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Should we care: a qualitative exploration of the factors that influence the decision of early marriage among young men in urban slums of Bangladesh.

ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVES:To explore how adolescent and young men negotiate the complex realities of lives to explain their pathways into and reasons for early marriage in urban slums of Bangladesh. DESIGN:The qualitative data used here came from a larger 3-year study that used both quantitative and qualitative research methods. SETTING:Interviews were conducted in two of the largest slums in Dhaka and Chittagong city of Bangladesh between December 2015 and March 2018. PARTICIPANTS:This paper uses qualitative data from 22 in-depth interviews (IDIs) and three focus group discussions (FGDs) with adolescent and young men aged 15-24 years; 13 IDIs and 4 FGDs with parents and 11 key-informant interviews with community leaders. The purposively selected respondents were interviewed in their respective settings. RESULTS:In the context of urban slums, this study revealed multiple factors influence early marriage decision-making processes among young men. These factors include socially perceived phenomenon of adulthood and readiness of marriage, poverty leading to drop out from schools and early initiation to earning livelihood, manifestations of increasing individual aspiration and agency, fulfilment of romance and erotic desires and dreams of forming one's own family. In addition, parental and immediate societal interference to preserve norms around gender and society can act as catalysts for this decision. CONCLUSIONS:Study findings imply that complex structural factors, social and gender norms that are contributing to the early marriage for both adolescent boys and young men in Bangladesh's urban slums. These are locations where conservatism, poverty and urbanisation intersect resulting in early and often unprepared entry to adulthood for young men impacting on their development and well-being. It is, therefore, critical that young men should be included in the national and global conversations around child marriage and child marriage prevention programme.

SUBMITTER: Biswas SC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7592268 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Should we care: a qualitative exploration of the factors that influence the decision of early marriage among young men in urban slums of Bangladesh.

Biswas Subas Chandra SC Karim Shuchi S Rashid Sabina Faiz SF

BMJ open 20201026 10

<h4>Objectives</h4>To explore how adolescent and young men negotiate the complex realities of lives to explain their pathways into and reasons for early marriage in urban slums of Bangladesh.<h4>Design</h4>The qualitative data used here came from a larger 3-year study that used both quantitative and qualitative research methods.<h4>Setting</h4>Interviews were conducted in two of the largest slums in Dhaka and Chittagong city of Bangladesh between December 2015 and March 2018.<h4>Participants</h4 ...[more]

PMID: 33109664

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Project description:BackgroundNigeria is one of the countries where significant progress has not been recorded in contraceptive uptake despite decades of family planning programs while there are indications that slum dwellers may differ significantly from other urban dwellers in their sexual and reproductive behavior, including family planning uptake. This study therefore examined local notions regarding male partners' involvement in family planning (FP) adoption by women in two selected urban slums areas in Nigeria - Ibadan (Southwest region) and Kaduna (Northwest region). Specifically, the study investigated women's narratives about FP, perceived barriers from male partners regarding FP adoption by the women and how women negotiate male partners' cooperation for FP use.MethodsSixteen FGD sessions were conducted with selected groups of men and women, stratified by sex, age group, and FP experience using a vignette to generate discussions. Sessions were facilitated by experienced social scientists and audio-taped, with note-taker also present. The transcribed data were analyzed with Atlas.ti software version 7. Inductive approach was employed to analyze the data. Reasons given for FP attitudes and use are presented in a network format while critical discourse analysis was also used in generating relevant tables.ResultsThe finding shows that women in the selected communities expressed desire for FP adoption. Three main reasons largely accounted for the desire to use FP: perceived need to space childbirth, family's financial condition and the potential adverse effect of high fertility on the woman's health. Male partners' support for the use of FP by women was perceived to be low, which is due to misconceptions about FP and traditional pro-natalistic beliefs and tendencies. Mechanisms by which women negotiate their male-partner's cooperation for FP adoption include seeking the support of the partner's significant others and advice from older women.ConclusionTo significantly improve family planning adoption rates among urban slum dwellers in Nigeria, there is the need to specifically and specially target men alongside their female partners as well as other stakeholders who have significant influences at family and community level.

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Dataset Information

Should we care: a qualitative exploration of the factors that influence the decision of early marriage among young men in urban slums of Bangladesh.

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Should we care: a qualitative exploration of the factors that influence the decision of early marriage among young men in urban slums of Bangladesh.

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