The Land of God & Man & Absurdity

"30-45% of all pregnancies in Brazil are terminated. 20-30% of all Brazilian women have had abortions. According to the World Health Organizzation, the figure is about three million abortions each year in Brazil alone. As BEMFAM has calculated, that comes out to 250,000 a month, 8,333 each day, 347 each hour, or almost 6 self-induced or dangerous abortions per minute (103)."

After reading Enrique's Journey I didn't think I was able to be "shocked" anymore but I was wrong. After reading The Land of God and Man, A Latina Woman's Journey, I was completely stunned. The above statistics reflects a society, country, nation who permits the subjugation of women. A woman has no rights at all concerning their bodies and are forced to endure harmful and fatal practices. It is a never-ending cycle that permeates all classes (more so for the working poor). I'm not sure which is more upsetting, the fact in this patriarchal society the government and religion (church) deny women rights or its own citizens are brainwashed into the dominant beliefs and perpetuate the cycle (as in the case with the nurse openly admitting she treated patients who suffered and came to the hospital from self induced abortions poorly by perform painful procedures without pain medication and/or leaving them untreated for days intentionally). And naturally social class plays a role in every facet...only certain class of women are able to obtain the drug Cytotec to perform at home abortions. Many women who are not financially capable of purchasing this drug use other alternative methods such as tree limbs, etc. to remove the fetus from the uterus. This really saddened me, I could not fathom the intense physical pain these women suffered to do something like this out of fear of having children. Psychologically speaking, these women must have felt there was no other option available to them and this is what they must do at whatever personal, physical and further mental effects.

How can a man rape a woman or young girl and in order to avoid criminal charges (or any recourse) can marry her? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I can't imagine being raped and then having to marry my rapist and/or give birth to a child as a result of that rape or repeated rapes, "A rape victime in Peru was told by the judge that, as seh was not a virgin at the time, it did not mater that she was raped. Her rapist would be relieved of prison if he offered to marry her. And as in thirteen other countries - Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and Paraguay - a rapist may go go free if he marries his victim with her consent. In Costa Rica, a rapist may go free even if he marries the raped woman without her consent (18)."

I really don't want to make this a long post because this book covers a wide array of themes such as sexuality, AIDS, homosexuality, transvestites, glass ceiling, prostitution, incest, sexually transmitted diseases and illegitmate children. This book is a really great book written from Ms. Paternostro's own personal experiences along with one-on-one interviews (first hand accounts). It really opens up the taboo world in which women are still considered "property." This book was published in 1998 and I'm wondering ten years later, how much (if any) has changed.

http://reproductiverights.org/en/document/trends-in-reproductive-rights-jurisprudence-in-latin-america