By Ed-Grant Ndoza, Malawi News Agency (MANA).
Beat Botha lost her marriage shortly after a colorful wedding officiated at a local Christian church in her rural community.
The crime Beat committed was cultural in nature: she did not conceive within six months of marriage, which was a big mistake in the Munyehere community, a remote part of Northern Malawi.
In this community, a woman who has received lobola (dowry) earns her dignity only by proving her fertility through conceiving and giving birth within a traditionally expected period.
Women who delay bearing a child, or who are infertile, are therefore subjected to consequences like exclusion, intimate partner violence, economic deprivation, stereotyping, and marriage breakups.
A few days after the wedding, before the honeymoon was over, Beat faced a rude awakening when her husband’s close relatives summoned her and served her with a three-month ultimatum to conceive as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, Beat did not conceive even after an unwarranted three-month extension, a situation that drew the wrath of her desperate husband, Kita Gama.
Verbal skirmishes, finger-pointing, and sporadic accusations erupted over who was to blame for the “pregnancy failure,” which dragged on until the fifth month. Charged by insults from his relatives, Gama showed Beat the door.
“My marriage was dissolved because I didn’t live up to the community’s expectations. I delayed in conceiving,” she said, as tears gathered in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. Beat, now 40, still struggles to come to terms with the pain of infertility stigma and discrimination.
Infertility stigma is pervasive in her underdeveloped community, where harmful cultural practices and deep-rooted inequalities glorify male chauvinism.
Beat, who received little education due to her poverty-stricken family, has struggled to support herself and her aging parents. As an illiterate woman, she had no viable way to earn income locally, so her only option was to migrate to South Africa, where she now works as a child caretaker, enduring inhumane supervision.
Beat’s case is just the tip of the iceberg. In many rural, illiterate communities in Malawi, infertile women face abuse, with many having their marriages terminated for failing to bear children. Wives who endure infertility stigma and marital violence are often forced into polygamous arrangements if they resist divorce.
In sub-Saharan Africa, infertility is stigmatized because children, especially girls, are considered wealth, often translated into dowry payments in cattle.
In many African countries, fertility issues are not properly managed due to a culture of silence and secrecy, where open discussions about sexuality and safe motherhood are taboo.
The challenge is compounded by a lack of advanced facilities providing quality fertility care, such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinics.
It’s often said that every problem has a solution, and for victims of infertility stigma, a glimmer of hope is finally emerging.
The Merck Foundation has stepped in as a harbinger of good news, partnering with numerous African first ladies to denounce infertility stigma and to search for a lasting solution to this issue.
The Foundation is aware of the lack of fertility care institutions in many resource-poor countries and has committed substantial resources to train reproductive endocrinologists to provide quality fertility care. The Foundation is also abundantly informed that ignorance, myths, and archaic cultural practices in some African communities contribute to infertility stigma.
Consequently, it has enlisted the media as allies in the fight against infertility stigma and discrimination. In addition to training journalists on fertility issues, the Merck Foundation has introduced a prestigious media award for articles that expose the prevalence, magnitude, and impact of culturally induced infertility stigma, as part of its ‘More Than a Mother’ campaign.
African first ladies have also sprang into action to combat infertility stigma, a show of solidarity to bring hope to women enduring this burden. Zimbabwe’s First Lady, Dr. Auxillia Mnangagwa, pledged to dismantle harmful cultural traditions that enable infertility stigma.
She made her commitment at the 11th Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary, held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on October 29, 2024.
The conference, titled “Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary,” was organized by the Merck Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany. Mnangagwa was one of 15 African first ladies who made keynote speeches at the event.
“It is important to me as a fellow woman to stop the stigma around infertile women,” Mnangagwa declared.
She praised the Merck Foundation for supporting initiatives aimed at breaking infertility stigma and improving healthcare.
She reported that the Foundation has awarded prestigious undergraduate and graduate scholarships to train doctors in underserved specialties in Zimbabwe. She described these scholarships as a significant boost to her efforts to improve healthcare for women and other populations.
“Fifty-six additional scholarships have been provided in fields such as fertility, embryology, one-year diplomas, and two-year master’s degrees in sexual and reproductive care,” Mnangagwa said.
Like Beat, many infertile women are single, which makes it difficult for them to support themselves financially, leading some to face gender-based violence (GBV) from men they rely on for help. Empowering infertile women remains a critical strategy for fostering their independence and sustainable livelihoods.
Following this philosophy, Malawi’s First Lady, Monica Chakwera, has focused on building the financial capacity of infertile women as an empowerment strategy.
At the conference, Chakwera explained that alongside her efforts to promote cultural mindset changes and dispel myths that fuel infertility stigma, she is also implementing programs to empower these women.
She highlighted a soft-loan initiative that enables women to start small-scale businesses as part of her women’s empowerment agenda.
Economically handicapped infertile women need opportunities to engage in entrepreneurship to achieve self-reliance.
Dr. Rasha Kelej, Senator and CEO of the Merck Foundation, emphasized that her organization is fully committed to improving access to quality and equitable healthcare by building healthcare capacity in critical fields.
Dr. Kelej, who is also President of the “More Than a Mother” Campaign, has demonstrated a deep empathy for socially underprivileged and marginalized women. Her dedication to uplifting women’s lives is evident in the Merck Foundation’s partnership with African first ladies to eliminate infertility stigma and combat gender-based violence.
The Merck Foundation also supports various programs with direct financial backing and participates in advocacy events. For instance, Dr. Kelej recently took part in a virtual cycling tour organized by Botswana’s former First Lady, Neo Jane Masisi, to raise awareness against GBV and commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
“This may be the first time an African First Lady has cycled across her country for a cause,” Kelej was quoted as saying by CNBC Africa.
Dr. Kelej proudly highlighted the Merck Foundation’s achievements, including the award of over 2,080 scholarships to young doctors from 52 countries in 44 critical and underserved specialties, such as diabetes, endocrinology, oncology, cardiovascular care, fertility care, and more.
Dr. Kelej praised the Foundation’s partnerships with African First Ladies, Ministries of Health, and medical societies, calling these collaborations crucial in enhancing healthcare capacity. Since its establishment in 2012, the Foundation has made impressive strides in healthcare support.
Dr. Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp, Chairperson of the Merck Foundation Board of Trustees, noted that healthcare systems in many African countries are constrained by limited financial and human resources.
He pledged that the Foundation will continue to mobilize resources to build healthcare capacity and improve the well-being of communities.
“We are strongly committed to transforming health outcomes through our scholarship program. We believe healthcare can transform the lives of individuals and families across developing countries,” Stangenberg-Haverkamp said.
The conference was inaugurated by the President of Tanzania, Samia Suluhu Hassan, who praised the Merck Foundation for its relentless efforts to break infertility stigma, improve healthcare, and support girl education in Africa through scholarships and other initiatives.
“I deeply appreciate the Merck Foundation’s programs that are building healthcare capacity, breaking infertility stigma, and supporting girls’ education,” Hassan stated. She added that her government prioritizes education as a vital tool to empower women and girls, a commitment reflected in her administration’s free primary and secondary education policy.
Education is indeed a powerful tool in combating inequality and GBV, including the stigma faced by childless women. Educated women are less likely to be troubled by infertility stigma, as they have the means to support themselves independently.
President Hassan expressed her honour at hosting first ladies and distinguished delegates and inaugurating the event.
Empirically, the ongoing collaboration between the Merck Foundation and motivated African first ladies, combined with the efforts of journalists and policymakers, holds the potential to transform the African continent into a haven for all women.
