Monique And The Mango Rains Summary

In the field of applied anthropology, the concept of cultural relativism is central to any form of research. The concept of cultural relativism encompasses the ability of an anthropologist or an observant to understand a different culture in its own context, without imposing one's belief and values on that culture. Ideally, in her book Monique and the Mango Rains, anthropologist Kris Holloway provides a descriptive account of her ethnographic fieldwork in the country of Mali. Through her book, the readers get an opportunity to understand the lives of Malian women in multifarious aspects. In this essay, an analysis is drawn on the situation of women in the Nampossela village of Mali in terms of their social, economic and health status in

Due to a perpetual paucity of sex education and healthcare resources, the Malian women suffered from several complications with their bodies. Childbearing, being a major health determination factor, was an issue in the village of Nampossela. The repetitive pregnancy of village women in short intervals of time led to an increase in the number of deaths due to childbirth. Among the women who survived it, a large fraction of them had adverse post-delivery effects. According to Holloway, "It was common for a woman to put in a full day's work soon after giving birth— pounding millet, washing clothes, hauling water, cooking over a hot fire, and sweeping out the compound." (49) An example of this is seen in the account of Natou, wife of the treasurer of the village, who suffered from heavy breathing, bleeding and fainting while carrying out domestic chores just after giving birth. (49) In addition to that, the women also suffered from malaria, anemia, and sexually transmitted diseases. Although Monique had professional training in midwifery and healthcare, she herself died during childbirth. As noted in the book, " Monique had a high temperature, a sign of infection or malaria, and no strength." (193) This conclusively suggests that societal pressure of childbearing, lack of sex education, and a severe dearth of healthcare resources played a key role in determining the health status of women in