Men, the Missing Link in Gender-equitable Family Planning

Abstract

Background: Across societies, gender norms often allow men to hold key decision-making power within relationships, households and communities. This extends to almost all domains, consisting of family planning (FP) as well. FP programmes have largely engaged men as clients and rarely as equal partners or influencers although across lower and middle income countries (LMICs), and especially in South Asia, men hold key decision-making power on the domain of family planning. The objective of this article is to explore couple dynamics through the lens of spousal communication and decision-making and unpacking male engagement and spousal dynamics in family planning.Methods: This review presents a synthesis of evidence from two peer-reviewed databases, PubMed and Jstor, and and insights from programmatic documents to shed light on gender equitable engagement of young married men in family planning. Inclusion and exclusion criteria for both these databases was set and search strategies were finalized. This was followed by title and abstract screening, data extraction, synthesis and analysis.Results: Study participants included unmarried men (16%, n= 8), married men (19%, n= 9), married women (19%, n=9), married couples (25%, n =12) or more than two respondent categories (21%, n= 10). Almost three-fourth (71%, n=34) of the studies selected had FP as the primary area of inquiry. Other prominent thematics on which the studies reported were around norms (n=9, 16%), couple dynamics and intimacies (n=12, 22%).Conclusion: The evidence presented provides sufficient impetus to expand on gender-equitable male engagement, viewing men as equal and supportive partners for informed, equitable and collaborative contraceptive uptake and FP choices by couples.

Patriarchal Influence on Contraceptive Use and Reproductive Decision Making: A Study on Selected Areas in Sirajganj District

“…Using qualitative methodologies, this study engages both male and female respondents aged 15 to 49. Through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, the study seeks nuanced insights into the impact of patriarchal beliefs and social stigma on reproductive decision-making processes (Seth et al, 2020). The patriarchal framework entrenched in many societies often places the burden of contraceptive responsibility squarely on women, reinforcing entrenched gender stereotypes and power imbalances within relationships (Greene, 2000).…”