Geographies of Breast Cancer: Awareness and Advocacy in South Asia

 A recent op-ed written by famous actress Angeline Jolie about her decision to undergo a double mastectomy to prevent a future likelihood of breast cancer has generated discussion about all aspects of Breast cancer.  At one hand, it celebrates another milestone that science has achieved while at the other, it showcases the amount of resources a rich Western woman has at her disposal, to be proactive about the prevention of a deadly disease even before the diagnosis. Through this blogpost, I would like to throw some light on the increasing rates of Breast cancer in South Asia and the constraints of civil society in battling with it.

South Asia includes countries like Pakistan, India and SriLanka. A bird’s eye view of the Breast cancer situation in these countries paints a very deplorable picture. Pakistan has the highest rate of Breast cancer in all of Asia and 40,000 women die each year due to this disease. India, on the other hand, also has almost the same number of casualties  and is a place where 50% of the women diagnosed with Breast cancer have already reached final stage. Breast cancer is the highest cause of death in women aged 24 and above in SriLanka.

In these countries, the rich always have the monetary resources to pursue treatment in expensive healthcare facilities in developed countries.  It is the poor women who suffer the most and ironically are the most likely victims of the disease.  Often times, they only seek help when it is too late due to economic reasons.  The social stigma attached to the reproductive body parts of a female makes it even harder to bring this topic out in the public for any intelligent dialogue. 

An Urdu Advertisment from Pakistan urging women under 40 to get regular check-ups and women for 40 to get screened once a year.

One of the reasons why it is such a big issue is lack of information and stigmas surrounding the disease. Poverty, language barriers and the social taboos are also some issues which hinder the discussion. Mostly the diagnosis takes place too late and when it is past any chances to save the patient. Moreover, women are shunned by households and many die in poverty, being destitute and helpless since the treatment is so expensive. This causes further disturbances in the socio-economic fabric by displacing families, disturbing kids and upsetting budgets. Things are made further deplorable by the fact that there are not many specialized hospitals to treat cancer in South Asia. For example, Pakistan, a country of 180 million, where over 52 percent of population are women, has only one cancer hospital. 

Local school girls raise awareness about Breast Cancer
in Pakistan.

Government and civil society are working hand in hand to curb this disease. Pink Ribbon Pakistan is a fortunate NGO to be funded from various government and international organizations. They offer self diagnosis and treatment options, but on their website it clearly states, that they need greater advocacy in the sector and want a dialogue initiated. Roko Cancer is a similar NGO working in India which provides free ultrasounds and mammograms and is creating meaningful change in behaviors and perception of people. 

The civil society in these countries is striving hard to generate greater voice through advocacy and by stimulating social movement towards the Breast cancer cause. However, the mammoth size challenges they face must not be underestimated. Often times they are dealing with complex religious, cultural and social myths associated with the disease which are very hard to dispel. Considering all these elements, in my opinion, further empowerment of civil society in these countries may help increase local people’s knowledge about the disease and improve the longevity of the patients. 

Due to the advances in technology, a Breast cancer is thankfully not incurable. In fact, it is promising to see that in developed countries, such as the US, there has been a phenomenal 20% increase in 5 year survival rate, in three decades. This is a huge increase made possible due to increase in advocacy, dialogue, literacy and cheaper heath care options. Perhaps, with greater care and empathy, one day not only privileged women in the West but also the common women in developing world will be able to defeat this deadly disease. 

Indian Actress Sonam Kapoor as a spokesperson for Elle Breast Cancer Campaign India.

Even Devil Is Afraid Of His/Her Advocates.

 Famous Indian Marxist revolutionary Bhagat Singh Shaheed said once, “After the British elite leave India, she will be ruled by a Brown elite.” His predictions manifest itself in each and every part of everyday dealings and operations of countries now known as India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. However, the biggest joke is the legal systems of these countries which entirely run upon the whims of the wealthy minority. There are special built-in provisions for elite in the constitutions of these countries and the discrimination runs so deep that it has been made nearly impossible for a poor person to obtain justice. When it comes to poor people, “Justice Delayed is Justice Denied” maxim is taken in literal terms and applied with full rigor. But when it comes to the rich, no matter how big the crime is, justice is swift and often time not justice but, injustice.

I was inspired to write this blog post after watching a Bollywood movie called Jolly LLB, which was an excellent social satire of Indian legal system. It is based on the true story of Sanjeev Nanda case, when a rich and powerful businessman killed 5 poor laborers sleeping on a sidewalk and then walked scot-free thanks to the loopholes in the law fully exploited by the defense and conveniently ignored by the prosecution. This movie resonated to me because the situations, characters, places, urban fabric, apathy and class struggles of modern India (similar to almost all other development countries) were portrayed without any sugar coating or emotional melodrama.

