Prevalence and determinants of wife-beating in Bangladesh: evidence from a nationwide survey

Background Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global public health concern, with women in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) bearing a disproportionately high burden. This study investigates the prevalence and factors correlated with attitudes regarding wife-beating among Bangladeshi women in urban–rural contexts. Methods A sample of 13,033 urban women and 51,344 rural women data from the Bangladesh Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2019 were analyzed using the Chi-square test and ordinal logistic regression model. Results The findings reveal that arguing with her husband is the widespread reason for wife-beating in Bangladesh (urban: 17.3%, rural: 21.9%), followed by neglecting the children (urban: 12.7%, rural: 15.8%). About 8% of urban women and 10% of rural women favoured the opinion that refusing to involve sexual intercourse is a legitimate justification for wife-beating. In comparison, around 5% feel that a husband has a right to beat his wife due to burning food. The respondents’ age, education, marital status, number of children, socioeconomic level, any health or physical difficulty, having problems becoming pregnant, and the husband’s age are all significant factors in justifying wife-beating. Conclusions Bangladesh has a massive challenge in eliminating IPV. Women from lower socioeconomic classes, low levels of education, other challenges, and residents of rural areas are particularly more vulnerable than their urban counterparts. Therefore, it is vital to develop a proper action plan that considers women’s education and occupation to raise awareness of the various implications of wife-beating in women, particularly in Bangladesh’s rural areas.

Awareness regarding breast cancer among urban women in South India

Introduction and Aim: Breast cancer is associated with increased morbidity and mortality and recent trends have shown increased incidence among younger women. There is, therefore, an imminent need to raise the level of awareness among the women in the entire population. The present study was carried out to evaluate the level of awareness among urban women in South India. Methodology: This hospital based cross sectional study was carried out among 1000 adult women who visited the outpatient clinics of our tertiary care hospital for various illness. The level of awareness regarding breast cancer was elicited based on the risk factors of breast cancer, symptoms, and role of family history. Awareness regarding the tools for early detection, management and preventive measures was also elicited. Results: The study observed that 78.9% of the participants who were illiterates had no awareness of the symptoms, while 57.9% of the participants with high school level education were unaware of the symptoms. Regarding the role of genetics in breast cancer occurrence, 47% of the illiterate participants reported that breast cancer is not hereditary. It was observed that lack of awareness regarding the early detection was prevalent among 81%, 87% and 93% of the participants who were illiterate, primary, and middle school level educated respectively. Conclusion: The present study has also elucidated the lack of adequate knowledge on important facts regarding the breast cancer is alarming and this needs to be addressed with due focus on providing health education by health care providers at various levels of health system.

Factors Associated With the Utilisation and Unmet Need for Modern Contraceptives Among Urban Women in Kenya: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Family planning (FP) is a key intervention in improving maternal and child health. Hence, we assessed the factors associated with utilisation and unmet need for modern contraceptives among urban women in Kenya.Methods: The study used pooled data on 10,474 women 15–49 years from the seven rounds of the performance monitoring for accountability surveys collected between 2014 and 2018. The surveys were conducted in 11 of the 47 counties of Kenya using a multistage cluster design. Sample characteristics were described using frequencies and percentages while factors associated with utilisation and unmet need for modern contraceptives were assessed using multivariable logistic regressions.Results: The prevalence of modern contraceptives use and unmet need for FP among urban women in Kenya was 53.7% [95% confidence interval (CI) 52.1–55.3%] and 16.9% (15.8–18.1%), respectively. The use of modern contraceptive was associated with the county of residence, age, marital status, parity, education, household wealth quintile, exposure to media, and survey year. Teenagers, poorest urban women, women with no formal or primary level of education and those who seek services at a dispensary or health centres had higher odds of unmet need for FP while women who resided in Kitui and Nyamira counties had reduced odds of unmet need for FP. The odds of unmet need decreased with the survey year while that of modern contraceptive use had an inverse trend.Conclusion: Overall modern contraceptive use in urban areas is lower than the national average while the unmet need for FP is higher than national average, highlighting a potential urban-rural disparity in FP indicators in Kenya. Individual sociodemographic and socioeconomic and contextual factors are associated with the use of modern contraceptive and unmet need for FP among urban women in Kenya. Urban family planning policies and programmes in Kenya need to focus on strengthening urban healthcare systems to provide equal and accessible FP services, especially targeted towards teenagers and young women and those of low socioeconomic status.

