HRF

USD 23.95

HCF

Summary: An Oxfam Action on Gender Relations in South East Asia (AGRA East) workshop held in the Philippines in November 1993 provided participants with tools for introducing gender analysis into health and development programs. Women's special health needs as related to their biologic role as childbearer, the sexual division of labor that makes women more vulnerable to certain diseases than men, and the neglect by health services of women's health needs all justify a specific focus on women's health. Male control over female sexuality and reproduction, pressure on women to produce a large family, son preference, women's multiple roles and heavy work load, their lack of control over resources, poverty, and their exclusion from decision making underlie and exacerbate common female health problems. For the poor, family planning represents a step forward only when combined with campaigns for equality and self-determination. Addressing gender issues through primary health care implies: acknowledging that the community may be divided on gender, class, race, ethnicity, and caste lines; awareness of how gender roles and class affect women's health needs; using and valuing women's indigenous knowledge and skills in traditional medicine; changing the tendency in health education to "blame the victim"; and involving women in the planning of community health programs. Gender-sensitive health interventions at the grass-roots level by nongovernmental organizations should start from women's own assessment of their needs; build on and enhance women's knowledge and skills; avoid accentuating gender-based discrimination or dependency; and contribute to women's ability to organize as a group, take leadership roles, articulate their demands, and seek macro-level changes in policies and programs and the way these are translated into action at the community level.