Reproductive rights of women in Muslim-Christian marriages in Zamboanga City

• Main Author: Maravillas, Pemenorejoan D.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2001
• Subjects: Women's rights; Married women; Intermarriage; Women > Legal status, laws, etc.
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/6761
• Institution: De La Salle University

This exploratory study aims to know the perceived and experienced women's reproductive rights on sexual relations, number and spacing of children, and childcare. Sources of information on the selected aspects, the perceived involvement of the spouses, and problems were also gathered as well as their respective resolutions. The study interviewed two groups of women in Muslim-Christian marriages. The ages of the first group ranged from 25-35 years old and the second were 36-45 years old. Eight were chosen for each group. Most were college graduates and were gainfully employed. For each age group, there was one Protestant before the marriage, while the rest were Roman Catholics. Findings showed that the women in Muslim-Christian marriages in Zamboanga City were able to initiate and refuse lovemaking in their marriages. Decision-making on the number and spacing of children was joint for the younger women, while the older women made the decisions. Decision-making on childcare were joint except for religion where the husband decided. The sources of information were health personnel, hearsays/observations, IEC and past lessons at school. The perceived behavior of the spouses was positive in female sexual initiation, number and spacing of children, and childcare. Only a few had problems on the selected aspects of reproductive rights. In most cases, discussion took place between spouses to resolve the issues.