By Meluse Kapatamoyo
People who consume alcohol will give
you different reasons as to why they drink. But while those reasons may differ,
the ultimate purpose is to get relaxation, not only of the body but also the
mind.
It is therefore common to see colleagues
and friends alike meeting for alcoholic beverages at their favorite drinking
spots after working hours.
Although a few years back, this
trend seemed to be a reserve for men, the bar is no longer a domain for men
alone. For some women, a trip to the bar after a stressful day at the office
for a few bottles of beer or glasses of wine is now the normal. It is for this
reason that it is now believed that women are drinking more than they did a few
years ago, an assertion that Tsute Mwale refutes.
“The only difference now is that
women are more independent and don’t mind as much what men think. They see
themselves to be at par with their male counterparts. People will say women are drinking more now,
I disagree, it’s only that in the past they were secretive about it and now
they are not. It’s a liberation process,” Tsute said.
For Tsute, it is wrong for people to
brand women who drink from bars as being loose and irresponsible as most are
decent and are just out to have a good time and on many occasions with their
female friends.
 |
| Tsute Mwale |
“A woman has many roles, not only is
she a career woman, she has to be a wife and mother among many other things and
all these things can be very exhausting. Some choose to have a few drinks to
unwind before going home to another hectic environment. I see nothing wrong
with that unless she begins to neglect her family in preference for alcohol and
hanging out with her friends.”
Tsute who herself is an occasional
drinker and a mother of one girl says she prefers to invite friends over with
their children. She says that way not only do the parents get to spend time and
watch over their children, the mothers too can enjoy some downtime with adult
company while drinking moderately.
It's difficult to obtain the actual
statistics in Zambia as very few research has been done with regards to alcohol
but what is considered moderate drinking?
The United States Department ofAgriculture (USDA) defines moderate drinking as up to one drink per day for
women and up to two drinks per day for men. For women who drink above average,
the health risks are many; Liver damage, heart disease, breast cancer among
many others.
Dr Francis Mupeta, the Secretary
General of the Resident Doctors Association Of Zambia adds that "an
individual who is dis-inhibited will engage in activities they would not
normally do if they were sober such as unprotected sex, a public nuisance and
disorderly conduct.
"Alcohol can also disturb the
menstrual cycle and eventually infertility. Alcohol also exposes a woman to
physical and sexual abuse."
And while chronic heavy drinking is
a leading cause of heart disease, women are more susceptible to alcohol-related
heart disease than men, even though women drink less alcohol over a lifetime
than men.
"It should be noted that women
are more susceptible to the effects of alcohol than men. This is because they
have more body fat than men," Dr Mupeta emphasized.
The USDA also notes that “there is
an association between drinking alcohol and developing breast cancer. Women who
consume about one drink per day have a 10 percent higher chance of developing
breast cancer than women who do not drink at all."
For pregnancies, any drinking during
pregnancy is risky. A pregnant woman who drinks heavily puts her fetus at risk
for learning and behavioral problems and abnormal facial features. Even
moderate drinking during pregnancy can cause problems.
And SABMiller, the main distributor
of popular alcoholic beverages in Zambia in its 2011 Position Paper on
Pregnancy and Alcohol states that pregnant women should either not drink
alcohol or seek medical advice before they do.
“Though we recognise that
consumers are ultimately responsible for their own
drinking decisions, our advertising does not suggest
that drinking during pregnancy is acceptable
behaviour,” reads part of the company’s position statement on alcohol and
pregnancy.
The
paper further states that a cluster of genetic anomalies, classified as FoetalAlcohol Syndrome (FAS) or Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) has been
found in some children born to women who are either dependent on or abuse
alcohol during pregnancy.
FASD
is a birth defect that has its primary effect on the brain. The anomalies
include pre and postnatal growth deficiency, distinctive facial features and
central nervous system dysfunction.
“Other
foetal conditions associated with drinking during pregnancy are heart and
kidney defects, hearing and sight impairment, cleft lip, and other brain and
central nervous system dysfunction. But in women who are light or infrequent
drinkers, there is no conclusive evidence of increased risk of foetal harm or
miscarriage,” says SABMiller.
Dr Mupeta counters SABMiller warning
that "alcohol crosses the placenta and can affect the baby. It is
teratogenic meaning it has the ability to form 'cancers' in fetuses. A baby can
also be born with a condition known as fetal alcohol syndrome which leads to
physical, mental and behavioral disorders in children."
"The effects of alcohol on an
infant can be as disastrous as that of unborn one. Some of the pronounced ones
are brain damage. The infant would have delayed development milestones such as
sitting, walking and speech. These children end up with learning disabilities
in school."
While
understandably there is a justified scorn towards women who drink whilst
pregnant, Pastor Isaac Makashinyi of Emmasdale Baptist Church says alcohol has
a negative impact on marriages and families.
Pastor
Makashinyi says ”alcohol breeds suspicion
and tension in the marriage. Husbands of spouses who drink away from home
naturally begin to suspect their wives of extramarital affairs with other men.
Furthermore, the tension builds up due to the negative feelings that begin to
develop toward the alcoholic wife because of the smell of stale alcohol on
their breath.”
Such acts open the door for
infidelity in the marriage by one spouse or both. The non- alcoholic husband
may turn to someone else for comfort, while the alcoholic wife may betray the
marriage as a result of a wrong decision made while under the influence of the
alcohol.
The hurt felt from this betrayal of
trust in a marriage often times causes the end of the marriage. Alcohol causes
the drinker to have strange and adulterous thoughts, produces willfulness, and
prevents reformation because it makes one unstable.
Dr Mupeta explains that "alcohol
increases sexual arousal and desire by psychologically dishibiting them! This
makes them (women) more vulnerable to unwanted sexual advances from men. Women
who drink were more likely to have unprotected sex and therefore more likely to
contract sexually transmitted infections.
On the other hand, alcohol is a
suppressant therefore it tends to cause latency in achieving orgasm and less
intense orgasmic experiences. Alcohol also affects the ability of an individual
to relax, therefore affecting the 'coming' of a woman during intercourse."
Pastor Makashinyi also warned that “in
situations where alcohol is present, differences between spouses become more
frequent and intense. And because the marital quality is decreased, these
differences increase the likelihood of divorce. Drinking has an impact on the
amount of time that partners spend together, especially if the alcoholic
frequently drinks away from home. The more time spent apart, the less satisfied
the nonalcoholic spouse becomes and the greater the potential for divorce, “
He added that alcohol also increases
irrational behaviour such as anger and because
marital satisfaction is related
strongly to a couple's ability to communicate effectively, heavy alcohol use is
associated with more negative and hostile communication, more expressions of
anger, and less warmth and unity in the relationship.
These factors, he says decrease a
couple’s satisfaction in their marriage and create greater tension and violent
behaviour. In Proverbs 4:17, the Bible refers to alcoholic drink as “the wine
of violence.”
In the clergy’s view children who
grow up in an alcoholic home environment may develop emotional problems, such
as anxiety and behavioral outburst. Such children who rarely have quality time
with their mother in a sober state begin to feel unloved and lonely and hence
develop serious emotional and developmental problems.
According to Pastor Makashinyi, “Drinking
mothers simply don't have the time for effective and responsible parenting.”
Besides the many problems already
said, alcohol affects medications such as oral contraceptives and makes them
less potent. This results in a woman falling pregnant despite being on the
pill.
There are some ARV’s which are
hepatogenic (capable of affecting the liver). When these are combined with
alcohol, they can accelerate liver damage or they may be made less potent by
alcohol. PYM.
