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Produced by Marie Stopes International, this research study looks at barriers to the use of family planning and other reproductive health services in Afghanistan. Findings showed that family planning was generally given approval for economic and health reasons, although this was often conditional on having a certain number of sons. Those giving approval included groups traditionally opposed to family planning, such as male community and religious leaders. However, research also showed that women were required to seek permission from their husbands to attend family planning clinics, and were expected to provide persuasive arguments to justify using reproductive health services. Other key barriers were the perceived harmful effects of family planning, and women’s expectation that their husbands wanted larger families (an assumption that did not always match the husbands’ actual attitudes and beliefs).
The study concludes that economic and health arguments are most likely to persuade people to use family planning services. It recommends activities to encourage communication between spouses, and the use of community-wide education to dispel myths about harmful side effects and provide accurate information on family planning methods. Overall, it highlights the use of active participation through discussion groups as key to influencing behaviour change. [adapted from author]