"Do women have rights?"

Every once in a while there are moments when you realize that something within someone else, or even yourself, is changing. International development work is rarely defined by big moments. Family planning and reproductive health, in particular, make their impact through the choices of individual people in the developing world. It is not so much a matter of numbers, but of attitudes and behaviors; the work is about people, not statistics. This makes everything more difficult to measure—but in some ways more meaningful as the changes in attitudes and behaviors will continue to take shape and grow long after the last program officer and NGO have migrated to the next country on their list.

Getrude and I traveled again to the Volta Region to attend two more assessment meetings of the peer education component of the Youth Friendly Services program. During one of the meetings, when the youth were sharing their experiences, one peer educator recounted that she had encountered a young woman who wanted family planning, but whose husband did not approve. The peer educator wanted to know what advice to give this young woman. Other peer educators immediately chimed in that they had also encountered this situation in their work throughout the community and had different ideas, advice, and challenges to report.

With much hesitation a hand went up in the front of the room. A man slightly older than the rest of the group, one of the non-traditional condom distributors (NTCD), began to speak. (Other than the peer educators, Pathfinder’s community-based outreach also relies on those who own beauty parlors, tailors and other shops to distribute condoms and sexual health information to patrons who frequent the shop; this man is part of the program in this way.) He spoke in the hypothetical, asking if it was right for a woman to seek contraception without the consent of her husband. Obviously uncomfortable with the previous conversation, he went on to say that he thought it was the husband’s right to refuse his wife’s request to use contraception.

At this point, Getrude, the fearless and remarkable Ghanaian program officer for PI, stepped in to handle his question/comment. Without a beat, she said, “Do women have rights?” She pressed on, “Do you have rights?” Walking him through various scenarios of potential disagreements between a husband and wife about issues large and small, Getrude was allowing him to see things through a new lens. She went on to say again, “Do women have rights?” He responded timidly and without much conviction; he said, “yes.”

It was clear from this exchange that he was not convinced and that he needed further encouragement to fully see the point. But, he was obviously bending his mind to think in a way that he hadn’t previously. He was considering the various scenarios Getrude had enlivened in the context of “rights” for both men and women. (She was, as the peer educators are trained to do, suggesting not advising.) He had the courage to ask a difficult question and the courage to consider a viewpoint that wasn’t his own. I believe he took what Getrude had to say to heart, but I know that he will never view the situation or the idea of the rights of women in the same manner.

The work of the NTCDs and the peer educators is on the frontlines of their community. They don’t have all the answers, nor are they experts in adolescent sexual health, family planning or HIV/AIDS. They are valuable in their connection to their peers and those in the community who are most at risk; they are valuable because of the training they receive and their ability to transform lives through simple communications.

This moment was not just transformative for him; it reaffirmed for me the importance of challenging firmly held beliefs—something the peer educators encounter every day. It is remarkable to take part in the sharing of new ideas. And, it is refreshing to be in a place where an honest question is responded to with an honest answer—negating the condescension and pretense that accompanying far too many discussions in the US.