Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Sociology of Culture Commons™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 31 - 60 of 61

Full-Text Articles in Sociology of Culture

Monitoring And Evaluating Fgm/C Abandonment Programs, Jacinta Muteshi-Strachan, Carolyne Njue Jan 2016

Monitoring And Evaluating Fgm/C Abandonment Programs, Jacinta Muteshi-Strachan, Carolyne Njue

Reproductive Health

No abstract provided.


Evidence To End Fgm/C Research Programme: Presentation At The Sixtieth Session Of The Un Commission On The Status Of Women, Jacinta Muteshi-Strachan Jan 2016

Evidence To End Fgm/C Research Programme: Presentation At The Sixtieth Session Of The Un Commission On The Status Of Women, Jacinta Muteshi-Strachan

Reproductive Health

No abstract provided.


Social Accountability: What Are The Lessons For Improving Family Planning And Reproductive Health Programs?, Victoria Boydell, Jill Keesbury Jan 2014

Social Accountability: What Are The Lessons For Improving Family Planning And Reproductive Health Programs?, Victoria Boydell, Jill Keesbury

Reproductive Health

The concept of accountability is increasingly important in the family planning (FP) and reproductive health (RH) field. While much recent discussion has focused on developing global or national-level mechanisms for accountability, less emphasis has been placed on understanding the relevance of “social accountability” approaches for ensuring access to, and quality of, FP/RH services. Social accountability refers to the efforts of citizens and civil society to scrutinize and hold duty bearers (politicians, government officials, and service providers) to account for providing promised services, actions most often at the subnational or community level. In the FP/RH field, this concept builds on a …


Assessment Of The Availability And Use Of Maternal Health Supplies In The Primary Health Care System In Amhara Region, Ethiopia, Sarah Raifman, Sisay Mellese, Kelemua Hailemariam, Ian Askew, Annabel Erulkar Jan 2013

Assessment Of The Availability And Use Of Maternal Health Supplies In The Primary Health Care System In Amhara Region, Ethiopia, Sarah Raifman, Sisay Mellese, Kelemua Hailemariam, Ian Askew, Annabel Erulkar

Reproductive Health

Maternal mortality in Ethiopia remains among the highest in the world. A UN Commission Report in 2012 identified 13 life-saving commodities—defined as medicines, medical devices, and health supplies—that effectively address avoidable causes of death during pregnancy and childbirth that, if more widely accessed and properly used, could significantly reduce preventable deaths among women. This assessment, conducted by the Population Council, evaluates the availability of these life-saving commodities that are essential for basic emergency obstetric and neonatal care, and safe and clean delivery services within primary health care in Ethiopia. The report concludes that Ethiopia’s pharmaceutical procurement and supply system is …


National Efforts Toward Fgm-Free Villages In Egypt: The Evidence Of Impact, Ghada Barsoum, Nadia Rifaat, Omaima El-Gibaly, Nihal Elwan, Natalie Forcier Jan 2011

National Efforts Toward Fgm-Free Villages In Egypt: The Evidence Of Impact, Ghada Barsoum, Nadia Rifaat, Omaima El-Gibaly, Nihal Elwan, Natalie Forcier

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This report is a midterm evaluation and documentation of the process and approach of the FGM-Free Village Model implemented in Egypt by the National Council of Childhood and Motherhood with assistance from the Population Council. In a comparison of responses from women and men in intervention groups to those in nonintervention (control) villages, data analysis shows that the program has been successful in changing views and attitudes toward female genital mutilation (FGM). FGM is an entrenched generational practice, and eradicating it in a community requires concerted effort over an extended period of time. This evaluation strongly recommends that efforts be …


Toward Fgm-Free Villages In Egypt: A Mid-Term Evaluation And Documentation Of The Fgm-Free Village Project, Ghada Barsoum, Nadia Rifaat, Omaima El-Gibaly, Nihal Elwan, Natalie Forcier Jan 2009

Toward Fgm-Free Villages In Egypt: A Mid-Term Evaluation And Documentation Of The Fgm-Free Village Project, Ghada Barsoum, Nadia Rifaat, Omaima El-Gibaly, Nihal Elwan, Natalie Forcier

