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- Title
From women’s business to men’s business: Exploring connections between vasectomy acceptance and equitable gender relations in South Tarawa, Kiribati.
- Authors
HILL, ALEXANDRA; KINDON, SARA
- Abstract
In Kiribati, an island nation in Oceania, men tend to dominate sexual and reproductive health decision-making and women assume disproportionate responsibility for contraception. Yet there are couples who challenge this and, moreover, disrupt the way that I-Kiribati gender relations are typically framed. I-Kiribati are the indigenous peoples of Kiribati. This article draws from research which explored links between vasectomy uptake and genderequitable relations among couples in South Tarawa from 2017 to 2018. The case study, conducted with the support of Kiribati Family Health Association (KFHA), reframes essentialist notions of gender roles and gender relations in Kiribati. Building on international literature, the relational aspect of gender and gender normative behaviours associated with sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are examined. Semi-structured informal interviews were held with five vasectomised I-Kiribati men and their wives, interviewed as a couple and individually. Comparative analysis was undertaken with two same-sex focus group discussions, one with non-vasectomised men and the other with their wives, as well as with six key informant interviews. Qualitative data were analysed thematically within feminist and indigenous frameworks, and further triangulated with international and Kiribati studies. Findings suggest that gender equity is likely to be a pre-condition of vasectomy, and vasectomy can lead to equitable outcomes for women. However, connections are complex. Vasectomy, in and of itself, is unlikely to change deeply embedded inequitable practices. Vasectomy uptake can also result from, and lead to, inequitable behaviours. Gender relations within and among couples were multifaceted and contradictions existed. This article argues that approaches to SRHR which privilege dominant perceptions of gender roles and gender relations fail to recognise those who challenge normative behaviours, cannot effectively tackle gender inequality, and, at their worst, perpetuate inequalities.
- Subjects
KIRIBATI; BUSINESSMEN; BUSINESSWOMEN; VASECTOMY; HUMAN sexuality; GENDER
- Publication
Women's Studies Journal, 2021, Vol 35, Issue 1, p21
- ISSN
0112-4099
- Publication type
Article