 Jolly LLB., also showcases the frustrations within the Indian penal courts, the way lawyers nickel and dime it and the way rich clients can always go free by manipulating/removing evidence of their crimes by bribing police officials and hiring expensive defense attorneys. Although a good laugh, this movie was a very crucial reality check of the decaying justice system in subcontinent that keeps getting worse. I chose to blog about this movie because cinema and theatre are two very important tools to portray the underlying development themes in any country and Jolly LLB., is a well-done example of that. I recommend this movie to everyone. Watching it won’t be the proverbial life changing experience but it will definitely teach you a bit or two about the value of justice and how it’s miscarried in fact not provided at all to the most needy in the darkest quarters of the world.

In Pakistan, I have seen lawyers acting as thugs and operating as a deranged fraternity on multiple occasions who will do anything to protect their interests even if it comes at the cost of making a joke of the very institution that they are representing.


So what do you think? Will you watch this movie? Have you ever had an interesting experience with police/ any form of law in any developing or developed country? Please leave your valuable comments in the section below.

 

From Best Friend to Favorite Author: Honoring Maria Malik

My friendship with Maria Malik goes back ten years . In these ten years I have seen the introvert Maria turn into a remarkable young lady with a profile that keeps getting better. Maria is a keen researcher and an astute political observer. At the tender age of 25, Maria is already serving as a Political Science lecturer at Kinnaird College (one of the most prestigious Liberal Arts colleges of Pakistan )and her first book called  Balochistan Conundrum- The Real Perspective is already out in the market. I am testament to the fact that she has worked really hard on this book, being fortunate enough to be the one who was asked by Maria to read the manuscript long before it was published. This blog will not discuss the multitudes of talents that Maria Malik the Person possesses (although the temptation is huge). Rather, this blog post is a minor attempt to recognize Maria Malik the Author’s efforts in the field of development and internal politics of Pakistan.

Balochistan is the largest and least developed province of Pakistan. It is gifted with multiple reserves  of natural resources such as copper, coal, natural gas and even gold. However, when it comes to benefiting from these resources, Baloch people  are the last ones to have a piece of the pie. They are the least educated, least skilled and least employed in all of Pakistan. This ongoing discrimination  have made Baloch people resentful towards the federal government of Pakistan and there are many who want separation.

  Balochistan is home to various political unrests stemming from the demands of separatist elements called BLF or Baloch Liberation Front. Due to the great number of natural resources, various foreign elements are also interested in the stakes involved.  In her book Maria outlines the importance of Balochistan for Pakistan, the reasons for the grievances of people and urges that it is not too late to reconcile with the common man in the province.

 Maria also describes the important positions that various tribal leaders enjoy in the grand scheme of provincial and federal politics.  Any form of reconciliation with the Balochi people cannot occur without taking these tribes into confidence. In her extremely objective approach, Maria meticulously articulates the reasons of Balochistan insurgency and examines the issue with a post colonial, neutral, socioeconomic, and politically subtle lens. In her book, the positive correlation between armed insurgency and the military operations that were carried out in the region in last 60 years, has  been backed up careful statistics. 
 However, her main focus is the present wave of insurgency which engulfed Balochistan from 2004 onwards. 

Balochistan Conundrum- The Real Perspective is about the present political turmoil and violent uprisings in Balochistan. It is fast paced, interesting and a must read. She also proposes some really smart and empathetic solutions to start the peace building process to alleviate the pathetic situation in Balochistan. I will conclude this post on only one note:


This blog post is to pay homage to one of my legendary friends of whose accomplishments I am greatly proud of and am eagerly waiting for more!

Can Havana's urban food gardens be an answer to world hunger?

In North America, we take our food security for granted due to a quick and ready supply of millions of edibles that are at our disposal 24/7. However, very seldom do we see innovative solutions or successful efforts in the developing world to curb food insecurity. Food security is subject to various socio-political analyses at multiple levels of development. This issue stems from two basic nuclei: a) inaccessibility to food and b) unavailability of quality food items. The intersectionality of these two, coupled with social inequality can produce disastrous results for the general security of any society. An insecure household or country is under threats from all forms of internal and external forces. Many political uprisings and unrests around the world can be traced back directly to lack of food or mismanagement of food related resources. Also, a country can end up in lifelong shackles of debt due to loaning money (to buy food) from international organizations on conditions that jeopardize/compromise its security and sovereignty. Therefore, securing the food related resources through policy making should be the top priority of any government.

