Nigeria

Zejnab, originally uploaded by janchan.

The person who posted this photograph on Flickr writes: "...at the rehabilitation center for women with obstetric fistula of Dambatta, nothern Nigeria..."

As the entry on obstetric fistula in Wikipedia reads:

"Obstetric fistula is a severe medical condition in which a fistula (hole) develops between either the rectum and vagina (see rectovaginal fistula) or between the bladder and vagina (see vesicovaginal fistula) after severe or failed childbirth, when adequate medical care is not available.

"The fistula usually develops when a prolonged labor presses the unborn child so tightly in the birth canal that blood flow is cut off to the surrounding tissues, which necrotise and eventually rot away. More rarely, the injury can be caused by female circumcision, poorly performed abortions, or pelvic fractures.

"The resulting disorders typically include incontinence, severe infections and ulcerations of the vaginal tract, and often paralysis caused by nerve damage. Sufferers from this disorder are usually also subject to severe social stigma due to odor, perceptions of uncleanliness, a mistaken assumption of venereal disease and, in some cases, the inability to have children.

."..According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 50,000 to 100,000 women develop obstetric fistulas each year and over two million women currently live with fistula injuries."

No wonder Ayaan Hirsi Ali has railed against female circumcision. See post below.