WUNRN
Pakistan
- Challenging Taboos of Breast Cancer, Leading Cancer Killer of Women
(AP)
/ 20 January 2014
Pakistani politician Fehmida Mirza is working to break taboos
surrounding breast cancer.
Pakistani women listen
to a lecture organized by the breast cancer awareness group PinkRibbon in
In
They had to use the euphemism “cancer of
women” to discuss a disease often shrouded in social stigma in
One in nine women in Pakistan will face breast
cancer during their life, with the country itself having the highest rate of
the disease across Asia, according to the breast cancer awareness group
PinkRibbon, oncologists and other aid groups.
Yet discussing it remains taboo in a
conservative culture where the word breast is associated with sexuality instead
of health and many view it as immoral for women to go to the hospital for
screenings or discuss it even within their family.
Now, women like breast cancer survivor and
prominent Pakistani politician Fehmida Mirza and groups are trying to draw
attention to the disease and break the silence surrounding it.
“There’s nothing to be shy about it,” Mirza
told The Associated Press in a recent interview. “No woman, no woman should die
of ignorance and negligence.”
No national database tracks breast cancer
statistics but people who combat the disease say it kills nearly 40,000 women
every year in
With a health care system in shambles and more
young women getting the disease, breast cancer rates only are expected to get
worse. World Health Organisation official Shahzad Aalam in
“It is the leading cancer killer among women,”
Aalam said.
Among Pakistani women there is very little
knowledge about the disease. A study done at
“If women are being diagnosed with breast
cancer, they don’t even share the news with their family members,” said Omar
Aftab, who heads PinkRibbon in
“So, we’re trying to break these taboos,” he
said.
Those cultural taboos have been one of the
biggest issues preventing women from seeking treatment or even knowing about
the disease. During an awareness event in
“It will take very long for us to discuss
these issues openly,” said one female student who requested anonymity because
she feared her family wouldn’t like her speaking about the issue.
Another challenge is
Women in the developing world, like
Hasan said several factors have contributed to
the rise in the disease — above all the cultural taboos. Breast cancer survivor
Sameera Raja, who owns an art gallery in southern
“You’re surprised to hear how women actually
sit on things,” Raja said. Recalling how a woman would feel too embarrassed to
talk about it even with her husband, she said: “Don’t hide behind closed
doors.”
Unlike in the
“There was lot of pressure on me, work
pressure,” she said. “Everybody (would) say it’s an excuse I’m using to run
away.”
Mirza described her friends and family being
shocked by the diagnosis, as the cancer is considered by many as a death
sentence. But during her diagnosis and treatment, she attended international
conferences, ruled on the then-prime minister’s case and later ran for
re-election and won while undergoing chemotherapy.
She now uses her position in parliament to
advocate for women’s health issues. She plans to propose a bill making it
mandatory for women to have breast cancer screenings and mammograms yearly, as
well as to teach girls in schools to do breast exams themselves. She also
pushed the health ministry to explain why there is no national database on
breast cancer deaths.
“I think the role models will have to come
forward,” Mirza said. “That is one reason I had to.”