The Challenge of Addressing Gender in Reproductive Health Programs: examples from Indonesia

Abstract

In 1994, ICPD stressed gender equity as a precondition for health and development while affirming the need to address women's subordination in reproductive health programs. However, those responsible for implementing these broad goals still struggle with how to operationalise gender-aware approaches. Starting from the assumption that gender equity and women's empowerment are necessary to achieving women's reproductive health and using examples from Indonesia, this paper focuses on the ways in which reproductive health programs view gender inequity. It questions the capacity of existing intervention paradigms to counter gender disparities and promote women's emancipation. It discusses the problems of a women-centered approach, of focusing on men in order to support women, and of reifying the family to the detriment of its individual members. Finally, it suggests that new, alternative approaches for interventions should be sought which transcend individual actors and uphold a focus on relationships