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Barriers to sexual and reproductive education among in-school adolescents in Zomba and Mangochi districts, Malawi
By Chintsanya J.
Teenage pregnancy and child marriage continue to rise in Malawi despite the introduction of compulsory Life Skills education in primary schools in 2002. A qualitative approach, employing focus group discussions with participants was used to explore the barriers faced by teachers in delivering sexual and reproductive health education in primary schools in southern districts of Malawi. Pupils, teachers and parents from a total of 10 primary schools, seven in Mangochi and three in Zomba, were invited to participate in focus group discussions on barriers to sexual and reproductive health education. The teaching experience of teachers ranged from one to six years. Pupils were aged between 10 to 19 years while parents had to have a child learning sexual and reproductive health at school to participate. Thematic analysis revealed several barriers to delivering sexual and reproductive health education: over-emphasis on abstinence, an unconducive learning environment, existence of sexual practices linked to becoming of age rites, peer pressure, lack of sexual and reproductive health reinforcement by parents, and inadequate training for teachers. Policymakers and curriculum developers/implementers should create an approach which is inclusive of all stakeholders and able to provide young people with comprehensive sexuality education that is rights based and effective. © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Mobile phones, gender, and female empowerment in sub-Saharan Africa: studies with African youth
By Porter G.
Data from qualitative and survey research with young people in 24 locations (urban and rural) across Ghana, Malawi, and South Africa expose the complex interplay between phone ownership and usage, female empowerment, and chronic poverty in Africa. We consider gendered patterns of phone ownership and use before examining practices of use in educational settings, in business and in romantic and sexual relationships. While some reshaping of everyday routines is evident, in the specific context of female empowerment we find little support within our sites for the concept of the mobile phone as an instrument of positive transformative change. The phone's application in romantic and sexual relationships demonstrates particularly strongly the way phones are complicit in constraining women's empowerment and points to potential wider repercussions, including for educational and entrepreneurship trajectories. Women's agency is still mired within wider structures of patriarchy and chronic poverty: existing inequalities are being re-inscribed and reinforced. © 2019, © 2019 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
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