Association between women's empowerment and demand for family planning satisfied among Christians and Muslims in multireligious African countries.
BMJ Glob Health
; 9(5)2024 May 09.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38724069
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Although the levels of demand for family planning satisfied (DFPS) have increased in many countries, cultural norms remain a significant barrier in low- and middle-income countries. In the context of multireligious African countries, our objective was to investigate intersectional inequalities in DFPS by modern or traditional contraceptives according to religion and women's empowerment.METHODS:
Analyses were based on Demographic and Health Surveys carried out between 2010 and 2021 in African countries. Countries with at least 10% of Muslims and Christians were selected to analyse inequalities in family planning. The religious groups were characterised by wealth, area of residence, women's age and women's empowerment. The mean level of empowerment was estimated for each religious group, and multilevel Poisson regression was used to assess whether DFPS varied based on the level of women's empowerment among Muslims and Christians.RESULTS:
Our study sample of 14 countries comprised 35% of Muslim and 61% of Christian women. Christians had higher levels of empowerment across all three domains compared with Muslims and women with no/other religion. DFPS was also higher among Christians (57%) than among Muslims (36%). Pooled analysis indicated a consistent association between DFPS and women's empowerment, with higher prevalence ratios among Muslims than Christians, especially in the decision-making domain.CONCLUSIONS:
The gap between Muslims and Christians in DFPS significantly reduced as the level of empowerment increased. It highlights the importance of understanding and addressing cultural factors sensibly and respectfully to satisfy the demand for family planning services.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Cristianismo
/
Serviços de Planejamento Familiar
/
Empoderamento
/
Islamismo
Limite:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Middle aged
País/Região como assunto:
Africa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
BMJ Glob Health
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Brasil
País de publicação:
Reino Unido