Armies of Liberation

Yemen Observer

A new study has found that very few Yemeni women use contraception. The study, conducted by researchers in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Science in Sana’a University, determined the factors influencing the use of contraception among married women in different Yemeni governorates in 2005.

Family planning benefits the health and well-being of women and families throughout the world. Using contraception can help to avoid unwanted pregnancies, space births and protect against sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS.

There were 915 female participants in the study from the al-Hodeidah, Ibb, Sada’a and Mareb governorates. Among them, 46 percent came from rural areas. More than half of women (60 percent) were aged between 21 and 30 years old and 77 percent of them were housewives.

The study found that about 54 percent of women fall pregnant one to four times; just under half, 47 percent, give birth to one to three children; and just 2 percent of women are found to have more than 10 children. It is also found that 31 percent miscarry one to three times. The remaining 69 percent do not miscarry.

More than half of the married women involved in this study (64 percent) do not use contraception, compared to just 36 percent who do. The highest rate of contraception use was in Sada’a governorate (43 percent), compared to just 29 percent of women from Mareb governorate.

The pill is one of the most popular contraception amongst Yemeni women with 47 percent use. About 24 percent use the coil, whilst condoms are rarely used with just one percent. More than half of urban women (59 percent) use various means of family planning compared to 40 percent of rural women who use such means.

About 37 percent of women from the Ibb, Sada’a and Mareb governorates refuse to use any contraceptive techniques because they want to have more children. However, husbands of 36 percent of women from the al-Hodeidah governorate refuse to allow their wives to use any contraception.

The study found that 22 percent of women use contraception to give themselves and their babies a chance of a better life.

More than half of the women using contraception (53 percent) are aged between 31 to 40 years old. Just 27 percent of women ranged between 15 to 20 years old use these means.

But contraception use is become more widespread – a statistic closely linked to education. The study found that 54 percent of educated women use contraception methods, compared to just 26 percent of illiterate ones. Husband’s education is equally important, as 52 percent of women using means have educated husbands.

The availability of contraceptive methods is the most obvious statistic from the study. Of the women who use contraception, 89 percent live within 3 miles of health centers which provide the methods. The study, supervised by Dr. Ahmed al-Haddad who is the head of the Community Medicine Department at Sana’a University, recommended the government establish more health centers in both urban and rural areas, and provide such facilities with skilled nurses.

The study advised the Ministry of Public Health and Population to supply the centers with the different contraceptives and to ensure they are free. It also urged the media to pay more attention to raise awareness of family planning; doctors and employees to offer more advice on family planning; and couples to actively discuss family planning and contraceptive techniques.

Amat al-Jaleel al-Ansi, 22, mother of one said that “after the birth of my first child, I used the pill recommended by my doctor for two years. I wanted to give myself and my baby a chance for better life. But the pill badly affected me. I lost weight and my general health deteriorated, although I was careful choosing my food. I became nervous and shy. Problems arose between my husband and I, and my relatives. When I stopped taking the pill, the problems stopped but I immediately became pregnant for the second time. In future, I will use the coil [as alternative contraception].”

Um Mohammed Ahmed, a 42-year-old mother of four raised the problems of the coil: “I used the coil after my forth child but found it very uncomfortable. The coil is not suitable for everyone because of physical differences. The coil made me bleed severely during my period. I stopped using it and adopted alternative methods.”

Kholoud al-Baidani, a 24-year-old mother of two, praised the freedom provided by family planning. “I will have more children in the future when the time is right – at the moment the coil allows me to be happy with my two girls and look after them properly.” Birth control is permissible according to Islam, which recognizes that the sexual act is more than just a means of procreation.

During the time of the Prophet Muhammad, the most commonly practiced method of birth control was ‘azl, or the withdrawal method. According to scholars, withdrawal is permissible but generally thought to be reprehensible, since it deprives the woman of her right to sexual satisfaction and to bear children, if she so desires. Scholars agree that withdrawal should not be practiced unless women agree to it.

Since modern methods of birth control have the same aim as the withdrawal method – to prevent sperm from fertilizing the egg – it can be assumed that modern birth control is also permissible.

The population of Yemen in 2003 was estimated by the United Nations at 20,010,000, which placed it as the 51st most populated among the 193 nations of the world. In that year approximately 3 percent of the population was over 65 years of age, with another 48 percent of the population under 15 years of age. There were 103 males for every 100 females in the country in 2003. According to the UN, the annual population growth rate for 2000–2005 is 3.52 percent, with the projected population for the year 2015 at 30,677,000. The population density in 2002 was 35 per sq km (91 per sq mile). Most of the population is concentrated in the Tihama foothills and central highlands of Yemen. Most of southern Yemen is very sparsely populated.

The study was conducted by Rawfa Mashr’ai, Qammash al-Shaibah, Bushra al-Shami, Hanan al-Weshali, Karema al-Ansi, Mohammed Dahnan, Mohammed al-Teffei, Amat al-Razzaq al-Mutawakel, Khaled al-Aabsi and Ali al-Yaf’ei.