 Cuba was one of those countries which could have easily been broken both from inside and outside after it stopped trading with Soviet Union following the latter’s dissolution in early 90’s. Due to this sudden change, Cuba had to deal with immense food shortages. The way Cuban officials dealt with the issue of food production is commendable and an excellent example of state-level ingenuity and grassroots self-reliance.

The Agricultural ministry of Havana started a grassroots initiative to convert empty and abandoned public spaces into food gardens. These urban gardens called ‘Organoponicos’ are state-owned but publicly managed. 

The state provides land, water and organic pesticides and the public provides intensive labor and operational management and ownership. Through this project, old junkyards, abandoned buildings, backyards and front yards of houses all over Havana have been used to grow various kinds of fresh produce. At present, there are 26000 urban food gardens in Havana which, along with producing fresh fruits and vegetables, are breeding grounds for domestic animals as well, thus producing eggs, milk and meat.  In terms of urban planning, it’s a very innovative approach to improve the aesthetics of decayed and damaged urban structures without bringing them down.  These gardens have been providing food for the city for 24 years, preserving Cuba’s sovereignty and self-reliance of its people. 

The Cuban model of food production is now being applied in Venezuela and Cancun as well, albeit with some operational and structural differences. 

So what do you think about this concept of urban food gardens? Can it be used to curb food insecurity in other developing countries? What will be the private landowner’s response to such a system in a capitalist society? What will be the response of black markets prevalent in many developing countries that thrive on conditions created by food insecurity? Can this model work in the absence of a collectivist/socialist state? Please let me know of your valuable opinions in the comment section below.

Namaste Nepal: Destination 2013

Sorry folks for being away for so long! But I am back and with great news. My work placement for Nepal has been finalised. I am going to Nepal in the September with five other INDEVOURS and will be living in Kathmandu till April 2014. My placement has been finalised with an organization called Centre for Microfinance, Nepal. I will be working as a documentation intern with them and my duties at work will include researching, making and writing reports and going on field visits to credit recipients.

I chose to work in a Microfinance organization because I have previous experience and personal interest in the sector. I interned at a microfinance institution called Akhuwat based in Lahore, Pakistan in summer 2012 and realized that I was more interested in economic and financial side of development. I always believed in creating opportunities for the most destitute so that they can stand on their feet like dignified human beings. There’s no better way of making people feel proud of themselves other than giving them economic opportunities such as employment and small business. When people have more choices, then they can move forward to a more just and equitable society. Microfinance is a very controversial topic and it is also true that it hasn’t delivered to a great extent. However, I do believe in the philosophy behind the concept of microfinance and am really exciting to understand how the sector works in a Nepali context. Overall, I am so excited for this opportunity to actually work, learn and live in a developing country other than Pakistan where I grew up.

Nepal will be a considerably different experience for me. Although, it is very similar to Indian diaspora in many ways, it is considerably different as well. The spoken language is Nepali. Sari is the preferred dress for married women and Shalwar Kameez for the ones who are unmarried. It will be a great chance to wear the clothes I have been craving to wear since I moved to Canada some five years ago.

The tentative agenda of THINGS TO DO other than work is as follows:

·         Attend at least one traditional wedding.

·         Visit Mount Everest Base Camp

·         Visit all historical sites in Kathmandu (At least these 61 sites)

·         Explore the city by foot and by public transport.

·         Try all traditional foods.

·         Make tonnes of new friends

·         Improve my henna designing skills

·         Visit Ajmer Sharif Shrine in India.

·         Take time out for self growth (after all it’s the land of Mahatma Gautama Buddha)

Although I am really excited to accomplish the entire list mentioned above, but I am also a little bit nervous of settling in a new country even though it is only for a brief period of time. Going so far away from my parents and brothers upsets me a bit but it is also true that their support is vital to me in this important mission of my life. Migrating to Canada in my late teens from a developing country and living here for 5 years has taken away all fears of distant lands from my heart. I consider myself to be: a citizen of nowhere yet from everywhere;  a global citizen who knows her life is destined to be nomadic and of course a scholar gypsy ready to live, learn and experience foreign cultures.

The ultimate goal for the scholar gypsy is to learn to be a better human being no matter where she is. The greater vision is to create difference in my own life and of those whom I will be meeting in my work and personal life.

Let’s see to what extents do I accomplish my goals.

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