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This Population Council report is a mid-term evaluation and documentation of the process and approach of the FGM-Free Village Model in Egypt. The objective of this report is to create a knowledge base of information to support policy dialogue on female genital mutilation (FGM) and to assist in transferring knowledge about the model to other communities across Egypt and other countries where FGM is practiced. Impact evaluation at the community level shows the significant impact of the project in changing views and attitudes toward FGM among intervention groups. However, it also shows that FGM is an entrenched generational problem that …


And How Will You Remember Me, My Child? Redefining Fatherhood In Turkey, Gary Barker, Deniz Dogruoz, Debbie Rogow Jan 2009

And How Will You Remember Me, My Child? Redefining Fatherhood In Turkey, Gary Barker, Deniz Dogruoz, Debbie Rogow

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This issue of Quality/Calidad/Qualité profiles the AÇEV Father Support Program, a series of 13-week-long support groups for fathers across Turkey. Fatherhood (and men’s roles in the lives of children in general) is an ideal starting point for engaging men in gender equality for two key reasons: most men want to be involved in the lives of children, whether their own biological children or younger siblings, nieces, or nephews; and responsibility for the care of children is at the heart of gender inequality. The program reached nearly 10,000 men, teaching them about their role in the development of their children and …


How Early Marriage Compromises Girls' Lives, Maharashtra, International Institute For Population Sciences (Iips) Jan 2008

How Early Marriage Compromises Girls' Lives, Maharashtra, International Institute For Population Sciences (Iips)

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The policy and program discourse around early marriage has increased significantly over the last decade in India. For example, several national-level policies formulated since 2000, including the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006, have advocated special program attention to delay age at marriage and to enforce existing laws against child marriage. Also, programmatically several initiatives have been launched to prevent early marriage. Despite these commitments, substantial proportions of girls continue to marry in adolescence. As recently as 2005–06, 47 percent of women aged 20–24 were married by 18 years nationally. While the situation of married young women in India has …


Parents Matter: How Supportive Parenting Influences The Behaviours Of Youth, Maharashtra, International Institute For Population Sciences (Iips) Jan 2008

Parents Matter: How Supportive Parenting Influences The Behaviours Of Youth, Maharashtra, International Institute For Population Sciences (Iips)

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

In India, policies and programs have increasingly recognized the need to actively engage parents in enabling adolescents to make safe and healthy transitions to adulthood. The design of appropriate strategies to engage parents is, however, hampered by the paucity of evidence available. Little is known about the socialization of daughters and sons, the extent to which socialization practices differ for daughters and sons, and the extent to and ways in which parents communicate sensitive matters to their adolescent children. Similarly, research is limited that sheds light on the role of socialization patterns and parental interaction in influencing young people’s schooling …


Education And Transition To Work Among Youth In Maharashtra, International Institute For Population Sciences (Iips) Jan 2008

Education And Transition To Work Among Youth In Maharashtra, International Institute For Population Sciences (Iips)

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The extent to which India will be able to successfully harness its demographic dividend depends significantly on the situation of its youth, notably on the levels of education and market-oriented skills they attain. In many states, youth have made progress on these fronts. Youth in Maharashtra have made considerable strides in terms of educational attainment, yet it is not clear that they are prepared for the challenges they will face in a globalized world. Looking at the current educational and employment situation of youth in Maharashtra, this policy brief argues that significant investments in terms of appropriate policies and programs …


Young People's Participation In Civil Society And Political Life In Maharashtra, International Institute For Population Sciences (Iips) Jan 2008

Young People's Participation In Civil Society And Political Life In Maharashtra, International Institute For Population Sciences (Iips)

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Youth participation in civil society and political life is increasingly recognized as an important development objective. The opportunities for participation that young people experience in their communities may influence their development and the types of transitions they make to adulthood. Moreover, behaviors and attitudes relating to community participation that individuals adopt as young people predict lifelong civic affiliations and perspectives. In India, the National Youth Policy 2003 has underscored the role of India’s youth in political decision-making, and has argued for greater representation of youth in appropriate bodies as well as more extensive youth participation in program design and implementation. …


