Reimagining gendered community interventions: the case of family planning programs in rural Bangladesh.
- Publisher:
- BMC
- Publication Type:
- Journal Article
- Citation:
- Glob Health Res Policy, 2024, 9, (1), pp. 3
- Issue Date:
- 2024-01-15
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Full metadata record
Field | Value | Language |
---|---|---|
dc.contributor.author | Bhatia, B | |
dc.contributor.author | Hossain, S | |
dc.contributor.author | Ghosh, U | |
dc.contributor.author |
Salignac, F https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8687-2963 |
|
dc.date.accessioned | 2024-08-01T03:28:18Z | |
dc.date.available | 2023-11-22 | |
dc.date.available | 2024-08-01T03:28:18Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2024-01-15 | |
dc.identifier.citation | Glob Health Res Policy, 2024, 9, (1), pp. 3 | |
dc.identifier.issn | 2397-0642 | |
dc.identifier.issn | 2397-0642 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10453/179896 | |
dc.description.abstract | Family planning programs in Bangladesh have been successfully operating for over half a century, achieving phenomenal reductions in fertility rates. Acknowledging restrictions on women's freedoms, much of the initial program design was concentrated on giving household supplies for women priority. However, one unfortunate impact of these outreach services is that, by bypassing the opportunity to challenge patriarchal attitudes directly, they inadvertently reinforce the power relationships of the status quo. Hence, we problematise the decision-making structures within Bangladesh's family planning programs. We argue that the fundamental flaw with Bangladesh's family planning program is the lack of conscious effort to understand women's health choices and decision-making as a complex contextual process of relational, structural, and institutional forces. Additionally, avoiding men in these programs often creates new dependencies for women, as this approach does not directly seek to build relational bridges based on equality between genders. As a result, many women still depend on permission from their husbands and family for reproductive health services and face constrained family planning choices and access to care. We recommend that family planning programs adopt a broader vision to create new and more sustainable possibilities in an ever-evolving social relations landscape where gender is constantly negotiated. Such strategies are even more pressing in the post-Covid world, as national systems are exposed to uncertainty and ambiguity. | |
dc.format | Electronic | |
dc.language | eng | |
dc.publisher | BMC | |
dc.relation.ispartof | Glob Health Res Policy | |
dc.relation.isbasedon | 10.1186/s41256-023-00337-8 | |
dc.rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess | |
dc.subject.classification | 4203 Health services and systems | |
dc.subject.classification | 4206 Public health | |
dc.subject.mesh | Female | |
dc.subject.mesh | Humans | |
dc.subject.mesh | Male | |
dc.subject.mesh | Family Planning Services | |
dc.subject.mesh | Bangladesh | |
dc.subject.mesh | Gender Identity | |
dc.subject.mesh | Rural Population | |
dc.subject.mesh | Birth Rate | |
dc.subject.mesh | Humans | |
dc.subject.mesh | Birth Rate | |
dc.subject.mesh | Gender Identity | |
dc.subject.mesh | Rural Population | |
dc.subject.mesh | Family Planning Services | |
dc.subject.mesh | Bangladesh | |
dc.subject.mesh | Female | |
dc.subject.mesh | Male | |
dc.subject.mesh | Female | |
dc.subject.mesh | Humans | |
dc.subject.mesh | Male | |
dc.subject.mesh | Family Planning Services | |
dc.subject.mesh | Bangladesh | |
dc.subject.mesh | Gender Identity | |
dc.subject.mesh | Rural Population | |
dc.subject.mesh | Birth Rate | |
dc.title | Reimagining gendered community interventions: the case of family planning programs in rural Bangladesh. | |
dc.type | Journal Article | |
utslib.citation.volume | 9 | |
utslib.location.activity | England | |
pubs.organisational-group | University of Technology Sydney | |
pubs.organisational-group | University of Technology Sydney/Provost | |
pubs.organisational-group | University of Technology Sydney/Provost/TD School | |
pubs.organisational-group | University of Technology Sydney/All Manual Groups | |
pubs.organisational-group | University of Technology Sydney/All Manual Groups/UTS Ageing Research Collaborative (UARC) | |
utslib.copyright.status | open_access | * |
dc.rights.license | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ | |
dc.date.updated | 2024-08-01T03:28:13Z | |
pubs.issue | 1 | |
pubs.publication-status | Published online | |
pubs.volume | 9 | |
utslib.citation.issue | 1 |
Abstract:
Family planning programs in Bangladesh have been successfully operating for over half a century, achieving phenomenal reductions in fertility rates. Acknowledging restrictions on women's freedoms, much of the initial program design was concentrated on giving household supplies for women priority. However, one unfortunate impact of these outreach services is that, by bypassing the opportunity to challenge patriarchal attitudes directly, they inadvertently reinforce the power relationships of the status quo. Hence, we problematise the decision-making structures within Bangladesh's family planning programs. We argue that the fundamental flaw with Bangladesh's family planning program is the lack of conscious effort to understand women's health choices and decision-making as a complex contextual process of relational, structural, and institutional forces. Additionally, avoiding men in these programs often creates new dependencies for women, as this approach does not directly seek to build relational bridges based on equality between genders. As a result, many women still depend on permission from their husbands and family for reproductive health services and face constrained family planning choices and access to care. We recommend that family planning programs adopt a broader vision to create new and more sustainable possibilities in an ever-evolving social relations landscape where gender is constantly negotiated. Such strategies are even more pressing in the post-Covid world, as national systems are exposed to uncertainty and ambiguity.
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