BY: BIRENDRA
Sexual and reproductive health topic seems broader but as broader as it seems, it is the topic society rarely talks openly about and something that society thinks, it should remain in the shade. The biological mechanism of human body lies in the shadow while socially constructed gender roles, the disparity arises there, from maternal mortality rates, sexual violence, prevalence of STIs, use and non-use of contraceptives to menstrual hygiene, gender identity acts as the primary determinant of health. As we grow up in the society with societal norms and values, sexual and reproductive health is profoundly shaped by gender norms, and inequalities snatching one’s autonomy in health behaviours.
From the day we are born, socially constructed gender roles are embedded in one’s mind strengthening the stereotypes and unequal power dynamics between the genders. Eventually, such roles mould the one to gain power on decision making regarding marriage, family planning, choices on contraception and health services utilization. Either a male or female, certain things are expected by the society. Women and girls are often expected to be quiet and passive with limited decision-making power over their own bodies and sexual and reproductive health choices. On the other hand, men are expected to have autonomy on conversations of use and non-use of contraceptives, ANC and PNC visits, consent, and child rearing. In the Nepalese societies like ours, in every home, gender norms are often more inclined to patriarchal norms, and I have witnessed that inside the walls of my own home and in the households, I had visited during Community Health Diagnosis field. It pities me to see things happen in a way that create differences between two human beings.
Let’s talk about adolescent reproductive and sexual health first; at very young age, girls menstruate they are discriminated and kept separately and treated menstruation as a stigma. In the rural areas, there is limited access to menstrual products. Even after implementation of Adolescent Friendly Health Services to ensure adolescents have confidential and non-judgmental health services, many adolescents hesitate to seek such services. Low utilization results in increasing rates of teenage pregnancy, unsafe abortion, and risk of STIs. Now talking about sexual and reproductive health after marriage, societal expectations on childbearing and rearing, preference of son and family planning pressurize women even more. We must understand that society pose a force among women to carry burden of contraception in the name of social rules, not caring what challenges she might have to face during its use. And reproductive health problems don’t end here, it becomes worse, and it makes my heart ache even to think about the violence either gender or sexual, coercion, marital rapes that takes place. When it comes to such problems, it results in mental health problems as well. Since we are talking SRH through the lens of gender, we must not leave LGBTQ+ individuals behind. The discrimination they have to face while accessing health services just because of the different sexual orientation than what society have defined yet. We often forget that we are humans first before we are bound by gender roles.
It’s time for all of us to realize that SRH is not women’s issue, but every human being and men should be encouraged to show equal involvement in every reproductive roles and responsibility. Everyone can make informed decisions without any pressure and dependency since fulfilling gender roles doesn’t give you power, but it only creates disparities limiting autonomy and dignity. SRHR is everybody’s right where every human being has access to information regardless of their gender identity and make informed choices about their own body and health.