The Importance of giving Boys and Young Men Sexual and Reproductive Health awareness.

Our society’s attention is highly gendered and focused on controlling the sexual behaviour among girls and women. We live in a country where some men refuse to use condoms and disallow their wives to purchase other methods of contraception, where men decide the family size, when to have kids and when to adopt family planning, where a woman cannot get herself sterilized without the permission of a man, where conversations on family planning do not occur and where abortion laws are so restricted that a woman cannot decide what to do with an unwanted pregnancy even if she was raped!

“Who do our bodies belong to? Our governments, our families, our country? If our bodies do indeed belong to our own selves, then we are the only ones who should decide what to do with them. Whether it is who we choose to love or have sex with or whether we choose to continue a pregnancy or not. That is what bodily autonomy means!” - Dr. Suchitra Dalvie.

The attitude of patriarchal men must change. To do so, they must be made aware to sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR) of both men and women and the existing constructions of masculinity that shape their sexual behaviour.

While progress has been made in the health sector, challenges exist in SRH services as SRH remains controversial and contested. Thus, adolescents are ill-prepared to protect themselves from the unwanted consequences of sexual activity. They lack access to information and have no-one to discuss sexual matters with. Indifference, ignorance, prejudices, poor communication and the inability to make informed choices, because they have been excluded from SRH services and education, contribute towards the lack of progress in the SRH sector.

Comprehensive age appropriate SRH education using scientifically accurate, realistic, and non-judgmental information, to provide adolescents with the ability to make informed sexual decisions, and to avoid unwanted sexual encounters, extensive SRH services including counselling on family planning, STI clinics, access to contraceptives without stigmatization and, sexual violence support services must be provided. It is also important to research on SRHR of boys and young men as, missing them in research, leads to missing them in health care practices and policies. All this will require systematic, co-ordinated programmes and evaluation to determine effectiveness by the government and other stakeholders, as well as the support of the community.

For women to enjoy rights, an environment where men actively support those rights and challenge the patriarchy must be created. Simple steps of respecting women’s autonomy when they say yes or no to sex, contraception and abortion is a start. Male behaviour impacts women, children and society as a whole. While we encourage men to be more supportive of women's choices and rights, men's own SRH needs must be addressed. A good understanding of family planning, sexual rights and reproductive health will make them understand that they do not have a right to control women’s bodies.

“Family planning is a lifetime return for people and it is very important to involve everyone in this mission.” - International expert and activist, Ms. Tanzila Khan.

The importance of men’s involvement in promoting SRHR is universally agreed upon and a lack of understanding about adolescent SRH needs is a matter of national concern. Notions of patriarchy enable men’s entitlement and sexual domination over women. Thus, in order to address underlying power and gender imbalances, and their effects on health, it is essential to work with men in promoting gender equity. It’s time equal, accessible, acceptable, affordable, and convenient access to quality SRH services is made part of our health coverage and awareness that deliberately challenges common stereotypes about sexual health issues is provided for the improvement of SRHR of women and men.