Women internalize those lessons, just as men do. Divide and concur is also a strategy of any oppressive system. Guatemala is recovering after a 30 year civil war and knows quite well the consequences of oppression and patriarchy, however many women fail to see how competing against other midwives grows out of the same system. As the long slow process of building a democracy begins and the country heals, it will need to include women. Putting off the emancipation of women is always an excuse.
Women have special resources, skills, abilities that are needed now more that ever.
Women, have a particular part to play in every aspect of healing and healthy women and children are central to every healthy culture. Reviving midwifery and improving the health of women is essential to countries everywhere and I am delighted to be working in Guatemala, particularly at this time. After a day in the clinic, I walk through the park, stopping to chat to the kids who shine shoes, or sell stuff to tourists. I move on to the open market, buying fresh fruits and flowers, stopping by the old woman's herb stall, returning slowly through cobblestone streets under canopies of bougainvillaeas. I have learned so much from my own experience as a woman, mother, midwife and I am now learning so much from the Guatemalans and from my work there.