“'There's something deeply unjust and sick about our society,' says 47-year-old Sabat el-Sa, a mother of twins born through the IVF procedure after 30 years of marriage. 'When the couples can't have children, it is always the woman to be blamed. Usually, men don't even do medical checks, while the whole family supports them and even insists they would get a second or third wife. In my case, my husband remarried to then find out that it was him, who couldn't have kids!'
In contrast to female infertility, male infertility is a taboo, especially in patriarchal societies like Gaza.
While it's true that the birth rate is still high, in the Strip there's been a significant increase in the number of infertility cases amongst men.
'In 90 percent of cases men suffer from either few or slow spermatozoa,' states Doctor Tharwat al Helou, for who a famous Gaza City clinic was named. 'Moreover, today most of the patients live in border areas, which are exposed to the military attacks, thus I believe there is a link between infertility and the advent of the three wars. Surely, to the traumas caused by the bombings, we must add the exposition to chemical agents, pesticides, and white phosphorus...'”
~ Eleonora Vio
"IVF births boom in the Gaza Strip of Palestine"
https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/ivf-births-boom-in-the-gaza-strip-of-palestine-12730203
No comments:
Post a Comment