Feature Stories
Bhagirathi Shahi, 55 years old
11 July 2006
DADELDHURA — We met Bhagirathi Shahi during our field visit in Manilekh in June 2006. A tiny woman, her face and hands all wrinkled from sun and hard life. As soon as she saw our car, she came running to see us and thank us for our help. She had gone through surgery for uterus prolapse in December 2005 through one of UNFPA reproductive health camps. Since then, her life has changed and she has been thinking a lot of what happened to her for these last 35 years.
"All started when I was 25, after delivering two of my four children. I was suffering from bleeding, abdominal pain and uterus prolapse. After two more kids, it was getting worse and so difficult to cope with. But as I didn't really understand what happened to me, I didn't say anything and kept it secret. Not only was it difficult to do house work, to carry heavy things, but to pass urine, walk and sit down was also extremely painful. Because of bleeding, pus and urine, my clothes used to get wet as well as the place where I sat down. People used to hate me because of my bad smell."
Krishna Shrestha, UNFPA Public Health Nurse, kindly encouraged her to express her feeling.
"I felt rejected from all, was ashamed all the time and didn't dare visit people. Neighbors stopped visiting me. I felt hopeless and worth nothing. I didn't tell anyone, not even my daughter, sons and daughter in laws."
Within few minutes, the old woman got confidence and the talk became more intimate.
"It was also difficult to have sex with my husband and I feared all the time he would leave me. Few years ago, I finally consulted someone at the Team Hospital and they inserted a ring pessary. It only worked for 6 months and abdominal pain started again; still it gave me strength for a while. I also learned that I wasn't the only one with this problem. So, when I heard through radio, health staff and the Chief District Officer that there would be a reproductive health camp in Dadeldhura district for people like me, I enrolled myself."
Her eyes got wet and shiny; we didn't know if her tears were those of joy or of the bitter memories of the suffering.
"Then I went for surgery in Nepalgunj. Everything went well. Now, I am completely cured and have no more pain. My husband and I are happy again; he likes me like before" she said with embarrassment. "Life is good now; I can walk, sit, and talk with people, I don't suffer anymore. People come to visit me and I don't feel rejected."
She stopped for a while and then added: "It has not been good only for me but for many other women like me. We, sometimes talk together about this shameful burden. We also want to encourage other women to seek assistance. From now on, whenever I meet a woman suffering from uterine prolapse, I can talk to her and advise her. Doctors are like God to me and I would like to thank the agency who supported that program."
After separating, she stayed around us for a while, happy and smiling, with more wrinkles on her face when smiling. She attended the reproductive health orientation given by the Public Health Nurse to younger women, participated in a Women Development Officer's gathering, then walked back home, light and graceful.
Mireille Guiraud, UNFPA Evaluation and Monitoring Officer
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