From housewife to health worker: touching other lives and changing my own.

Abstract

Shaheen Hussain, the 6th of 7 children raised in an unprivileged home in a village of Punjab, Pakistan, married when she was 18 and played the traditional role of housewife and caregiver to her children, but she felt unfulfilled on a personal level. Two years ago, she became a field-based health educator with the “Suraj” (sun) social franchise of private reproductive health care providers, established by Marie Stopes Society in 3 provinces of Pakistan. Her story below, transcribed and translated from an interview, is a testimony of how this program not only touches the lives of the women who receive the reproductive health services but also of the health educators themselves. “I have lived in Adda Chakrala, Punjab, my whole life. I went to school till class 10, but could not continue as my parents could not afford the school fee. Instead I was married when I turned 18. As expected of me, I gave birth to my first child soon after my marriage. In a span of 10 years, I had 3 children. I was fortunate that my husband understood the importance of a small family, given our limited resources. Both of us had grown up in families that had more mouths than our parents could feed, and we had vowed not to let that happen to our own children. I took care of the house and brought up my children to the best of my ability but felt unfulfilled. I knew I could and should do more. Two years ago my husband came home from work with news of a vacancy for the position of a ‘health educator.’ He had heard of the position from the locally elected representative/counselor. It was the first time I heard of an organization called Marie Stopes Society. I learnt they required a woman who belonged to the community, was at least matriculate so that she was able to read and write Urdu, and willing to move freely within the community on a daily basis. Having always felt like something was missing in my life and wanting to be useful to my community, I applied for the job. I can never forget that day I was told I had been selected—that day became a turning point in my life. I was trained with a group of other women like myself from adjoining communities. After training, I embarked on visiting homes and meeting with married women of reproductive age. I made use of my training to broach the subject of pregnancies and contraceptives. At the beginning, I often had women closing their doors on me before I had finished speaking. These women felt awkward talking to me, and talking to their husbands, regarding spacing of pregnancies and family planning. Eventually, employing the skills taught to me during my training, my perseverance, and show of empathy, women began to let me into the home to talk. Most often, mother-in-laws of young married women sat in the room. This allowed me to not only speak to the young women but also to their mothers-in-law—the decision-makers in most cases! Today, I am invited by women to discuss personal matters and give advice. I take great satisfaction in what I do because now I can support women of my community in making informed decisions regarding spacing of their pregnancies and contraceptive choices. Those unable to pay for services have access to quality services using vouchers we offer through Suraj. Most importantly I have managed to address the myths and misconceptions surrounding modern contraceptives. I have also been able to provide support and counseling for method continuation or method switching. Increasingly, I have sensed a difference in spousal communication through the women I interact with. My work is my passion. It gives me inner satisfaction to be able to support women and couples in deciding on a method to help prevent unintended pregnancies. I can see the change in the lives of so many women with safe pregnancies and healthier babies, happier families. What I did not mention so far is the monetary benefit of my work! I am proud to be contributing to my household's income and being able to give my children better opportunities.”