In the book ‘Pakistan Beyond Crisis State’ Pakistani society has been described as being a resilient society. May it be a flood, an earthquake, a terrorist attack or a pandemic, people of Pakistan, always proved to be a strong and resilient nation. This assumption about our people is reinforced every day, when we get to know about different stories of people, who deal with challenges gracefully and become an inspiration for those around them.
Similar is the story of Razia, who didn’t give up on her challenges, but became a hero for herself and a saviour for others.
A woman named Razia Shamshad, now widely known as fistula survivor, shared the same fate as most women do and became a victim of the society. Living in a remote area of Pakistan, she had little or no say in her own marriage decision. Falling prey to her guardians, she was married without her consent, at the age of thirteen. Soon after getting married, she was pregnant with a child. Yes, you heard it right, a child giving birth to another child. This was not enough, that her husband died in a car accident when she was in the sixth month of her pregnancy.
What do you think could be the next problem in line? Yes, no resources. She had no education, no awareness and most of all no money to support herself with a proper medical treatment. This unfortunately happens with almost 30,000 women in Pakistan every year, that they die due to pregnancy related issues. Once our Prime Minister talked about stunted growth of children in Pakistan. Can someone go deep down into the issue and find the root causes of this problem? It is because women are mostly deprived of good and healthy diet during their pregnancy, they lack diet containing all the necessary vitamins, iron, and proteins, and therefore, produce children with stunted growth. Anyway, getting back to Razia, now that she had no money for proper medical treatment, she delivered her baby after four long days of intensely painful labor, with the assistance of a traditional birth attendant, known as Dai in common language. This painful experience was not enough, that she became a patient of obstetric fistula, which is usually caused due to prolonged labor because of unavailability of medical services. This disease is accompanied with continuous leaking of urine or faeces, and at times both. This not only makes you physically ill, rather it also attacks your mental health, causing problems like depression and anxiety.
But the story begins now! Razia, unlike most of women, decided not to give up. She left for Karachi, and went to the Koohi Goth Women’s Hospital which treats issues related to pregnancy. There she was treated, and luckily she was able to recover from this disease. Dr. Sajjad Ahmed, who was trained by UNFPA as a fistula repair surgeon, conducted her surgery, and acknowledged her determination to get out of this situation.
After being treated, Razia remarried, and not only married, she also adopted a girl. Having being told that she will not be able to conceive again, adoption seemed to be the only option left for her. But surprisingly she was able to conceive again, and this time, with proper medical care, she was able to give birth to a healthy child through a C-section surgery. She is living a normal life in Karachi, but what makes her more extra ordinary is the fact that she now volunteers her services at the Koohi Goth Hospital, ensuring that she does all that she can do to help women and save them from the pain she went through. We surely, need more people like Razia in our society, to move way forward. Razia, the fistula survivor and the most resilient fighter.
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