By Ubaidah Adeoye
The 4th International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), held in Cairo in 1994, recognised the reproductive and sexual needs and rights of individuals and called for universal access to sexual and reproductive health services by 2015. Although progress has been made since then, sexual and reproductive ill health remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among women and adolescents.
Hundreds of millions of women every year suffer disability as a result of pregnancy and pregnancy-related complications, and more than half a million die in pregnancy and childbirth, or following unsafe abortion. Likewise, many adolescents suffer from the negative outcome of early pregnancies and Sexually Transmitted Diseases.
“Sexual health and reproductive health are inextricably linked; neither subsumes the other— rather, they overlap.”
According to the WHO, sexual health is a state of physical, emotional, mental, and social well-being in relation to sexuality; it is not merely the absence of sexual disease, dysfunction, or infirmity. Rather, it entails all measures that lead to a positive and respectful approach to sexuality and sexual relationships, ensuring that everyone can engage in pleasurable sexual activities without force or coercion. On the other hand, reproductive health is a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, in all matters relating to the reproductive system and to its functions and processes.
For SRH to be attained and maintained, the sexual and reproductive rights of all individuals must be respected, protected, and satisfied. These include — access to SRH services without discrimination, access to sexuality education, right to be respected and consent in matters relating to relationship, marriage and childbearing.
At SRHEd, we provide this service for Muslim women and youth (and other people of faith), who are usually left behind in these conversations despite the very dangerous outcomes that this usually yields in real life and healthcare settings.
Components of Sexual and Reproductive Health
1. Provision of Comprehensive Sexuality Education: This involves ensuring that all individuals have access to comprehensive and age-specific sexual education that they understand and can apply in their daily life. A woman who understands only Yoruba will benefit more if education is delivered in her language. Likewise, young children should receive age-appropriate information concerning relevant portions of the CSE. Sexual education is continuous and evolves with age. Adolescents remain at higher risk of sexual ill health because sexuality and sexual intercourse still make people uncomfortable and are not discussed in schools and other formal settings.
2. Promotion of Healthy Sexual Function and Psychosexual Counselling : This involves providing support for individuals and couples such that they have a safe and satisfying sexual life free from coercion, pain, fear and worry. It entails educating them about how their bodies work, and how the body and the mind work together to bring about orgasm and sexual satisfaction. Through psychosexual counselling, individuals and couples having difficulties in their sexual life are encouraged to discuss their issues in a confidential environment where they will be guided by experts on how they can navigate any challenges they face with their sexuality.
3. Prevention of Gender Based Violence, including Support and Care of GBV victims: Gender-Based Violence (GBV) involves physical, verbal, or emotional harm directed at individuals due to their gender. Women and girls are disproportionately affected by GBV. SRH programs should work to prevent GBV through community education on gender equality emphasizing equal access to education, shared decision-making in relationships, and consent in sexual matters. GBV Victims should be supported to receive medical care, counselling, and psychological support to aid recovery.
4. Prevention and Control of HIV and other Sexually Transmittable Infections: Preventing HIV and STIs begins with accurate sexual education. Everyone, including adolescents, need clear information about their bodies, safe sex, and sexual decision-making. Counselling and SRH messaging helps promote responsible choices, abstinence, and proper contraceptive use that help in the prevention and control of STIs
5. Provision of Prenatal, Antenatal and Postnatal care: Pregnant women need proper care before, during, and after childbirth. Prenatal care helps identify at risk pregnancies early and provide appropriate support. Reducing the risk of complications during labor. Postnatal care promotes early detection and treatment of complications, such as: postpartum haemorrhage and infections.
6. Provision of Contraception, including contraceptive counselling: This involves provision of education on different types of contraceptives methods, including their indications and contraindications, which aid women and couples to make informed choices on if, and when, they want to procreate.
7. Provision of Fertility Care: Fertility care involves provision of services and support for individuals and couples to help them understand and manage their ability to have children. Couples that experience trouble conceiving are provided with the necessary medical and emotional support, as appropriate.
8. Provision Safe Abortion Care: This involves providing safe abortion, as well as pre- and post- abortion care in an environment that meets medical standards and by skilled personnel. This is an essential part of SRH because it reduces the risk post abortion complications, in the context of a pregnancy loss (voluntary or otherwise). This is especially important because women and adolescents still have unmet needs for contraception and often suffer disability from pregnancy and pregnancy-related complications majorly due to the poor quality or absence of SRH services in the community.
Barriers to SRH
Barriers to Sexual and Reproductive Health range from personal factors such as lack of knowledge about SRH and feelings of guilt when discussing sexual health needs, to interpersonal factors like lack of parental or spousal support. Beyond these, institutional and community-level factors, including societal stigma and restrictive cultural and religious norms as we typically see, also play important roles.
1. Lack of Knowledge about SRH
This barrier stems from misconceptions surrounding sexual education. In many societies, especially societies of faith, it is believed that exposing young people to sexual education encourages pre-marital sexual relationships. Many people also believe that sex education is only meant for married individuals when this is far from the truth.
This misconception — in fact — contributes to the sense of fear, shame, and guilt among Muslim women and those of other faiths when discussing sexual and reproductive matters.
2. Lack of Parental or Spousal Support:
When it comes to the use of contraceptives, muslim women require their spouses’ approval. Unfortunately, some men, due to religious beliefs, forbid their wives from using family planning methods. Most of the time, this stems from their misconception about the permissibility of Contraceptives in Islam.
This opposition has led to several cases of unplanned pregnancies and avoidable maternal health complications.
3. Cultural and Religious Norms
Many cultural norms, disguised as religious teachings, hinder the utilization of SRH services. For example, some communities discourage discussions around SRH, considering it taboo — this silences women’s voices and prevents them from speaking up and accessing Sexual and Reproductive Health Services.
Lastly, healthcare providers that share these cultural or religious beliefs consciously or unconsciously judge women that access some SRH services, which can make them uncomfortable and in the long run stop accessing the service.
At SRHEd, we aim to bridge this gap by providing culturally and religiously sensitive sexual education and support for women and adolescents from religiously conservative, particularly Muslim, backgrounds. We do this via provision of accurate, culturally-sensitive sexual and reproductive health education and support through 1:1 counselling, SRH coaching, workshops, curriculum development for Islamic schools, youth organizations, and community programs.
In summary, achieving sexual and reproductive health for all requires not only accessible services but education, support and respect for individual and communal rights of every portion of the population, in a manner that does not strip them of their values. Then only can we ensure sexual and reproductive wellbeing, reduce preventable deaths, promote gender equality, and improve quality of life.
Sources:
1. World Health Organization. Sexual health and its linkages to reproductive health: an operational approach.
2. Cairo definition of reproductive health
Sexual & Reproductive Health 
Leave a comment