IN a patriarchal society such as ours, little progress can be made on maternal health without the support of male family members. Appropriately then, the theme for this year’s World Population Day, observed on Wednesday, was “Men as partners in maternal health”.

But such a slogan rings hollow in societies where decision-making by women is circumscribed to an extent where they are not even allowed a say in the number of children they want to bear. With an average fertility rate of 4.3 – greater in the rural areas – the number of children per woman is among the highest in the region. Early marriages, gender discrimination and poor accessibility to health and contraceptive services have complicated the issue for women whose destiny is decided by husbands, fathers, brothers and male community and religious leaders who formulate public opinion. Maternal mortality in the country is in the vicinity of 350 to 500 per 100,000 live births, indicating that reproductive health needs are largely ignored. Under such circumstances, it is essential to create an environment where women are encouraged to take decisions about the size of their families and men are urged to support them in their role as heads of families, breadwinners and managers of community resources.

How this can be achieved is another story. The task will be gargantuan no doubt, given the prevailing anachronistic notions on birth control and the perception of women as inferior beings. It will call for a total change in outlook, and the government will have to do all it can to lessen gender disparities and give women a more prominent role in decision-making. Religious and community leaders, too, can play their part as moulders of public opinion, and the relevant authorities should induct them in any campaign aimed at disseminating information about reproductive health.
Source: Dawn
Date:7/13/2007