Evaluation Of The Long-Term Impact Of The Tostan Programme On The Abandonment Of Fgm/C And Early Marriage: Results From A Qualitative Study In Senegal, Nafissatou J. Diop, Amadou Moreau, Helene Benga Jan 2008

Evaluation Of The Long-Term Impact Of The Tostan Programme On The Abandonment Of Fgm/C And Early Marriage: Results From A Qualitative Study In Senegal, Nafissatou J. Diop, Amadou Moreau, Helene Benga

Reproductive Health

In 1998–99, a village empowerment program was implemented in the Thiès/Fatick and Kolda regions of Senegal by the nongovernmental organization Tostan, to mobilize communities to hold public declarations in support of abandoning harmful traditional practices, including female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and child marriage. The information presented in this report indicates that many did end the practices following a public declaration, however, the lack of follow-up in the field and the absence of support mechanisms pose a large obstacle. Nevertheless, the program achieved significant results: knowledge of life skills resulting in positive changes and a shift in the perception of FGM/C …


Analysis Of The Evolution Of The Practice Of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting In Burkina Faso, Nafissatou J. Diop, Zakari Congo, Aina Ouedraogo, Alphosine Sawadogo, Lydia Saloucou, Ida Tamini Jan 2008

Analysis Of The Evolution Of The Practice Of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting In Burkina Faso, Nafissatou J. Diop, Zakari Congo, Aina Ouedraogo, Alphosine Sawadogo, Lydia Saloucou, Ida Tamini

Reproductive Health

This study was undertaken as a collaboration between the Population Council’s Frontiers in Reproductive Health program and the Comité National de Lutte contre la Pratique de l’Excision (CNLPE) within the Ministry of Social Action and National Solidarity in Burkina Faso. The creation of a favorable environment for the campaign against excision in Burkina Faso has facilitated various anti-cutting activities over the past two decades and enabled the achievement of gains, both in terms of awareness and behavior change. However some of the strategies need further readjustment: among the reasons why excision still continues in Burkina Faso is a certain view …


Burkina Faso: Political Will, Law Enforcement, And Educational Campaigns Appear To Be Reducing Fgm/C, Population Council Jan 2008

Burkina Faso: Political Will, Law Enforcement, And Educational Campaigns Appear To Be Reducing Fgm/C, Population Council

Reproductive Health

In 2006, FRONTIERS collaborated with the National Committee Against the Practice of FGM/C on an analysis of recent trends in female genital mutilation/circumcision (FGM/C) in rural and urban Burkina Faso. The study, conducted to help develop policies and programs for FGM/C abandonment in Burkina Faso and more widely in Africa, had three components: a description of the institutional, political, and programmatic environ­ment in Burkina; a secondary analysis of data from existing studies; and an assessment of the community’s perceptions and behavior regarding FGM/C, as well as the factors that contribute to abandonment or continuation of the practice. For the policy …


Kenya: Training Can Enhance Providers' Management Of Fgm/C And Willingness To Advocate Against The Practice, Population Council Jan 2008

Kenya: Training Can Enhance Providers' Management Of Fgm/C And Willingness To Advocate Against The Practice, Population Council

Reproductive Health

In 2004, FRONTIERS collaborated with UNICEF on a study of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) in Kenya’s Somali community and on ways of managing maternal care for cut women. The study showed that the health-care system in North Eastern Province, where many Somalis live, is ill prepared to deal with women who have been cut, particularly infibulated women who are pregnant or delivering. The study recommended improving providers’ ability to counsel and treat pregnant cut women as part of an overall improvement of maternal care, and strengthening providers’ role as behavior change agents within communities. In 2005, FRONTIERS launched an intervention …


Senegal: Education And Public Declarations Contribute To Tostan's Success, Population Council Jan 2008

Senegal: Education And Public Declarations Contribute To Tostan's Success, Population Council

