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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Glob. Womens Health
Sec. Contraception and Family Planning
Volume 5 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fgwh.2024.1360052

Women's Empowerment and Current Contraceptive Use in Pakistan: Informed by Theory of Gender and Power

Provisionally accepted
Bhavita Kumari Bhavita Kumari 1*Mai Do Mai Do 2Aubrey Madkour Aubrey Madkour 3Janna M. Wisniewski Janna M. Wisniewski 2
  • 1 Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan
  • 2 Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
  • 3 Center for Scientific Review (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: It is evident from the stagnant modern contraceptive rate and the growing population of Pakistan that the family planning (FP) programs in Pakistan have failed to deliver successfully. The study examines the association of domains of women's empowerment, following the Theory of Gender and Power, with the current use of contraceptive methods and how intimate partner violence (IPV) can moderate such associations in Pakistan. Methods: Married women of reproductive age from the Pakistan DHS (2017-18) were included in the analysis (n=14,502). Key independent variables were identified using Connell's Theory of Gender and Power operationalized by Wingood and DiClemente, and constructs were created using principal component analysis. Multinomial logistic regressions were conducted to assess the relationships of the three empowerment divisions (i.e., sexual division of labor, sexual division of power, and cathexis), to the current use of contraceptives. Results: When all empowerment domains were included in the model along with covariates, education (sexual division of labor), sex negotiations (sexual division of power), and husband's fertility intentions (cathexis) remained significant in their associations with modern contraceptive use. Conclusion: This is the first study in Pakistan to examine multi-faceted empowerment, applyingConnell's theory of gender and power to identify key domains associated with contraceptive use. A multi-prong approach to FP programs that aims to improve specific domains of women's empowerment and to increase FP service use may be more likely to succeed than stand-alone programs.

    Keywords: Contraceptives, women's empowerment, power, IPV, Pakistan

    Received: 22 Dec 2023; Accepted: 21 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Kumari, Do, Madkour and Wisniewski. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Bhavita Kumari, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.