This study looks at how family planning may affect aspects of Egyptian women's lives, including their work, family relationships, and community involvement.

Egypt

In Egypt, previous research on women and family planning has focused on how various aspects of women's lives, such as education and employment, predict their use of family planning. This study, conducted in six governorates, reverses the equation and looks at how family planning may affect aspects of women's lives, including their work, family relationships, and community involvement.

Research Findings

This study had three components. Focus group discussions (FGDs) were held in Beni Suef, Assiut, Menoufia and Dakahlia among 96 women of childbearing age, both contraceptive users and non-users. The FGDs were used to shape a questionnaire, which was administered to 4,900 women nationwide. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 study participants. Anaylsis of the questionnaire and in-depth interviews are on-going. The results presented in this report are from the focus group discussions.

Most participants knew about family planning methods, particularly injectables and Norplant. Few knew about condoms and those who did said their husbands refused to use them. Many women mentioned breastfeeding as a way to postpone pregnancy. Women did not mention sterilization.

• In terms of personal autonomy, most women felt the need to seek their husband's opinion and approval on all matters. Explicitly, men made decisions in the home; implicitly, women made decisions on their own or through negotiation with their husbands. Among more-educated women, many said controlling their fertility had helped them gain control over some other aspects of their lives. "A woman's life becomes organized," said one FGD participant. "She can have plans and goals and peace of mind."

• Women said education and employment are important for women's independence, autonomy and self-esteem and give women a stronger voice in family decisions. However, women said work brings double responsibility and role strain, and it does not necessarily contribute to women's dignity or self-actualization. "The woman now plays the role of the worker, the teacher and the housewife," one woman explained. "The responsibility is shouldered by the woman children's school, work, health The burden the woman carries is heavy."

• Study participants said education for daughters was important.

• For most female participants, the welfare of the family was more important than their individual welfare. Women were subordinate to men in the home and had the primary responsibility for childrearing and housework.

• Women's subordinate position played a role in family size. Fear of divorce and polygamy lead women to have more children when their husbands wanted them, even if they did not want more children. Children were very important to women, who said they were a source of happiness and prestige. Some women said they would advise their own daughters to use family planning only after they had given birth and proven their fertility.

• The majority of women were not members of political parties. Only a few educated women participated in community activities.

• When asked what makes them happy, women said they wanted to be recognized by significant others, namely husbands and superiors at work. One woman explained, "The whole world smiles when the husband is happy and in a good mood. A kind word of recognition for the work of the woman at home makes her extremely happy and vice versa." Women said children's failure in school, husbands' failure at work and illness of their loved made them unhappy. Women said that family planning can increase a woman's psychological well-being, by giving her time to take care of her family or work outside the home. "Using family planning allows the woman to feel secure and not worried all the time that she might get pregnant."

Recommendations

• Husbands are an important target group for family planning messages because they are involved in fertility control decisions.

• Family planning messages should emphasize women's perceptions that having control over their childbearing experiences gives them more time to devote to their families and their homes.

Study Details

This study was conducted by the Social Research Center at the American University in Cairo. A final report in English will be posted on FHI's web site when available. This study was supported by the Women's Studies Project at Family Health International (FHI), through a Cooperative Agreement funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. Dr. Cynthia Waszak of FHI served as technical monitor.