OBOS Transformed Worldwide: Armenia

Menk ou Mer Marmine (We and Our Bodies)

Some comments on the history & preface for the Armenian publication
by Judy Norsigian of the Boston Women's Health Book Collective

The following is the English translation of the preface from the Armenian edition of Our Bodies, Ourselves.

This translation and adaptation of the book Our Bodies, Ourselves for the New Century into the Armenian language is based on the latest English edition. It summarizes the achievements and approaches of traditional practices and modern medical science that relate to women’s lives and health, and are useful for them. The book provides women, from their own perspectives, basic information about their bodies and sexual and reproductive health.

Women carry on their shoulders the overall responsibility for production of children and therefore they have many and various problems that need to be resolved. Although these problems come from the very depths of the centuries they still are not entirely resolved. Today they are still of high priority, and worrisome, even in developed countries and cultures, including the United States.

Some decades ago, as now, US women lacked information on such issues as painful menses, sexuality, child delivery, birth control, as well as abortion…In favor of women, and with the intention to find answers to many questions which concerned them, a group of women in Boston undertook the implementation of a very interesting program. In the aim of obtaining information they decided to make a list of all the midwives-gynecologists in the Boston area who took care of women. But surprisingly, the number of those doctors was very small and many did not want to share their knowledge. As for the disclosed information, it was strictly professional and not understandable for the ordinary reader.

This was the reason that the Boston women decided to gather information on reproductive health themselves. They soon realized that they had initiated a very important activity which implementation also requires great research ability. During the discussions around the material gathered, the women in that group started to talk about their personal experiences and practices, which was another source of information.

Thus, the group generalized all the material gathered which was needed for the implementation of teaching programs on the “body” in the different institutions of the community, in a short period of time. Further, on the basis of this material the book Our Bodies, Ourselves was created. This was the beginning of the activity of the “Health Book Collective of Boston Women”.

The Armenian reader will probably be also interested in what questions the American women have focused on during the last thirty years. Let’s try to clarify some of them. It is known that the beneficiaries of the health services are mainly women. Even when they are mostly healthy, they apply to doctors for the regulation of birth, pregnancy and delivery. In addition, women live longer than men; therefore, they have more problems related to chronic diseases and functional disturbances which require special attention by the society and the family.

As everywhere, also in the United States, the woman is considered “an intermediary of the family health” who takes care of the children, the elderly, the husband, the relatives, as well as the surrounding people…However, in the USA which is one of the leading countries in the development of health and education policy, the role of women is insignificant, although they make up the majority in these systems. Currently their number does not exceed 10% in the management positions of these systems. American women are affected by gender, racial, age, sexual orientation and other kinds of discrimination. This discrimination is more obvious in the medical institutions, where they are exposed to disrespect. Some elderly, black, fat and disabled women are more vulnerable in this respect.

Many of the women receive unnecessary medical interference, for example, assignment of drugs in large doses to relax the nervous system, doubtful hormonal treatment, unmotivated Caesarian section and removal of the uterus. The managers of the health system often neglect the importance of preventive and primary health care.

The current phase of the development of new medical technologies and medical care often includes such untested drugs and surgical interferences which present danger for the health of the women. This is in the list of permanent issues of “Health Book Collective of Boston Women”.

It should be noted that team work is characteristic in the creation of the original book, as well as for its translations in different languages. For example, more than 100 people have worked on the last, i.e. Japanese version (1998) as there was a demand to adapt the book to the Japanese traditions, as well as language features. In this respect we had also some difficulties as in different states of the United States, for people speak in different dialects and have different traditions. Many expressions can not be understandable for them. Censorship is also a problem. The chapters referring to certain groups of sexual minorities (for example, homosexuals) are not allowed everywhere for the broad audiences of readers, although these issues are currently subject to arguments. Despite all this, the demand for new publications is essential from the cognitive point of view.

The Armenian version of Our Bodies, Ourselves, which is currently presented to the reader, is relevant to the wishes of women worldwide, which derives from the requirements and ideas which suggested in the gender conferences and included in the international documents.

Greeting the Armenian translation of the book we should mention that one of its sources was the International Association of Armenian Women (AIWA) whose objective is to unite all the Armenian women of the world in the name of protection of women’s’ rights. In the struggle for their survival, Armenians have spread all over the world. Wherever they go, they try to maintain the cultural values of their motherland. Four generations who have seen the Genocide of 1915 and lived in foreign lands have not lost their awareness of their origins even now, and the International Association of Armenian Women has its great role in it. This organization approved the activity of the Boston group and decided to implement the publication of the famous book “Our body and we” devoted to the fundamentals of the women greatly supporting it.

The Ministry of Health also encouraged the issuance of the Armenian translation of the book. The fact that the preface to the book has been written by the Deputy Minister of Health, Ms. Nune Mangasaryan, evidences the concern of the Ministry for the women and families of the republic.

The pre-history of the publication of the book is rather long. At the beginning of the 1990s, Doctor Seda Khachartyan, together with her daughter Anahit Tovmasyan and deputy of the National Assembly Hranush Hakobyan, initiated the Armenian translation of this book. In the aim of assisting the program, Caroline Mougar from the United States allocated a small grant to the initiating group which included the following group: Liliana Edilyan, Nora Melikyan, Jasmen Harutjunyan, Sophia Kalantaryan, Hasmik Movsisyan, Marine Sahakyan, Bela Sarukhanyan, Armine Shaboyan, Armine Simonyan, Larisa Yedigarova, Artsrun Hakobyan and Andranik Mkrtchyan. Many of them worked free of charge, overcoming the difficulties of the blockade of Armenia and the energy crisis. Unfortunately, due to the lack of financial resources, the work remained unfinished.

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