Poverty, dowry and the ‘good match’: revisiting community perceptions and practices of child marriage in a rural setting in Bangladesh

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Kazi Nazrul Fattah ◽  
Suborna Camellia
Keyword(s):  
Rural Setting ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Child Marriage ◽  
Mixed Method Research ◽  
Good Match ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Persistent Problem ◽  
Attitudes And Practices ◽  
High Prevalence ◽  
And Gender

Abstract The high prevalence of child marriage in many South Asian countries is usually attributed to poverty, lack of access to education and economic opportunities and gender inequitable cultural norms. Yet in Bangladesh, despite economic growth, mass female education and concerted efforts to eliminate child marriage, its prevalence remains very high. This paper explores community-level perceptions, attitudes and practices relating to child marriage in a rural setting in Bangladesh with the aim of understanding the collective discourses of child marriage in the country and identify the factors shaping these. The study was based on exploratory sequential mixed-method research, with qualitative data collected through group discussions and interviews with 64 participants and quantitative survey data from 3344 participants from the Rangpur district of northern Bangladesh in 2014. The findings suggest that, in addition to the already identified drivers, the notion of a ‘good match’, where the wife is subservient to her husband, is one of the main motivations for marrying off girls early in this region of Bangladesh. Reducing poverty and educating girls may not be adequate to address the persistent problem of child marriage in all Bangladeshi contexts and emphasis needs to be given to transforming the prevailing idea of a ‘good match’ to one of an ‘equal match’.

Determinants, Attitudes and Practices on Child Marriage: Evidences from Rural Rajasthan

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1and2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdul Azeez E.P. ◽  
Amit Poonia
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Gender Disparity ◽  
Child Marriage ◽  
Girl Child ◽  
Attitudes And Practices ◽  
Number Of Children ◽  
Social Concerns ◽  
And Gender

Rajasthan State is one of the hotspots of child marriages in India. A large number of children especially girl child get married before attaining the legal age and even before the occurrence of physical maturity. The magnitude of the age-old tradition has decreased in many regions in comparison to the last decade of 20th century. But still the diminishment of the child marriage is not promising and it exists as one of the major social concerns. The very existence of child marriage has multifaceted effects on the individuals who victimized for it. The glaring gender disparity and gender biased issues are also one of the products of early marriages.

scholarly journals Men perspectives on attending antenatal care visits together with their pregnant partners in Misungwi district, rural Tanzania: a qualitative study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maendeleo Boniphace ◽  
Dismas Matovelo ◽  
Rose Laisser ◽  
Hadija Swai ◽  
Victoria Yohana ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antenatal Care ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Health Providers ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Men 2 ◽  
Rural Tanzania ◽  
Expectant Fathers ◽  
And Gender

Abstract Background: Mens’attendance with their pregnant partners at facility-based antenatal care (ANC) visits is important for maternal and child health and gender equality yet remains uncommon in parts of rural Tanzania. This study examined men’s perspectives on attending ANC with their pregnant partners in Misungwi District, Tanzania.Methods: Twelve individual interviews and five focus group discussions were conducted using semi-structured questionnaires with fathers, expectant fathers, and in-depth interviews were done to health providers, volunteer community health workers, and village leaders. Interviews were recorded and transcribed in Swahili and later translated to English. The research team conducted thematic analysis to identify common themes among interviews. Results: We identified two broad themes on the barriers to male attendance at facility-based ANC visits: (1) Perceived exclusion during ANC visits among men (2) Traditional gender norms resulting to low attendance among men.Conclusion: Attendance at health facility for ANC visits by men with their pregnant partners in the study areas were challenged by structural and local cultural norms. At the facility men were uncomfortable to sit with women due to lack of specific waiting area for men and that they perceived to be neglected. Local cultural norms demanded women to have secrecy in pregnancy while men perceived not to have a role of being with their partners during ANC visits.

scholarly journals Men perspectives on attending antenatal care visits with their pregnant partners in Misungwi district, rural Tanzania: a qualitative study

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maendeleo Boniphace ◽  
Dismas Matovelo ◽  
Rose Laisser ◽  
Hadija Swai ◽  
Victoria Yohani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antenatal Care ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Health Providers ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Men 2 ◽  
Rural Tanzania ◽  
Expectant Fathers ◽  
And Gender

