Strengthening participation and accountability
Negotiating sexual and reproductive health: culture matters
How culture can be an entry point, rather than obstacle, to sexual and reproductive health
Authors:
K. Molesworth
Publisher:
Medicus Mundi Switzerland, 2006
This article, published in the Bulletin of Medicus Mundi Schweiz, examines the new approach to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) being developed by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), whereby cultural issues are regarded as challenges and opportunities rather than obstacles to rights-based SRH programmes. It emphasises the need for agencies to understand cultural context in order to reduce harmful practices, legislation and beliefs, and to support equitable, rights-based development in some of the most intimate and sensitive domains of human life.
The article argues that listening and learning from communities can be a more effective and appropriate way of achieving change than attempting to impose alien views and cultural values from above. In this way, cultural issues can be seen as entry points rather than obstacles to be surmounted. The article also sets out operational recommendations emerging from a series of UNFPA case studies. These include the need for cultural awareness and sensitivity; engaging religious institutions and local power structures; and using the emerging knowledge base on cultural issues in staff training. Finally, the author explains how conflict can be minimised by emphasising points on which consensus can be achieved, for example between religious texts and development goals.
