monique

In “Monique and the Mango Rains”, Holloway describes her encounters with the difficulties of the women in the village of Nampossela and childbirth practices of midwifes in Mali. As a young white woman from Ohio, Holloway uses her unique perspective to write a description of her experiences of the rural midwifery practices of Monique and the hardships of the women she meets in Mali. Holloway uses her knowledge of the later events to enhance her description of her time as a Peace Corp volunteer and her observations of the village she lived in.

The women in Nampossela lack the social and economic rights to make many significant decisions about their life. Due to her simultaneous position as an outsider and a member of the group, Holloway becomes an unbiased outlet that Monique and other woman can speak with regarding their difficulties. One such difficulty amongst women in Mali that Holloway discovered was female circumcision. Holloway, prior to her visit to Mali, was aware of the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in rural villages. However, the intense birth of Korotun’s daughter causes Holloway to question the reasoning behind the traditional cutting. In response to Holloway’s mention of FGM, Monique explains her painful experience of circumcision at nine or ten and her thoughts on the subject, “Here we say that koloboli helps girls become good wives and bear children…it does not help the baby pass through…”(114). The practice of FGM in Mali occurs often enough that Monique had never met an uncut woman prior to Holloway, whose western background does not practice FGM.

Another difficulty amongst women in Mali revolves around marriage, which plays a major role in the lives of the women. From the time they are...

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... the United States, the simple and hard work of the midwife Monique sharply contrasts Holloway’s perspective. With the death of Bintou during childbirth, Holloway realizes the reality of the situations Monique and other midwives faced everyday (88). When complications emerge, midwives lack the equipment to help save the mother and child. In the United States, children are normally born in a hospital or within a drive away from a health center.

Holloway’s experiences in Mali regarding childbirth and the difficulties of women shed light on the topic of ethical and moral issues in other countries. Prior to reading Holloway’s “Monique and the Mango Rains”, I had only heard about FGM and poverty in Mali. Transforming data and numbers into descriptions of people, Holloway reveals the faces and voices of the people of Mali.

Works Cited

monique and the mango rains