Remember when we would watch TV with our parents, and the ad of Sunny Leone running on the beach, promoting Manforce condoms would come on?
No? You don’t remember? Because that never happened!
Of course, we didn’t talk about contraceptives. The same way we didn’t talk about sex. And here we are, 1.3 billion people and growing…
Why Are We Not Using Contraceptives?
Contraception is widely regarded as the woman’s responsibility because technically, she is the one who will get pregnant. So, it is common to hear young, urban women say, “It is my problem, so I have to look after it myself.” The responsibility can feel empowering, as she takes control of her sex life. And in many ways, it is. It is a privilege that most women in our country do not have.
In rural or more conservative parts of society, women are unaware of the various contraceptive options or how to use them. While the government did launch several family planning initiatives, the programs are mostly geared towards women.
The men, who are usually the ones who make the decisions in such matters, remain ill-informed. In a 2014 study done across seven states in India, 54% of men said that their wives could not use contraception without their permission. It stems from the opinion that contraception is ‘invasive’ and that it promotes promiscuity among women.
In the more liberal sections of the society, while women are allowed a certain level of freedom, men do not participate in preventing pregnancy. According to the National Family Health Survey, 73.3% of married men and 69.4% of unmarried men do not use contraception with their partners.
Not so surprisingly, we did not need a survey to tell us this. I can recount such instances from my personal or friends’ experiences where there is no second thought, because, “It is my problem. And I’ll deal with it.”
