Men urged to be aware of reproductive health

JAKARTA (JP): Men are being urged to be more aware and responsible about reproductive health as it is not merely an issue which concerns women alone.

Kartono Muhammad, former head of Indonesian Doctors Association, yesterday lamented the fact that there still exists an erroneous perception that reproductive health is exclusively a woman's responsibility.

"Men can contribute to reproductive health as well as women," Kartono said.

Speaking at the launching of his book titled Contradictions in Reproductive Health, Kartono noted that such issues were heavily influenced by local social and cultural norms which often dictate societal awareness of such topics.

According to Kartono, in societies such as Indonesia, society perceives issues of maternity, including contraception and abortion, as something which rarely concerns men.

As a result, men are often ignorant of the implications.

The fact that the number of maternal deaths is still high, 390 women per 100,000 live births, is further evidence of the lack of awareness about reproductive health.

Kartono remarked that in marriage it is the woman who is burdened with the responsibility of birth control. "Men can also participate," he remarked.

Kartono argued that societal perceptions were the main reason for this ignorance in generalizing particular issues as only concerning one gender and not the other.

As he mentions in his book, existence in rural communities depends not only on the fertility of the land but also on the number of children born, referring to the belief that more children bring more fortune. (01)