In “Monique and the Rains of Mangoes,” Holloway describes her encounters with the difficulties of women in the village of Nampossela and the birthing practices of midwives in Mali. As a young white woman from Ohio, Holloway uses her unique perspective to write a description of her experiences of Monique's rural midwifery practices and the difficulties of the women she meets in Mali. Holloway uses her knowledge of later events to enhance her description of her time as a Peace Corp volunteer and her observations of the village in which she lived. Women in Nampossela lack the social and economic rights to make many important decisions about their lives. Because of her simultaneous position as an outsider and member of the group, Holloway becomes an impartial medium with which Monique and other women can speak about their difficulties. One of the difficulties faced by women in Mali, discovered by Holloway, was female circumcision. Holloway, before his visit to Mali, was aware of the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) in rural villages. However, the intense birth of Korotun's daughter causes Holloway to question the reasoning behind traditional female circumcision. In response to Holloway's mention of FGM, Monique explains her painful experience of circumcision at age nine or ten and her thoughts on the subject: "Here we say that koloboli helps girls become good wives and have children. children…it doesn’t help the baby get through it…”(114). The practice of FGM in Mali is common enough that Monique had never met an uncut woman before Holloway, whose Western origins do not practice FGM. Another difficulty among women in Mali concerns marriage, which plays a major role in women's lives. . Since they are... middle of paper... in the United States, the simple and hard work of midwife Monique stands in stark contrast to Holloway's perspective. With Bintou's death during childbirth, Holloway realizes the reality of the situations Monique and other midwives face on a daily basis (88). When complications arise, midwives do not have the necessary equipment to save the mother and child. In the United States, children are normally born in a hospital or near a health center. Holloway's experiences in Mali regarding childbirth and women's difficulties highlight ethical and moral problems in other countries. Before reading Holloway’s “Monique and the Mango Rains,” I had only heard of FGM and poverty in Mali. Transforming data and numbers into descriptions of people, Holloway reveals the faces and voices of the Malian people. Works Citedmonique and the Mango Rains