Fistula Politics

Obstetric fistula is a birth injury caused by prolonged obstructed labour that results in urinary and fecal incontinence. In Western humanitarian and media narratives, fistula is presented as deeply stigmatizing. Alison Heller illustrates these popular narratives only serve the interests of humanitarian organisations, the media, and local clinics.

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Obstetric fistula is a birthing injury caused by prolonged obstructed labor that results in urinary and fecal incontinence. It is nearly non-existent in the Global North. In contrast Niger, in West Africa, has one of the highest rates of fistula in the world. In Western humanitarian and media narratives, fistula is presented as deeply stigmatizing, resulting in divorce, abandonment by kin, exile from communities, depression and suicide. In Fistula Politics, Alison Heller illustrates the inaccuracy of these popular narratives and shows how they serve the interests not of the women so affected, but of humanitarian organizations, the media, and local clinics.