Medical Patriarchy: The Case of Legal Midwives in Lebanon

Abstract

The economic status of women today is neither a mere coincidence, nor a result of their ability (or lack thereof) to take on other jobs; it has nothing to do with their “nature,” despite the legends propagated on their behalf, starting with the creation myth. The existence of Eve was a sufficient motive to fight her, an approach that persists to this day, albeit using different tools and weapons, and that is engrained in our very structures. These violent battles have been bloody, despotic, or both, but they all served to transform myths into beliefs or general rules that inform how women are perceived. Not always visible or evident, these myths can have malicious consequences, especially when they claim that women lack the capacity, merit, eligibility, and credibility to reach certain positions in the social and economic ladder. As a result, women are left at the bottom of the ladder in terms of professional status, wages, working conditions, and, most importantly, the value attributed to their work. Throughout this essay, I seek to contribute to refuting the myths about women at work, especially those involved in the healthcare fields. To do so, I shed light on the work of legal midwives (kabila), and traditional midwives (daya), and the fundamental role they play in the health of women and mothers. I also aim to highlight some historical and contemporary facts to address the historical erasure of women’s achievements, and to contribute to bringing justice to midwives in the face of the ongoing distortion, prejudice, and isolation under the current health system.