New Deal for Women

Abstract

In 1945 a Japanese baby girl could be expected to live 37 years. Today's female infant has an expectancy of 73. Similar dramatic changes will occur all over the emerging world when women enjoy cultural development, says Japan's leading health statistician. He theorizes that men are no longer killing their women by making them: Breast-feed, rear children, keep house and work the farm as well. Dr. Takemune Soda, a graduate student at Johns Hopkins University 30 years ago, is now director of the Institute of Public Health Tokyo, and a World Health Organization expert panelist on health statistics. Japanese men have done well, too. 1945, their life expectancy has risen to 68. But the women's experience has been phenomenal. Men tend universally to have shorter lives, Dr. Soda says, but in the underdeveloped countries the experience is reversed. Since the war, life became more favorable to women than to men, comparatively, he says. believe it is a cultural phenomenon. In Vietnam, Cambodia, Ceylon and India, where there have been no significant cultural changes for women, Dr. Soda finds women's poor longevity persisting. Japanese women had always been forced to work on farms while bearing the usual family responsibilities. Rural Japanese women still do a lot of farming as their menfolk trudge to town for wages. They still work too hard, Dr. Soda sympathizes. Dr. Soda notes with concern WHO's report that despite progress all fields, the health gap between developed and underdeveloped areas continues to widen. It is our sincere wish that a more equitable situation will prevail every aspect of people's lives, he says, pledging Japan's assistance to the less favored. Commenting on Japan's success with family planning, he says, Many governments see Japan as a country that has succeeded controlling population growth. But our program was not developed to suppress births. Rather it has been an integral part of maternal and child health programs, with the specific aim of less burden on mothers and better health protection for children. The result has been that our population growth is maintained at a responsible balance. We are prepared to respond to requests to send specialists elsewhere. David Alan Ehrlich MAIL UNUSUAL ORDER A I VAMUES A selection of products available by mail for readers of SCIENCE NEWS All merchandise sold on a money-back guarantee. Order direct by Stock No. Send check or M. 0.