The Daily Lives of Urban Women during the Khrushchev Thaw in Soviet and Post-Soviet Scholarship

The article discusses the rise and changes of scholarly interest in urban women's everyday life in the USSR of the mid-twentieth century. By studying the Soviet and post-Soviet historiography of women's everyday life during Khrushchevs Thaw, the authors explain that at first this subject was treated in analogy to the customary celebration of Soviet achievements: also, the womens question would eventually be resolved. With rising doubts about the resolvability of the complex problems related to gender relations came a paradigm shift towards reflections on the difficulties and contradictions in the lifestyle of urban women. At the center of debate were now the necessity for shortening the working day and for additional vacation days, as well as the double bondage of women who had to combine a professional workload with heavy family obligations. The authors argue that in the 1990s (a period now often called the new thaw, and the nineties of the gender debates), the political aspects of female life in the 1950s and 1960s became marginal in scholarship. The main attention was now focused on the home and family spheres, on problems of corporeality and fashion, and on the woman's voice in literature, cinema and media. In consequence, some aspects of women's everyday life during the Thaw years remained unexplored. Finally, there are no generalizing works that would compare women's everyday life on the levels of the USSR, Russia, or Russias regions, and little work has been done on ethnocultural characteristics of women's life in the post-war USSR.

Leisure and Recreation in the Socio-Cultural Memory of Urban Women in the 1950 and 1960s Based on Materials from Volgograd

The article examines everyday practices of rest and leisure among urban women living in the city of Volgograd (Stalingrad) - a city that had been completely destroyed during the war. The goal of the present study is to identify specific characteristics in the everyday practices of women. The methodology combines comparative historical, biographical and aggregate methods. Interviews conducted along the empathy method made it possible to identify the sensual and emotional sides of the respondents' lives. The research is based on ego-documents (diaries, oral history), periodicals (magazines, newspapers), and statistics. The article discusses the concepts of free time and rest as preserved in the memory of townspeople, and also private and public forms of leisure. A major finding is that women's memory and texts reveal sensory and emotional experiences that can be used for the history of everyday life. This allows for an imagination of everyday life from a new angle. Domestic work took away the vast majority of women's free time, and given the cultural potential of the region was still underdeveloped, most city dwellers concentrated pastime activities on their homes. However, with the high workload of women at home and at work, it was leisure outside the home that remained one of the few ways for women to relax and recover from mental and physical stress. The everyday life of urban women in the 1950s and 1960s was characterized by a division of leisure in private and public forms.

Marital Age and Fertility Consequences among Rural and Urban Women

Background: In Bangladesh, marriage has been nearly universal. The legal age of marriage in Bangladesh is 18 for girls and 21 for boys. However, about two-thirds of the women aged 20-24 were married before age 18. Despite some successes, the society is still facing the practices of early marriage severely. Therefore, new policy perspectives, new programs and new dimension of study are needed to know the real facts regarding early marriage and take possible strategies and actions to way forward.

Psychological Cognition of Women of Childbearing Age on the Use of Cosmetics During Pregnancy

Objective: To investigate the psychological cognition of women of childbearing age on the use of cosmetics during pregnancy, so as to provide guidance for women of childbearing age to correctly use cosmetics during pregnancy. Methods: A total of 180 women of childbearing age who underwent gynecological examination in Dezhou People’s Hospital from October 2020 to October 2021 were selected as the research subjects. Questionnaires were used to investigate the psychological cognition of women of childbearing age on the use of cosmetics during pregnancy. Results: Among the 180 women of childbearing age, 48 (26.67%) felt that cosmetics cannot be used during pregnancy, 60 (33.33%) felt that it did not matter, and 72 (40.00%) agreed that cosmetics can be used during pregnancy. In addition, urban women, highly educated women, unmarried women, and enterprise employees agreed with the use of special cosmetics for pregnant women or the selective use of cosmetics during pregnancy. Conclusion: Most women of child-bearing age felt that cosmetics can be used during pregnancy; this cognition is related to their education level, occupation, and registered residence.