Reproductive Health

In 1998, the nongovernmental organization Tostan implemented a village empowerment program in southern and western Senegal to help communities, especially women, improve living and health conditions in their villages, and to mobilize villages to hold public declarations supporting abandonment of harmful practices, particularly female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and child marriage. The program included modules on hygiene, literacy and numeracy, human rights, and children’s and women’s health. The Tostan approach has since been implemented more broadly in Senegal and in Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Sudan. In 2005–06, FRONTIERS evaluated the long-term impact of the program, focusing on the abandonment of FGM/C …


Kenya: Islamic Scholars Find No Religious Justification For Fgm/C, Population Council Jan 2008

Kenya: Islamic Scholars Find No Religious Justification For Fgm/C, Population Council

Reproductive Health

In 2004, FRONTIERS undertook a study on the cultural basis of female genital mu­tilation and cutting (FGM/C) in Kenya’s Somali community. The study showed universal support for FGM/C, and indicated that one of the major justifications is the perception that Islam requires female as well as male genital cutting. Interviews with informants showed that belief in the religious justification overrides arguments about the health and human rights aspects and the knowledge that it is illegal in Kenya. In 2005, FRONTIERS launched an intervention to engage the community in discussions about FGM/C to clarify the religious position. FRONTIERS arranged symposia involving …


Dissocier Les Mutilations Génitales Féminines De L'Islam, Ibrahim Lethome Asmani, Maryam Sheikh Abdi Jan 2008

Dissocier Les Mutilations Génitales Féminines De L'Islam, Ibrahim Lethome Asmani, Maryam Sheikh Abdi

Reproductive Health

Les mutilations ou excisions génitales féminines (MGF/E) sont pratiquées dans au moins 28 pays d'Afrique subsaharienne, quelques pays du Moyen-Orient et d'Asie, et parmi les populations immigrées de ces pays en Europe, en Amérique du Nord et en Australie. Dans le monde, on estime que 100 à 140 millions de filles et de femmes ont subi cette pratique, et au moins trois millions de filles sont à risque chaque année. La communauté ethnique somalienne au Kenya ainsi qu'en Somalie, à Djibouti et en Éthiopie pratique l'excision depuis des siècles et la pratique semble être restée largement inchangée. Le programme FRONTIERS …


Delinking Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting From Islam, Ibrahim Lethome Asmani, Maryam Sheikh Abdi Jan 2008

Delinking Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting From Islam, Ibrahim Lethome Asmani, Maryam Sheikh Abdi

Reproductive Health

Female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C) is practiced in at least 28 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, a few countries in the Middle East and Asia, and among immigrant populations from these countries in Europe, North America, and Australia. Worldwide, an estimated 100 to 140 million girls and women have undergone the practice, and at least three million girls are at risk each year. The Somali ethnic community in Kenya as well in Somalia, Djibouti, and Ethiopia, has practiced female genital cutting for centuries and the practice appears to have remained largely unchanged. The Population Council’s FRONTIERS program carried out two …


Evaluation Of Berhane Hewan: A Pilot Program To Promote Education And Delay Marriage In Rural Ethiopia, Annabel Erulkar, Eunice N. Muthengi Jan 2007

Evaluation Of Berhane Hewan: A Pilot Program To Promote Education And Delay Marriage In Rural Ethiopia, Annabel Erulkar, Eunice N. Muthengi

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The Berhane Hewan Program pilot-tested in rural Ethiopia from 2004–06 was developed to sensitize community members to the dangers of child marriage, prevent early marriage among unmarried adolescents, and provide support for girls who are already married. The program included social mobilization of girls aged 10–19 into groups led by female mentors; support to stay in school or convening of groups outside of school including nonformal education and livelihoods skills; and community-wide conversations on early marriage and reproductive health issues affecting girls. Economic incentives were provided to families who did not marry off their daughters during the project period. Population-based …


Obtaining More Accurate And Reliable Information From Adolescents Regarding Sti/Hiv Risk Behaviors, Barbara Mensch, Paul C. Hewett Jan 2007

Obtaining More Accurate And Reliable Information From Adolescents Regarding Sti/Hiv Risk Behaviors, Barbara Mensch, Paul C. Hewett

