Islam and family planning acceptance in Bangladesh.

ABSTRACT

PIP: One frequently cited barrier to more widespread adoption of family planning (FP) in Moslem countries is religious opposition. To examine the depth and extent of such opposition in Bangladesh, 106 men who had been identified by their wives as religiously opposed to FP were interviewed. Unexpectedly, 26% of the "opposing" husbands reported that they were current users of a contraceptive and an additional 50%, although not practicing, said they were in favor of FP. Of the alleged "opposers," only 23% said they opposed FP on religious grounds. 1/4 of this last group were able to cite specific Islamic injunctions against FP. It appears on the basis of this data, which were collected in the religiously conservative area of Lakhimpur, that the perception of widespread Islamic-based resistance to contraception in Bangladesh is not founded in fact. This research was part of a larger study, done in 1988. Data come from 3 surveys and 1 set of indepth interviews. A survey of 1241 married women of reproductive age was done in January and February of 1988, using a 2-stage sampling approach. Sites were selected at random; 23 married women of reproductive age were polled from each site. In the 2nd survey, 40 "high-" and 40 "low-performing" field workers of a nongovernmental organization providing FP services in the area were interviewed. Their performance rankings were computed on the 2 indicators of dropouts and recruitment. There was a near perfect inverse correspondence between dropouts and recruitment. Field workers who were successful recruiters had the lowest numbers of dropouts and vice versa (R=83). There was an association between field worker's performance and reported religious opposition. Indepth interviews were conducted with 6 of the husbands. A questionnaire was given in 1989 by male interviewers to 106 husbands whose wives indicated were opposed to FP or religious grounds. Research found that contraceptive use by survey respondents was underreported. The man feel that a yes answer is not socially acceptable.