âI stand behind FEMINISM and COFFEEâ â Dr. Kate Abney-Barreiro
Walking into the lecture room, Dr. Kate will be standing in front with her signature look (messy, high bun) and almost always with her flask of coffee. Her aura, confident smile and endless enthusiasm for her profession encouraged me to attend every lecture (even the 8am on a Thursday morning!).
Dr. Kate Abney-Barreiro is a Medical Anthropology lecturer at the University of Cape Town and Stellenbosch University. She is originally from the United States of "Amurica" and has been residing in South Africa for fourteen years. She did her PHD at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and is currently practicing as a Medical Anthropologist. Dr. Kate specializes in infectious diseases and works with people who have different types of Tuberculosis and at times, with a co-infection of HIV.
Q:Tell us about the projects and organizations youâve been involved in.
A: Iâve been involved in a number of different research projects such as the social markers of Tuberculosis at UCT which resembles a research cohort. It centers around the attempt to understand not just the biological or bio markers of TB but the social dimensions of this infectious disease. Merely trying to understand the disease from a patientâs perspective, treatment barriers that they may experience, issues in the quality of care and social stigma related to TB specifically (because that is something thatâs radically underplayed). We think of HIV/Aids as being a very stigmatized disease, but we find that there are any number of really outdated understandings of TB on the ground which then translates into the people that are being treated for Tuberculosis, usually in very deleterious ways.
Q: Why do you think a womxnâs perspective in Medical Anthropology is important and what opportunities are there for womxn in that specific field?
A: Womxn in academia are becoming larger in number despite it still a very male dominated profession. I have experienced sexism repeatedly even with being somebody who has a PHD behind me. I think a feminist perspective in anthropology is exceedingly important because for too long we have been subjected to having a specific way of telling a story, a very singular story that is basically one narrative and we applaud all the old, dead white men who have come before us and that know all this history but in the process of creating that monolithic history, we really missed out on a lot on these other histories that are quite honestly there and that is the history of womxn doing incredible things. It is the history of black and brown people, LGBTQIA people. I think womxn, generally speaking, because we experience so much vulnerability on the regular, have far more flexibility in trying to listen, trying to witness and trying to speak power to other peopleâs stories who have also been marginalized and thatâs a part of the feminist critique and again itâs a shared struggle. Itâs that whole intersectional argument which I think is so important. If we had more womxn in Medical Anthropology in particular, it would be fantastic. Iâm perfectly happy as well to welcome more radical feminists to the fore. I think itâs mainly about people that do work on themselves first, and then being able to take those skills and knowledge that they have learned about themselves and how they best operate, in order to create more social justice in this world.
Q: In your view, how significant does the patriarchy and gender roles play a part in womxnâs health issues?
A: Oh GOSH (laughs), thatâs a big question. It has everything to do with the inequity we experience as womxn in the complete inclusive terminology thatâs been listed in the question. We are fundamentally living in a world that does not accommodate basic human rights for womxn. We live in a world that doesnât accommodate the fact that womxn have an increasing number of roles in society, so we do not just bear children (surprise, surprise). It is one of the many roles that some womxn take up and in addition to that there are all of the multitudinal roles that womxn have such as caring for the family, raising children, potentially controlling the familyâs finances and doing any number of domestic chores. Those chores are not enumerated, so you donât get paid for them but that doesnât mean that the work isnât being done. So, when we talking about the world that we live in, and whether it does or does not reflect the needs of womxn, rather it reflects the wishes and desires and often times a foreclosure on these rights by the PATRIARCHY - to control womxn and to continue to ensure that womxn are second-class citizens in a world that quite frankly, WE RUN.
Q: Based on your article, âTaking the air we breathe for granted. One day at a timeâ. How can we as students keep TB âon the moveâ and open the doors to not only awareness but also emotional support to patients?
A: I havenât done a lot of work with young people, but I think one thing that is shared by basically anyone in the world is that we all have SELF-RESPECT. We all have something that dignifies us as human beings and when you are infected with a disease which is so contagious and stigmatized, I think there is an incredible amount of silence around living with and being treated for TB. I can only imagine how that silence is amplified and how the sense of shame experienced when itâs somebody who is potentially at Stellenbosch University, someone who is young at age. There is still not a lot that is known about TB and we have so much information that is not being spoken about in conversations which has a lot to do with stigma and also misinformation or misunderstanding on how it is transmitted. There are a few things we can do to help break the stigma, being: talking about it, offering solid support to a TB patient (not just in a form of a text message), itâs about being able to really support people. Maybe run errands for them, get their groceries when they are undergoing treatment. Itâs all about catching the disease quickly and getting treatment as soon as one has been diagnosed with TB.
I had the privilege of being introduced to the concept of Medical Pluralism in her class. Her influential, fiery passion intrigued me to learn more about my own personal health and the subtly marginalization of womxn in the health system.
She is strong, confident, highly-intelligent and well-spoken womxn.
She is a strong advocate for womxnâs rights.
Special thanks to Michelle Almendro for her contributions.
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