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

To investigate the quality of self-reported data on sexual behavior, Population Council researchers conducted a study in a rural district of Malawi. They implemented a randomized experiment to assess whether audio computer-assisted self-interviewing (ACASI) produces more valid data on sexual behavior than face-to-face interviews. The Malawi study builds on an experiment conducted as part of a household-based survey of Kenyan adolescents. In Kenya and Malawi, there is clear evidence that mode of interviewing and probing of various sexual partnerships affect the reporting of sexual activity. According to Promoting Healthy, Safe, and Productive Transitions to Adulthood Brief No. 25, ACASI is …


Le Contexte De L’Initiation Sexuelle En Évolution Dans La Région Subsaharienne De L’Afrique, Barbara Mensch Jan 2007

Le Contexte De L’Initiation Sexuelle En Évolution Dans La Région Subsaharienne De L’Afrique, Barbara Mensch

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

L'ampleur de l'épidémie du SIDA en Afrique subsaharienne expose particulièrement les jeunes femmes au risque de l'infection par le VIH et requiert une meilleure compréhension des comportements reproductifs, y compris l'initiation sexuelle et les relations sexuelles pré-maritales. La croissance des relations sexuelles pré-maritales est une conséquence inévitable des mariages tardifs dans les pays en développement, en particulier à cause du fait que la période pendant laquelle les filles sont sexuellement mûres et non mariées est prolongée quand le mariage est retardé. Un récent projet du Population Council a fait des recherches sur les liens entre le changement d'âge au mariage …


The Changing Context Of Sexual Initiation In Sub-Saharan Africa, Barbara Mensch Jan 2007

The Changing Context Of Sexual Initiation In Sub-Saharan Africa, Barbara Mensch

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The magnitude of the AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa puts young women at particularly high risk for HIV infection and calls for a better understanding of reproductive behavior, including sexual initiation and premarital sex. An increase in premarital sex is an inevitable consequence of later marriage in the developing world, if for no other reason than that the period during which girls are sexually mature and unmarried is prolonged when marriage is postponed. A recent Population Council project investigated the links between changing age at marriage and premarital sexual behavior in 27 sub-Saharan African countries. After documenting the decline in …


Kenya: Mobilize Health Care Providers To Advocate Against Fgm/C, Frontiers In Reproductive Health Jan 2007

Kenya: Mobilize Health Care Providers To Advocate Against Fgm/C, Frontiers In Reproductive Health

Reproductive Health

Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is illegal in Kenya. The practice has declined slightly, yet it is nearly universal among the Abagusii, a relatively affluent ethnic group residing in the Nyanza province in western Kenya. Half of cut women reported that they had been cut by a health worker, however providers express willingness to advocate against the practice. This study, launched in 2004 by the Population Council’s FRONTIERS Program, examined the role of health providers in FGM/C in Kenya’s Abagusii community. As noted in this brief, the objectives were to understand the motivations behind the medicalization of FGM/C and determine the …


Kenya: Begin Community Dialogue On Fgm/C By Discussing Cultural Justification, Frontiers In Reproductive Health Jan 2007

Kenya: Begin Community Dialogue On Fgm/C By Discussing Cultural Justification, Frontiers In Reproductive Health

Reproductive Health

Female genital cutting is strongly supported among the Somali ethnic community in Kenya, and the severest form (infibulation) is primarily practiced. This type of cut is associated with increased incidence and seriousness of obstetric and gynecological problems relative to uncut women and those with less severe forms of FGM/C. As stated in this brief, efforts to encourage abandonment should begin with community discussion about the socio-cultural reasons for cutting. Simultaneously, health-care providers need training in how to manage complications of FGM/C. In 2004, FRONTIERS collaborated with UNICEF on a four-month diagnostic study on FGM/C practices among the Somali community in …


Technical Assistance To Organizations In Guinea Seeking To Reduce Female Genital Cutting, Nafissatou J. Diop Jan 2006

Technical Assistance To Organizations In Guinea Seeking To Reduce Female Genital Cutting, Nafissatou J. Diop

