A call for urgent action

Portraying a distressing situation persisting in remote corners of Nepal, Pansara (31) of Budhinanda municipality-3, Kuru (Bajura district), gave birth to her third child on the way to a health center in the first week of December last year, marking the third time that she has given birth in unsafe conditions outside a health facility.  

A photojournalist managed to capture Pansara with her newborn and a health volunteer, Dharma Chadara, in the nick of time. The pictures went viral, bringing to light once again one of the several ordeals facing women in remote districts of this country, including Rukum, Rolpa, Humla, Jumla, Achham, Mugu, Bajhang, Bajura, Kalikot and Dolpa. 

The situation sheds light on the numerous problems women like Pansara encounter while trying to reach health centers alone, often in the midst of labor. 

Pictures of Pansara and her baby in a remote corner  have evoked memories of my mother's struggle in giving birth to seven children and raising them. Per my mom, I, the fourth child, was born in the midst of a busy farming season. It so happened that mom experienced labor while digging a heap of cow dung for spreading it in the corn fields as manure. Fortunately, farm workers noticed her ordeal and took her home where I was born. 

I feel sad when I get to hear that my grandma left me without seeing me because a daughter was born in her family, for the fourth time. 

My three brothers were born after me in similar circumstances. 

During the birth of my youngest brother, I witnessed the immense pain my mother endured, making me realize that women triumph over death while giving birth. What surprises me these days is that even during the birth of their youngest child, the seventh one, at home, my parents lacked awareness of services available at healthcare facilities. 

Fortunately, we now have access to quality healthcare services, thanks to a highway. This transformation highlights the strides made in ensuring better healthcare for mothers and their newborns in our community.

In general, though, the Western region of Nepal, including Karnali and Sudurpaschim provinces, lacks easy access to healthcare facilities, thanks to apathy on the part of the state. The state, while not physically enslaved, seems intellectually constrained, prioritizing power dynamics over developmental efforts in the remotest corners of the country. 

That is one of the reasons why young girls lose their lives in menstrual slums called Chhaugoth every year, while many women suffer from long-term diseases due to appalling conditions there. The recent death of two girls in menstrual slums in Achham shows that efforts to address this issue have been insufficient.

Education should focus on dismantling ingrained beliefs rather than physically demolishing structures. The emphasis should be on eliminating mental barriers rather than sheds built for menstrual seclusion.

Returning to the pressing issue of women giving birth on their way to health centers, questions arise about services provided by a municipality. How can an area designated as a municipality lack even basic health services and transportation infrastructure, including roads? Who is to blame for this sorry state of affairs if not elected officials, who prioritize their petty interests at the expense of the public. 

It is time to raise awareness and demand better healthcare facilities for women in remote areas so as to save lives and prevent further suffering.