Abstract Background Mens’attendance with their pregnant partners at facility-based antenatal care (ANC) visits is important for maternal and child health and gender equality yet remains uncommon in parts of rural Tanzania. This study examined men’s perspectives on attending ANC with their pregnant partners in Misungwi District, Tanzania. Methods Twelve individual interviews and five focus group discussions were conducted using semi-structured questionnaires with fathers, expectant fathers, and in-depth interviews were done to health providers, volunteer community health workers, and village leaders. Interviews were recorded and transcribed in Swahili and later translated to English. The research team conducted thematic analysis to identify common themes among interviews. Results We identified two broad themes on the barriers to male attendance at facility-based ANC visits: (1) Perceived exclusion during ANC visits among men (2) Traditional gender norms resulting to low attendance among men. Conclusion Attendance at health facility for ANC visits by men with their pregnant partners in the study areas were challenged by structural and local cultural norms. At the facility men were uncomfortable to sit with women due to lack of specific waiting area for men and that they perceived to be neglected. Local cultural norms demanded women to have secrecy in pregnancy while men perceived not to have a role of being with their partners during ANC visits.

scholarly journals Kenya: Community sensitization must precede alternative coming-of-age rite

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equity ◽  
Female Circumcision ◽  
Coming Of Age ◽  
Female Genital Cutting ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Rite Of Passage ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Life Education ◽  
The Impact

Female genital cutting (FGC) is practiced as a rite of passage in over half of Kenya’s districts. Kenyan nongovernmental agency Maendeleo Ya Wanawake (MYWO) has long conducted community sensitization focused on discouraging this practice. In 1996, MYWO began implementing the “alternative rite” (AR) intervention in sensitized communities. Girls participating in AR receive family life education in seclusion, followed by a public graduation ceremony recognizing them as adults. They are not cut as part of the ceremony. In 2000, the Population Council carried out an assessment of the AR program that sought to identify the impact of MYWO’s activities on knowledge and attitudes regarding FGC, reproductive health, and gender equity. Data were collected through focus group discussions, interviews, household surveys, and case studies of AR-participating families. As this brief states, where cultural support for female circumcision is weakening, communities are more likely to accept sensitization messages encouraging abandonment of the practice and to participate in an alternative coming-of-age ceremony for girls. However, such alternative ceremonies must be preceded by extensive sensitization that changes attitudes and must be tailored to fit cultural norms for rite of passage.

scholarly journals Men perspectives on attending antenatal care visits together with their pregnant partners in Misungwi district, rural Tanzania: a qualitative study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maendeleo Boniphace ◽  
Dismas Matovelo ◽  
Rose Laisser ◽  
Hadija Swai ◽  
Victoria Yohana ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antenatal Care ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Health Providers ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Men 2 ◽  
Rural Tanzania ◽  
Expectant Fathers ◽  
And Gender

Abstract Background: Mens’attendance with their pregnant partners at facility-based antenatal care (ANC) visits is important for maternal and child health and gender equality yet remains uncommon in parts of rural Tanzania. This study examined men’s perspectives on attending ANC with their pregnant partners in Misungwi District, Tanzania.Methods: Twelve individual interviews and five focus group discussions were conducted using semi-structured questionnaires with fathers, expectant fathers, and in-depth interviews were done to health providers, volunteer community health workers, and village leaders. Interviews were recorded and transcribed in Swahili and later translated to English. The research team conducted thematic analysis to identify common themes among interviews. Results: We identified two broad themes on the barriers to male attendance at facility-based ANC visits: (1) Perceived exclusion during ANC visits among men (2) Traditional gender norms resulting to low attendance among men.Conclusion: Attendance at health facility for ANC visits by men with their pregnant partners in the study areas were challenged by structural and local cultural norms. At the facility men were uncomfortable to sit with women due to lack of specific waiting area for men and that they perceived to be neglected. Local cultural norms demanded women to have secrecy in pregnancy while men perceived not to have a role of being with their partners during ANC visits.

scholarly journals Living with death in a time of AIDS: A rural South African case study

2007 ◽  
Vol 35 (69_suppl) ◽  
pp. 138-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah Posel ◽  
Kathleen Kahn ◽  
Liz Walker
Keyword(s):  
Public Health Practice ◽  
Limpopo Province ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Aged People ◽  
The Social ◽  
Cultural Taboos ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Hiv Aids