Reproductive Health

This reports details the technical assistance the Population Council’s FRONTIERS program provided to WHO’s Africa Bureau to implement a project addressing medicalization of female genital cutting (FGC), and to support Tostan in replicating its program in Guinea. Technical assistance had several aims: to improve the effectiveness of strategies to abandon FGC in Guinea, to assist WHO in developing and implementing a project to reduce FGC medicalization by health providers, to build the capacity of Guinean organizations to appropriately monitor and evaluate their FGC-related activities, and to enable the Comité de Lutte contre les Pratiques Traditionnelles portant Atteinte aux Femmes (CPTAFE) …


Female Genital Cutting Among The Somali Of Kenya And Management Of Its Complications, Guyo W. Jaldesa, Ian Askew, Carolyne Njue, Monica Wanjiru Jan 2005

Female Genital Cutting Among The Somali Of Kenya And Management Of Its Complications, Guyo W. Jaldesa, Ian Askew, Carolyne Njue, Monica Wanjiru

Reproductive Health

The Somali community living in Kenya (and in their native Somalia) has practiced the severest form of female genital cutting (FGC)—infibulation—for centuries. To understand the context within which the practice takes place, and how its complications are managed, the Population Council’s Frontiers in Reproductive Health Program undertook a diagnostic study that confirmed that FGC is a deeply rooted and widely supported cultural practice. Several closely related reasons are used to sustain the practice: religious obligation, family honor, and virginity as a prerequisite for marriage; an aesthetic preference for infibulated genitalia was also mentioned. The study also found that the health …


Does Dowry Improve Life For Brides? A Test Of The Bequest Theory Of Dowry In Rural Bangladesh, Luciana Suran, Sajeda Amin, Lopita Huq, Kobita Chowdury Jan 2004

Does Dowry Improve Life For Brides? A Test Of The Bequest Theory Of Dowry In Rural Bangladesh, Luciana Suran, Sajeda Amin, Lopita Huq, Kobita Chowdury

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

In recent years, dowry levels in Bangladesh have risen to previously unforeseen levels—sometimes three or four times a family’s total assets. Some recent economic writings suggest that dowry functions as a bequest or pre-mortem inheritance, implying it persists because it is “good for the bride.” Using panel data from an adolescent study in rural Bangladesh, this Population Council working paper explores the association between dowry and the prevalence of domestic abuse to test the bequest theory of dowry. Contrary to the prediction of the bequest theory, married females who paid dowry at marriage have a higher likelihood of reporting domestic …


Women's Denial Of Having Experienced Female Genital Cutting In Northern Ghana: Explanatory Factors And Consequences For Analysis Of Survey Data, Elizabeth F. Jackson, Patricia Akweongo, Evelyn Sakeah, Abraham Hodgson, Rofina Asuru, James F. Phillips Jan 2003

Women's Denial Of Having Experienced Female Genital Cutting In Northern Ghana: Explanatory Factors And Consequences For Analysis Of Survey Data, Elizabeth F. Jackson, Patricia Akweongo, Evelyn Sakeah, Abraham Hodgson, Rofina Asuru, James F. Phillips

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Although many cross-sectional social surveys have included questions about female genital cutting status and correlated personal characteristics, no longitudinal studies have been launched that permit investigation of response biases associated with such surveys. This paper reports on a longitudinal study of women aged 15 to 49 in rural northern Ghana. The self-reported circumcision status of women interviewed in 1995 was compared with the status they reported when they were interviewed again in 2000 after the government began enforcing a law banning the practice and public information campaigns against it were launched. In all, 13 percent of respondents who reported in …


An Assessment Of The Alternative Rites Approach For Encouraging Abandonment Of Female Genital Mutilation In Kenya, Jane Chege, Ian Askew, Jennifer Liku Jan 2001

An Assessment Of The Alternative Rites Approach For Encouraging Abandonment Of Female Genital Mutilation In Kenya, Jane Chege, Ian Askew, Jennifer Liku

Reproductive Health

Maendeleo Ya Wanawake (MYWO), with technical assistance from the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), has been implementing an Alternative Rite of passage programme as part of its efforts to eradicate the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) in five districts in Kenya. This study addressed the factors that influence some families and individuals to adopt the Alternative Rite while others, exposed to the same messages discouraging FGM, decide not to. It also evaluated the effect of the training component of the Alternative Rite on the girls who participated.