Fistula and maternal mortality have no religious boundaries, affecting women of so many backgrounds and beliefs around the world. We believe that all people of faith are called to listen to the stories of women, to investigate the stories of their faith, and to advocate for maternal health.
The word “story” is important to all of us for many reasons.
Acknowledging the feminine as sacred is one of the most prevalent and important characteristics of Native American traditions and stories-Women have powerful Medicine. The traditions have a lot of wisdom to contribute to the contemporary dialogue regarding women’s rights because the teachings emphasize respect for and responsibility to the creators and sustainers of life- women and Mother Earth. These teachings unite us- we are all related.
Quranic stories convey both positive and negative experiences that are endured, and evoke a sense of morality, communicating social values that transcend time. In the Quran, these stories also convey a sense of equality amongst humankind, particularly between men and women. Throughout the holy text, we are taught that women and men are compliments of one another, and that Islam’s female congregants played elemental roles in spreading and accepting Islam. According to the Quran, “not wise is the man like the woman.” (3:36) Yet we find, that aside from Surah Maryam, which traces the conception and birth of Isa Nabi (Jesus Christ), we do not receive passages that address issues of fistula. This is why then, that we look to alternate sources of information, such as the hadith narrations, and teachings of both past and present spiritual leaders. As women, we need to honor and share our own stories, allowing ourselves to vulnerable, and ultimately, finding strength in our unity.
Stories are one of the ways Buddhists celebrate paths that lead from suffering to liberation, be it through tales of previous lives of the Buddha, sutras attributed to the Buddha himself, poems written by monks and nuns, Zen koans, or miraculous stories of karmic retribution. Women have often been eclipsed in the Buddhist tradition, but we can hear their voices in works like the Therigatha, a collection of poems written by women about their struggles and accomplishments on the Buddhist path.
Jews have been telling stories for four thousand years, passing down thehistories of our people, teaching the next generation about our laws and customs, and passing down lessons about Jewish beliefs, ethics, and morals. Unfortunately, for much of that time, women’s voices have been muted and women’s stories have receded into the background. Reclaiming women’s voices, honoring women’s points of view, and respecting the reality of women’s experience, is vital to restoring the full picture of our lives. The Hebrew Bible is filled with stories of women who suffered through infertility, difficult pregnancies, and painful births.
The basis of Christianity is laid out in the Bible, and it is through the telling of these sacred stories that the community learns what it means to live our Christian faith. Women have often been storytellers, preserving for their communities the important memories of where they come from and who they are.
The stories of fistula, like so many of our faith stories, are not always comfortable stories of happiness or triumph; in fact they are often stories of trouble and oppression. We listen to these stories and remain hopeful that there is still another story to tell. As women of faith, our value for women affected by fistula comes from our perseverance to expose the realities, and mobilize to instill change.
Cemelli de Aztlan and Sandra Iturbe
Indigenous Spirituality Consultants
Tahira Ebrahim
Muslim Consultant
Beverly Foulks
Buddhist Consultant
Rabbi Bonnie Margulis
Jewish Consultant
Meagan Manas
Fistula Stories Coordinator