Aims: To examine how a rural community profoundly affected by escalating rates of largely AIDS-related deaths of young and middle-aged people makes sense of this phenomenon and its impact on their everyday lives. Methods: Data were collected in Agincourt subdistrict, Limpopo Province. Twelve focus groups were constituted according to age and gender and met three times (a total of 36 focus-group discussions [FGDs]). The FGDs explored sequentially people's expectations of their lives in the ``new'' South Africa, their interpretations of the acceleration of death amongst the young and middle-aged, and their understandings of HIV/AIDS. Discussions were recorded, fully transcribed, and thematically analysed. Results: Respondents acknowledged escalating death rates in their community, yet few referred directly to HIV/AIDS as the cause. Rather, respondents focused on the social and cultural causes of death, including the erosion of cultural norms and traditions such as cultural taboos on sex. There are many competing versions of what HIV/AIDS is, what causes it and how it is spread, ranging from scientific explanations to conspiracy theories. Findings highlight the relationship between AIDS and other traditional diseases with some respondents suggesting that AIDS is a new form of other longstanding illnesses. Conclusions: This study points to the centrality of cultural explanations in understanding ``bad death'' (AIDS death) in the Agincourt area. Physical illness is understood to be a symptom of ``cultural damage''. Implications of this for public health practice and research are outlined.

scholarly journals Child marriage in Ghana: evidence from a multi-method study

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Babatunde Ahonsi ◽  
Kamil Fuseini ◽  
Dela Nai ◽  
Erika Goldson ◽  
Selina Owusu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Teenage Pregnancy ◽  
Wealth Quintile ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Child Marriage ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Regression Methods ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
Multiple Method ◽  
Northern Regions ◽  
Quantitative Sample

Abstract Background Child marriage remains a challenge in Ghana. Over the years, government and development partners have made various commitments and efforts to curb the phenomenon of child marriage. However, there is little empirical evidence on the predictors, norms and practices surrounding the practice to support their efforts, a gap this study sought to fill. Methods The study employed a multiple-method approach to achieve the set objectives. Data from the women’s file of the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS) was used to examine the predictors of child marriage using frequencies and logistic regression methods. Data from Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) collected in Central and Northern regions of Ghana were used to examine norms and practices surrounding child marriage using thematic analysis. Results Two in ten (20.68%) girls in the quantitative sample married as children. The results revealed that girls who had never attended school compared to those who had ever attended school were more likely to marry as children (OR, 3.01). Compared with girls in the lowest wealth quintile, girls in the middle (OR, 0.59), fourth (OR, 0.37) and highest (OR, 0.32) wealth quintiles were less likely to marry as children. From the qualitative data, the study identified poverty, teenage pregnancy, and cultural norms such as betrothal marriage, exchange of girls for marriage and pressure from significant others as the drivers of child marriage. Conclusions The findings show that various socio-economic and cultural factors such as education, teenage pregnancy and poverty influence child marriage. Hence, efforts to curb child marriage should be geared towards retention of girls in school, curbing teenage pregnancy, empowering girls economically, enforcing laws on child marriage in Ghana, as well as designing tailored advocacy programs to educate key stakeholders and adolescent girls on the consequences of child marriage. Additionally, there is the need to address socio-cultural norms/practices to help end child marriage.

scholarly journals Drivers and consequences of child marriage in a context of protracted displacement: a qualitative study among Syrian refugees in Egypt

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shatha Elnakib ◽  
Salma Abou Hussein ◽  
Sali Hafez ◽  
May Elsallab ◽  
Kara Hunersen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Photo Elicitation ◽  
Child Marriage ◽  
Syrian Refugees ◽  
Health Providers ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Cultural Traditions ◽  
Attitudes And Practices ◽  
And Gender

