Two weeks ago I attended a training workshop on reproductive health for university women. I sat in the back and helped register participants, making a conscious decision to be an observer. I wanted to see how reproductive health information was conveyed in this very unique context. I have thought a lot about this workshop over the last couple weeks, trying to determine the best way to talk about it. I can't give an objective overview (I think you all know that I am far too opinionated for objectivity), so instead I will give my overall impressions of sexual and reproductive health in Uganda (biased, of course).
1. Women should be sexless. I have tried very hard over the past several months to understand this better, but I am afraid my explanations are a bit convoluted. The messages I hear about women's health have an undertone of sterility. Men want sex, women tolerate it. Women have to learn about their reproductive health in order so that one day they might produce babies (and lots of them), but sexuality and desire is for men. Outright displays of sexuality make women "prostitutes."
2. Men are held to the lowest possible standard. I can't count the number of times I have heard that "all Ugandan men cheat." I don't know whether it is true or not, but the explanation about why men cheat is really disturbing. Apparently, men's sexuality is so strong and powerful, that it cannot be satisfied by one woman. Ever. (and on the same note, a woman's sexuality is so weak that it could never match a man's, and if it does, there is something wrong with that woman). Relationships are socially constructed, and people will always meet your (low) expectations. Cheating is normalized and it is not uncommon to hear tales of wives meeting their husbands "other" families for the first time at funerals.
3. Religion remains a paradox. I have also heard that the only solution to "cheating" is for men to become born again Christians. While people are quick to preach purity and fidelity in a Christian context, the reality is that teen and out-of-marriage pregnancy in Uganda is extremely common and even culturally accepted. Uganda is an extremely religious society (thanks, missionaries), but when it comes to reproductive health and sexuality, there seems to be a lot of contradiction. Chemical birth control may be out of the question for religious reasons, but sex outside of marriage is not.
4. Women are blamed. Because men have an insatiable sexual appetite, they are washed of all responsibility when it comes to the consequences of sex. Women are blamed for unwanted/unplanned pregnancies. Women are blamed for rape: "if you walk at night, what can you expect?"; "don't be alone with a man because they only have one idea."; "if you wear clothing that is short and tight, then you are asking for it." (Oh yes, these are real examples). Women are stripped of sexual agency while at the same time responsible for "controlling" the sexuality of men.
5. Don't have sex, but if you do... Children are very much cherished in Uganda, and having children is seen as one of the most important duties of women (this is probably why while Christianity has made pregnancy out of marriage slightly taboo, it has failed to succeed at making it that bad). Abortion is seen as shameful, consequence-ridden (medically and morally), and 'bad-for-Uganda.' "Children are our future, so if you do fall pregnant, do not have an abortion. Keep all your children." Women are expected to bare children no matter what-- hence why the average woman in Uganda gives birth to between 6 and 7 babies in a lifetime (second highest birth rate in the world).
Reproductive health in Uganda is seen as a woman's responsibility, and yet any agency that might help a woman take control of reproductive and sexual decision making is completely undermined. Religion enforces cultural and social paternalism, and women are left with only a superficial voice. Certainly these issues are not uniquely Ugandan... in fact, I think they mirror a lot of the issues faced in the US, especially in regards to anti-choice, conservative politics. In the end women everywhere are faced with lots of responsibility and little power. Talk about unfair.
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