcare and sanitation and the global community do not seem to be doing enough/ anything to help them and the children there).

BENJAMIN: Sexual, reproductive and maternal health rights will be negatively impacted in every type of crisis. Today we are seeing tragic consequences of this in Gaza, Sudan and DR Congo (to name a few examples). We need to get better at planning ahead, so that protecting SRHR are part of the immediate response. Furthermore, we must ask communities what they need, rather than assuming to know. Women and their communities are the experts in their contexts, trusting their analysis and hearing their concerns is central to ensuring the appropriate protections can be put in place. I write about this in Belly Woman as well, retracing the journey of women who have died and listening to the experiences of their communities, the fears of their relatives and learning from them what needs to change.

CAT: Are there any plans for any future books? What’s next for you?

BENJAMIN: Currently I’m working as an advisor to humanitarian aid organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), and continue practicing as an obstetrician and gynaecologist in central London. I travel regularly to support humanitarian responses, including to maternal health programmes in Sierra Leone. I’d love to write another book, and have begun plans for a novel focussing on the power dynamics within humanitarian crises which dictate how responses happen and what can be said about them, but it’s still very early days!

If you’d like to read the book, you can buy Belly Woman here.

Until next time,

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Cat x