Abstract Background Child marriage is a human rights violation disproportionately impacting girls in low- and middle-income countries. In the Middle East region, conflict and displacement have prompted concerns that families are increasingly resorting to child marriage to cope with economic insecurity and fears from sexual violence. This study set out to examine child marriage among Syrian refugees residing in Egypt with the aim of understanding drivers of child marriage in this context of displacement as well as how child marriage affects refugee girls’ wellbeing. Methods This analysis draws from 15 focus group discussions (FGD) conducted with married and unmarried girls, as well as parents of adolescent girls in three governorates in Egypt. FGDs included a participatory ranking exercise and photo-elicitation. Additionally, we conducted 29 in-depth interviews with girls and mothers, as well as 28 key informant interviews with health providers, community leaders, and humanitarian actors. The data was thematically analyzed using a combination of inductive and deductive coding. Results A prevalent phenomenon in pre-war Syria, child marriage has been sustained after the influx of Syrian refugees into Egypt by pre-existing cultural traditions and gender norms that prioritize the role of girls as wives and mothers. However, displacement into Egypt engendered different responses. For some families, displacement-specific challenges such as disruptions to girls’ education, protection concerns, and livelihood insecurity were found to exacerbate girls’ vulnerability to child marriage. For others, however, displacement into urban areas in Egypt may have contributed to the erosion of social norms that favored child marriage, leading to marriage postponement. Among girls who were married early, we identified a range of negative health and social consequences, including lack of family planning use, disruption to schooling and curtailment of girls’ mobility as well as challenges with marriage and birth registration which accentuated their vulnerability. Conclusion Efforts to address child marriage among Syrian refugees must acknowledge the different ways in which displacement can influence child marriage attitudes and practices and should capitalize on positive changes that have the potential to catalyze social norm change. Moreover, targeted, focused and contextualized interventions should not only focus on preventing child marriage but also on mitigating its impacts.

Multi-level Barriers for Utilization of Youth Friendly Reproductive Health Services (YFRHS) among Youths

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 95-108
Author(s):  
Shanti Prasad Khanal
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Health ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Health System ◽  
System Level ◽  
Mixed Method Research ◽  
Reproductive Health Services ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Personal Level ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Youth Friendly

 The present study aims to examine the multi-level barriers to utilize by the youth-friendly reproductive health services (YFRHS) among the school-going youths of the Surkhet valley of Nepal. This study is based on the sequential explanatory research design under mixed-method research. The quantitative data were collected using the self- administered questionnaire from the 249 youths, aged between the 15-24 years, those selected by using random sampling. The qualitative data were collected using the Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) from the 12 participants who were selected purposively. The study confirmed that school-going youths do not have appropriate utilization of YFHS due to multi-layered barriers. However, the utilization of the service was higher among females, those the older age group, studying in the upper classes, the upper castes, and married youths. The key findings and themes are recognized as multi-layered barriers including personal-level, health system-level, community-level, and policy-level on the entire socio-ecological field. Among them, the existing health system is the foremost barrier. Multi-level interventions are, therefore, required to increase the YFRHS utilization and improve concerns for school-going-youths.  

Problems and Practice of Management on Menstruation by Adolescents Girls of Basic Schools of Chitwan, Nepal

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 85-94
Author(s):  
Sudha Ghimire
Keyword(s):  
Current Practice ◽  
Quantitative Information ◽  
Community Schools ◽  
Mixed Method Research ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Field Notes ◽  
Sanitary Pads

Managing menstruation in a hygienic way is a challenge in most of the low and middle-income countries (LMIC) including Nepal, where normal and natural physiological process of menstruation is considered as girls’ problem which is viewed as sinful, unholy and matter of shame. This paper explores the current practice and existing difficulties that adolescents girls encounter hygienic management of menstruation (MHM) especially during school days. The study was conducted on five purposively selected community schools of Chitwan district. The study adopted Participatory Action Research (PAR) as an approach, that is encapsulated with mixed method research design. For qualitative information observation, focus group discussions (FGD) and field notes were used, whereas for quantitative data self-administrative questionnaires were used. Quantitative information was collected from 205 girls students who were present at schools on the day of data collection. The finding shows that majority of the girls (93.7%) who encounter hygienic management of menstruation were of 10-14 years old age, whereas nearly one third of them were (29%) from grade eight. Similarly, among the total 205 girls, only 79 girls have already started their menstruation; among those who have started menstruation majority (78%) had heard about menstruation form their mothers. Likewise, 35% girls used homemade cotton pads and 40.5% of them changed pad three times a day. During FGD, adolescents girls shared that lack of water and soap in toilets, stress and lack of concentration during menstruation are the major difficulties which they encounter during days of menstruation. They suggested the concerned authorities to manage pad bank, make soap and water available, and develop skills for proper disposing of used sanitary pads for MHM at schools. 

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