A Matriarchal and Patriarchal Perception on Women's Autonomy in Decision Making on Contraception: Qualitative Analysis in Indonesia

Yunita Amraeni, Sudijanto Kamso, Sabarinah B. Prasetyo, Muhammad Nirwan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Introduction: : The issue of gender inequality in reproductive health has a role in determining contraceptive use in women. The purpose of this study is to assess women's perception on participation in decision making for unmet need contraception in matriarchal and patriarchal traditions. Method: A Qualitative study was conducted representative for matriarchal tradition in Sumatera and Patriarki Tradition in Sulawesi. The study involved 40 married women and men (15-49 years) with twelve key informant interviews with community leaders, parents and midwifes. Trained female and male research assistants conducted semi-structured interviews with a subset of women in a private setting and responses were manually recorded. Interview notes were translated and uploaded to a qualitative software program, coded, and thematic content analysis was conducted. Results: women with a matriarchal culture are freer to decide on the use of contraception, while women with a patriarchal culture are more likely to ask permission from the husband first. However culture is not fundamental because educational factors, perceptions and side effects also determine the decision to use contraception. A lack of male knowledge about contraception was also found in this study due to the notion that contraception is a woman's business. Conclusion: Women's autonomy in matriarchal culture is more dominant than patriarchy. It is important to consider these multi-faceted influences on decision-making for contraception in order to improve provision of health services and to offer useful insights for subsequent programmatic and policy decisions.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)17-21
Number of pages5
JournalMalaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences
Volume17
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2021

Keywords

  • Autonomy
  • Contraception
  • Matriarchal
  • Patriarchal
  • Qualitative

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