Dakar, Senegal
AP
—
On a current night in Senegal‘s capital of Dakar, an imam named Ibrahima Diane defined to a gaggle of males why they need to be extra concerned in family chores.
“The Prophet himself says a man who does not help support his wife and children is not a good Muslim,” the 53-year-old mentioned, as he described bathing his child and serving to his spouse with different duties.
Some of the 14 males chuckled, not fairly offered. Others applauded.
Diane was collaborating in a “school for husbands,” a United Nations-backed initiative the place revered male neighborhood members find out about “positive masculinity” in well being and social points and promote them of their communities.
In Senegal, as in lots of different West African nations with giant rural or conservative populations, males typically have the ultimate say in main family choices, together with ones associated to well being.
Women might have their permission for life-changing choices on accessing household planning or different reproductive well being companies, together with hospital deliveries or prenatal care.
Following his classes on the college for husbands, Diane usually holds sermons throughout Friday prayers the place he discusses points round gender and reproductive well being, from gender-based violence to combating stigma round HIV.
“Many women appreciate my sermons,” he mentioned. “They say their husbands’ behavior changed since they attended them.” He mentioned some males have advised him the sermons impressed them to turn out to be extra caring husbands and fathers.
Habib Diallo, a 60-year-old former military commando, mentioned attending the sermons and discussions with the imam taught him concerning the dangers of dwelling births.
“When my son’s wife was pregnant, I encouraged him to take her to the hospital for the delivery,” Diallo mentioned. “At first, he was hesitant. He worried about the cost and didn’t trust the hospital. But when I explained how much safer it would be for both his wife and the baby, he agreed.”
The program launched in Senegal in 2011 however in recent times has caught the eye of the Ministry of Women, Family, Gender and Child Protection, which sees it an efficient technique to fight maternal and toddler mortality.
“Without men’s involvement, attitudes around maternal health won’t change,” mentioned 54-year-old Aida Diouf, a feminine well being employee who collaborates with this system. Many husbands desire their wives not be handled by male well being staff, she mentioned.
The courses for husbands observe comparable efforts in different African nations, significantly Niger, Togo, and Burkina Faso, the place the United Nations Population Fund says it improved girls’s entry to reproductive well being companies by growing male involvement, rising the usage of contraceptives by each women and men and increasing entry to prenatal care and expert delivery attendants.
Discussions for males even have targeted on ladies’ rights, equality and the dangerous results of feminine genital mutilation.
The program now operates over 20 colleges in Senegal, and over 300 males have been skilled.
In some communities, males who as soon as enforced patriarchal norms now promote gender equality, which has led to a discount within the variety of compelled marriages and extra acceptance of household planning, in accordance to Senegal’s ministry of gender.
Men be part of the teams after being recruited based mostly on belief, management and dedication. Candidates have to be married, revered regionally and supportive of girls’s well being and rights.
After coaching, the boys act as peer educators, visiting houses and internet hosting casual talks.
“My husband used to not do much around the house, just bark orders. Now he actually cooks and helps out with daily tasks,” mentioned Khary Ndeye, 52.
While maternal and toddler deaths in Senegal have declined over the previous decade, specialists say it nonetheless has a good distance to go. It recorded 237 maternal deaths for each 100,000 reside births in 2023, whereas 21 newborns out of each 1,000 died inside their first month. The U.N. globally needs to cut back maternal deaths to 70 deaths per 100,000 reside births and new child deaths to below 12 per 1,000 by 2030.
One key downside was that many ladies have been giving delivery at dwelling, mentioned El Hadj Malick, one of many Senegal program’s coordinators.
“By educating men about the importance of supporting their wives during pregnancy, taking them to the hospital and helping with domestic work at home, you’re protecting people’s health,” Malick mentioned.
He mentioned he nonetheless experiences issue altering mindsets on some points.
“When we just talk to them about gender, there is sometimes tension because it’s seen as something abstract or even foreign,” Malick mentioned. Some males mistakenly consider such discuss will promote LGBTQ+ points, which stay largely taboo in a lot of West Africa.
“But when we focus on women’s right to be healthy, it puts a human face on the concept and its becomes universal,” Malick mentioned.