NEW DELHI: Adela Barroquilla is 76 years old. She is a widow and mother of six children. She is also among the thousands of women from the Philippines and Korea who were "comfort women" or sex slaves to the Japanese Army during World War II.

At the 10th International Women and Health Meeting here on Saturday, delegates from Africa, Asia and the Americas listened to the Filipino grandmother's story of her life as a sex slave, when she was a teenager, and what it did to her.

Hundreds of women like Ms. Barroquilla, from across the globe and with diverse experiences, participated in discussions on the impact of war, natural disasters and environmental deterioration on women's health, how health policies have failed to understand the specific needs of women's health and how to ensure that the right to health and the freedom to choose are integrated into national health policies.

In Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, the civil war has had a telling effect on the health of women. Mary Akrami, Director, Afghan Women's Skill Development Centre, said: "The Talibanese mentality still governs the people's minds and women have not got their rights," she said. Despite the new constitution, their lives were still controlled by traditional practices. Only 2.5 per cent of Afghan women had access to courts and legal centres, a majority had no freedom of movement. The incidence of domestic violence was widespread. "Women's participation is symbolic to show donors that something is being done. In fact, they do not have any role in decision-making or government."

Anne Sarala Emmanuel of Sri Lanka shared the findings of a survey conducted by the Women and Media Collective on women's health in six provinces affected by the ethnic conflict. The survey showed that the rate of infant mortality and maternal mortality was much higher in these districts due to the absence of health personnel and medical infrastructure. The incidence of miscarriage was high: 15.5 per cent of the women reported at least one miscarriage. There were several incidents of gender-based violence, often occurring within the first three years of marriage. Yet, women had no recourse to law as police stations in these provinces had only male personnel who did not speak Tamil, the main language.

The conference also heard the experiences of women affected by natural disasters.

A disabled woman's tale

Neeta Patel from Kutch sits in a wheelchair but speaks in a firm voice. She became a paraplegic at 18 when a massive earthquake shattered Kutch, Gujarat, in 2001. Out of about 35,000 people who were disabled, about 18,000 were women. Only 2,000 of them were rehabilitated.

"I was engaged to be married but my engagement broke off," Neeta said.

A similar thing happened to hundreds of other girls. Married women were divorced and children were taken away from disabled mothers. None of them remarried. Yet, most disabled men managed to marry a second time. Not a single thought was given to the needs of disabled young girls who attended school, she said, even though education was essential for employment. "We face the same problems as `normal' women but we also have special needs."

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