Fistula survivor mobilizes her community to promote maternal health in the most remote areas of Daikundi

"I was scared and did not understand what was going on", says 28 year-old Basgul, a Family Health Action Group member in Sangan, one of the most remote villages in Daikundi Province.

Two years ago, she developed an obstetric fistula during the delivery of a stillborn baby that lasted three days. After a repair surgery at Malalai Maternity Hospital in Kabul she picked up her life again and now she uses her experience to give lifesaving advice on maternal health to other women in her community.

During her pregnancy, Basgul did not receive any antenatal care. She delivered at home guided by her female family members as the custom prescribes in her village. The labour was obstructed and she struggled for three days to give birth. "It was my sister who eventually took the baby out", she recalls.

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