Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: Yemen

  • It’s all in a name

    Rida KhanNew York, United States I struggle with the letters that make up my nameIt hesitates and falls flat on their tonguesAnd although I’ve searched for reason, there is an inexplicable shameThat I’ve unwillingly carried since I was young  Until one day, in a hospital bed ten paces from the nurse’s stationA tired man of…

  • Obstetrical fistula: A malady hidden by shame

    Layla A. Al-JailaniYemen Nouria strolls across the kitchen, making lunch for her family as she does every day. Her stride is slightly wobbly, but any observer would think this was a healthy young woman. What they do not see, however, is the hidden anguish, pain, and shame that tears at her body and eats through…