IMOW - Denko

Stories

Themes

Love
Relationships in changing times. See the Stories>>

Money
Working women talk finances. See the Stories>>

Culture and Conflict
Are we destined to disagree? See the Stories>>

The Future
Envisioning the next 30 years. See the Stories>>

Highlights
Highlighted stories in film, art, music and more. See the Stories>>

War & Dialogue
Speaking from war. Advocating peace. See the Stories>>

Young Men
Our generation: young men speak out. See the Stories>>

Motherhood
Women get candid about pregnancy, parenting and choice. See the Stories>>

Image and Identity
Appearances aren't everything, or are they? See the Stories>>

Online Film Festival
31 films from women directors around the world. See the Stories>>

A Generation Defined
Who are young women today? See the Stories>>

Best of Contest
You came, you saw, you voted. Here are the winners. See the Stories>>

Conversations

What Defines Your Generation of Women?

selected theme

Search:

REGISTER \| LOGIN		Change Language» Invite a friend »

STORY OPTIONS

READ STORY IN

SAVE TO YOUR SAVED STORIES

SEND THIS STORY TO A FRIEND

ADD YOUR STORY

TAKE ACTION


•	Saving the Lives of Mothers Learn more about misoprostol, a low-cost, highly effective drug that helps prevent mothers dying from post-partum hemorrhage (a leading cause of death).

•	Participate in GWANC’s Global Maternal, Infant and Child Health Campaign! At the end of 2007, the Global Women’s Action Network for Children will launch a large global campaign to dramatically raise public awareness about the tragedy of preventable maternal and infant mortality. Sign up now to be part of it and to lend your voice to this urgent cause.

STATISTICS:


•	According to UNICEF’s 2007 Human Development Report, educated women are less likely to die in childbirth and are more likely to send their children to school.

•	According to UNICEF’S 2007 report on Human Development, in the Middle East and North Africa and South Asia, approximately 30 per cent of women felt excluded from decisions on household purchases, while in those countries surveyed CEE/CIS, East Asia and Pacific and Latin America and Caribbean, women reported having a greater degree of control over these decisions.

Denko
Oumou Sangare

Mali

GALLERY

CONVERSATION

Media Center

EDITOR'S NOTE Oumou Sangare’s songs are available through World Circuit Records http://www.worldcircuit.co.uk

Oumou Sangare draws from the musical traditions of Southern Mali. She comments on all aspects of life in her country, especially the problems women face on a daily basis. Her songs are spirited expressions of her own philosophy and wisdom, born from her own experiences growing up in a poor family in Bamako and being catapulted to stardom at the age of 21. Her idiom is the hauntingly beautiful home-grown music that has become her trademark: Wassoulou. Oumou gave Wassoulou music a bold new rhythm, musical color, and message. In her music, she seeks to improve the subservient position of women in Mali. Realizing she could not change the mindset of the elders, Sangare addresses Mali’s unmarried youth. In a country where women traditionally have no say, her songs are radical, passionate, and electrifying. Denko (the business of having children) I wrote this song for myself. I was having problems conceiving and desperately wanted a child. I was beginning to worry my musical success was the cause of my infertility. There is a saying in Mali that if a woman is too successful, she won’t have children. Really it is a way to discourage women from becoming professionals. When I had my son, it was such a joy and pleasure. I began to think of all the women who cannot have children. My wish is that all women, who want to have a baby, will be able to conceive. Oh my son Cherif, you are the mirror in which I can see myself. Chorus denko, denko jigina ne miiri la Children, my thoughts go to the business of having children.

	FLAG THIS STORY FOR REVIEW

Pregnancy
Conversations
(51 comments)

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

katie l hebert
United States

Latest Comment
i'm pregnant with twins girls and i'm due december 25 07

ADDED STORIES (0)

Add

RELATED ITEMS (19)

Bettina Salomon
Austria
Being a mother has given me a completely different focus for...
GO TO STORY »

Andrea Huber
Austria
Four years ago, when I was twenty-one, I conceived a child...
GO TO STORY »

Tiffany Teske
Canada
In the year 1900, less than five percent of American births...
GO TO STORY »

Kate Hodson
United Kingdom
As I've said more than once, I love being pregnant. First,...
GO TO STORY »

/ / /

The content in this exhibit does not necessarily represent the opinions of the International Museum of Women, or its partners or sponsors.