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October
2003
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JAGRITI'S FEATURED WOMEN'S ORGANIZATION
Blue Veins - Peshawar, Pakistan
Raising Breast Cancer Awareness
by: Shaheen Quresh, Chairperson
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"We cannot lose sight of the fact
that Pakistani women are dying. We cannot be afraid of
knowing it. The knowledge does not have to make us bury
our heads in the sand."
In Pakistan and many other countries in the developing
world, an unacceptable silence continues to hamper efforts
to check the fast and deadly spread of Breast Cancer.
Government, families and individuals have all played into
the hands of the disease by remaining silent or not speaking
out loudly and repeatedly enough for the message to sink
in. It would be criminal to continue in the conspiracy
of silence, which only encourages ignorance, stokes denial
and perpetuates misinformation during this monumental
catastrophe.
As a Chairperson of Blue Veins, a breast cancer activist
and advocate, I'm happy to see that there are many more
women around the country who are getting involved in educating
their communities about breast cancer issues. But the
challenges are increasing. We must continue to reach out
to tell our mothers, daughters, sisters, and anyone else
who will listen, that early detection and treatment saves
lives. We must break down the barriers of remaining silent
about a diagnosis of breast cancer.
The power of one is something I have witnessed so often
in communities through out the country. Make breast cancer
awareness a part of your life and part of the conversations
you have with friends and family members. Encourage women
to properly perform a breast self-examination (BSE) and
get routine mammograms as advised by a physician or health
professional.
The time has come for more women to become empowered to
take charge of their health. We can no longer be immobilized
by fear. Begin by talking with women in your community
groups and organizations about breast cancer and its impact
on women. Find or start a breast cancer support group
in your area.
In 1999, I attended a seminar in Islamabad about Breast
Cancer. Very few women were present in that seminar. When
I later spoke to my friends about the colloquium, I realized
that they were not as knowledgeable about breast cancer
detection and treatment as I believed. After the Colloquium
I called some women, we met with some breast cancer survivors,
health activists and women who wanted to do some thing
for the betterment of women in the field of health and
we invited them to initiate a war against the Breast Cancer
epidemic.
During the same year, we started to work against breast
cancer. It was a self-financed program that had a low
budget but we continued the dissemination of information
on breast cancer and other related issues to Pakistani
women - urban and rural, poor and middle class, and of
all educational levels. Today Blue Veins works towards
increasing the level of awareness among women around the
country. Blue Veins is a growing national group, which
embraces the motto "Awareness, Action & Advocacy."
Blue Veins is an attempt to give voice to women, women
with or without breast cancer, because every woman deserves
a voice. Blue Veins is small but sovereign and innovative.
It is the only organization in Pakistan that focuses exclusively
on breast cancer awareness. However, as we are a small
Charity, we rely on the tireless efforts of our volunteers
and fundraisers who help raise much-needed funds for our
valuable work. With enthusiasm and commitment, we can
steadily move closer to our goal. Blue Veins is about
each of us putting one foot in front of the other, working
against the odds to build pathways towards a future without
breast cancer.
Blue Veins conducted a survey in 2002 and it showed a
dangerous lack of knowledge among young people about how
they can detect breast cancer in its early stages. The
results stress the need for a greater emphasis on reaching
all women, especially young girls, whose access to information
is all too often frustrated by poverty, local customs,
violence and social or religious bias.
Information is a powerful tool in the struggle to tame
the rampant prevalence of breast cancer. It is one of
the few tools we have. And we are paying dearly for this
ignorance. Parents, who are often uneducated and uninformed
themselves, cannot help. This lack of information exists
not only here in Peshawar. Such levels of misinformation
are to be found all over NWFP and in Pakistan. Failing
to educate people about the disease is like signing their
death sentence.
Social pressure, cultural practices, violence, repression
and prevailing values and behaviors make it difficult
or even impossible for females to take charge of their
own health. We should not, with clear consciences, keep
quiet about this. We must help women understand their
rights and risks, and we need to support them when they
exercise their right to take control of their bodies.
We must speak of the need to change behavior.
In a province (NWFP) where the literacy ratio is very
low, females are cut off from knowledge about Breast Cancer.
Cultural obstacles are another factor. It is still taboo
in the country to discuss feminine diseases like breast
cancer. Girls in particular are often unable to inquire
about it for fear of being considered morally "loose".
The result is that too many females, especially the most
marginalized, are ignorant because they lack a basic knowledge
of the disease. We can, however, turn this into an opportunity.
Because young people can and do speak honestly to one
another about their concerns when they have the information
and the confidence they can share it. Dissemination of
information is therefore an important weapon we have against
Breast Cancer.
Let all of us who are losing loved ones to Breast Cancer
make it known that the disease is here and it is indiscriminate
in its attack. By accepting this, it will be easier for
more people to participate in a war against breast cancer.
Breast Cancer is real and it is here, indiscriminately
cutting down those we know and love -- mothers, sisters,
daughters and wives.
Let us raise our voices against breast cancer, a voice
of defiance and struggle. Our voices will break the silence
and stigma that nourishes it. It is not enough just to
teach skills of early detection. It is our priority to
talk about Breast Cancer in the context of women's rights.
We explain to females that they have a right to be educated
and a right to participate in decisions about their bodies
and their lives. In this way, Blue Veins does more than
promote health -- it makes Breast Cancer education a way
of empowering women. The females die quietly in some poor
villages on earth, far removed from the scrutiny and the
conscience of the world. Being meek and weak in life makes
these dying multitudes even more invisible in death. Therefore
distance and remoteness must neither blind our vision,
blunt our feelings, nor stall our response to this numbing
tragedy that devastates a family so quietly. We make efforts
to reach the unreached and change the miserable fates
of these illiterate females who have gained the least
or nothing at all. Even many females whose breasts are
removed are ostracized and are at times treated as outcasts
within their own communities.
Stronger campaigns, activities & sufficient funds are
urgently needed to debunk myths about the disease and
provide Pakistani females with the details they need to
protect themselves. Breast Cancer is challenging us to
find new solutions to our problems. Together, we really
can save the world. It is a global cause we all share
across regions, cultures, spiritual traditions and development
levels. |
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