Seven years ago while on call duty at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, I had a female patient
referred from a general hospital on account of poor progress of labour. The labour had lasted for more
than 12 hours and we observed signs of obstruction on examination. The woman was weak and the
baby was in distress; a decision of assisted delivery through caesarian section was reached. After
counselling, the woman verbally agreed but the written consent was to be given by the husband. Yes,
you read me right – the husband. The man had a different opinion, his pastor had “prophesied that his
wife would deliver like a Hebrew woman”; so he declined consent. He later bowed to pressure after
hours of marathon counselling and signed the consent form. The operation was successful, but the baby
had signs of brain damage. During post natal care, the woman had started leaking urine from her vagina
(known as vesico-vaginal fistula – VVF). She would have to go through another surgery to repair her
leaking bladder. The baby was at risk of having cerebral palsy which is usually associated with
suboptimal motor function and low intellectual capacity. This pathetic incident can only occur in a
society like ours where women are denied the right to make informed decisions on matters concerning
their body and their health.
referred from a general hospital on account of poor progress of labour. The labour had lasted for more
than 12 hours and we observed signs of obstruction on examination. The woman was weak and the
baby was in distress; a decision of assisted delivery through caesarian section was reached. After
counselling, the woman verbally agreed but the written consent was to be given by the husband. Yes,
you read me right – the husband. The man had a different opinion, his pastor had “prophesied that his
wife would deliver like a Hebrew woman”; so he declined consent. He later bowed to pressure after
hours of marathon counselling and signed the consent form. The operation was successful, but the baby
had signs of brain damage. During post natal care, the woman had started leaking urine from her vagina
(known as vesico-vaginal fistula – VVF). She would have to go through another surgery to repair her
leaking bladder. The baby was at risk of having cerebral palsy which is usually associated with
suboptimal motor function and low intellectual capacity. This pathetic incident can only occur in a
society like ours where women are denied the right to make informed decisions on matters concerning
their body and their health.
It is no longer news that a week after the celebration of International Women’s Day, the Nigerian Senate
rejected a proposed legislation that seeks to promote equal rights and opportunities for women. The
official title of the bill was “A bill for an Act to Incorporate and enforce certain provisions of the United
Nations Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the
Protocol of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the rights of women in Africa, and
other matters connected therewith, 2016 (SB. 116)”. This decision of the Senate has received knocks
from well-meaning and informed Nigerians. Is it not ironic and hypocritical that the senate refused to
approve a bill drawn from international conventions which the country had signed and agreed to? Is it
not vexatious and insensitive that this happened while Nigerian women are discussing how to guarantee
rights and welfare of women globally at the ongoing meeting of the UN Commission on the Status of
Women in New York?