Abstract

Participatory research was conducted with adolescent girls and women in three isolated rural communities of Bangladesh to assess their perspectives and the role of social and gender norms on the construction of knowledge regarding menstruation, pregnancy and abortion. Norms of privacy and silence, local beliefs and a culture of shame held that the human body is ‘natural’ and does not require formal sexual and reproductive health care. Instead, participants sought out traditional healers and used herbal plants as natural remedies. Participants reported being restricted in performing religious activities, cooking and food consumption during menstruation. Because sanitary protection was expensive, women used old cloths to soak up menstrual blood and used them repeatedly without washing with soap or drying in the open air, due to shame and the fear of evil spirits. The local incidence of child marriage was high, which also limited women’s agency and voice. Contraceptive use was irregular and inappropriate; none of participants or their husbands used contraceptives, resulting in unwanted pregnancy often followed by unsafe abortion. Programmes and interventions are needed that engage with women’s experiences within the sociocultural context of studied communities.

摘要

在孟加拉国三个偏远的农村社区对少女和妇女进行了参与式研究，以评估她们的观点以及社会和性别规范在构建有关月经、怀孕和堕胎的知识方面的作用。隐私和沉默规范、当地信仰和耻辱文化认为人体是“自然的”，不需要正式的性和生殖健康保健。相反，参与者寻找传统治疗师并使用草药植物作为自然疗法。参与者报告说，在月经期间进行宗教活动、烹饪和食物消费受到限制。由于卫生防护费用昂贵，妇女们用旧布吸经血反复使用，没有用肥皂清洗，也没有在露天晾晒，由于羞耻和对邪灵的恐惧。当地的童婚发生率很高，这也限制了妇女的能动性和发言权。避孕药具使用不规范和不恰当；参与者或其丈夫均未使用避孕药具，导致意外怀孕往往导致不安全堕胎。需要在所研究社区的社会文化背景下参与妇女经历的计划和干预措施。