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Generally speaking, Zambian women experience vastly different lives, depending on their economic and social status, whether they live in rural or urban areas, and the agency that they are granted in their families and communities. Women who are more wealthy, educated, urbanized, and independent tend to have greater access to family planning options, particularly if they live in bigger cities like Lusaka or Kitwe, and may be able afford higher quality care at private clinics and hospitals.<ref>[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5363807/ Why don’t urban youth in Zambia use condoms? The influence of gender and marriage on non-use of male condoms among young adults]</ref> However, this is not the case for most women in Zambia, where 64% of people live in poverty (and, in rural areas, 80% of people live in poverty).<ref>[https://www.unicef.org/zambia/children_5157.html UNICEF Zambia - Poverty]</ref> The lack of educational, economic, and social opportunities hit women particularly hard. In 2015, it was estimated that women had a 56% literacy rate (compared to 70.9% literacy rate for men).<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/za.html CIA World Factbook 2017]</ref> Patriarchal social structures and norms also grant many women limited agency over their property, land, sex lives, and contraceptive decisions. As a result, women may not seek out contraception because their husbands or communities do not approve.<ref>[https://www.genderindex.org/country/zambia/ Gender Index - Zambia]</ref> <ref>[https://www.daily-mail.co.zm/family-planning-the-grim-reality-in-rural-areas/ Family planning: The grim reality in rural areas]</ref> This issue is compounded by the fact that there are widespread stigmas around contraceptives. For example, surveys in 2009 showed that two-thirds of young adults in Zambia believed that condoms promoted promiscuity.<ref>[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5363807/ Why don’t urban youth in Zambia use condoms? The influence of gender and marriage on non-use of male condoms among young adults]</ref> You can read an article from the Lusaka Times, which tried to dispel many of the myths surrounding condoms, [https://www.lusakatimes.com/2016/12/05/facts-about-condoms/ here]. | Generally speaking, Zambian women experience vastly different lives, depending on their economic and social status, whether they live in rural or urban areas, and the agency that they are granted in their families and communities. Women who are more wealthy, educated, urbanized, and independent tend to have greater access to family planning options, particularly if they live in bigger cities like Lusaka or Kitwe, and may be able afford higher quality care at private clinics and hospitals.<ref>[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5363807/ Why don’t urban youth in Zambia use condoms? The influence of gender and marriage on non-use of male condoms among young adults]</ref> However, this is not the case for most women in Zambia, where 64% of people live in poverty (and, in rural areas, 80% of people live in poverty).<ref>[https://www.unicef.org/zambia/children_5157.html UNICEF Zambia - Poverty]</ref> The lack of educational, economic, and social opportunities hit women particularly hard. In 2015, it was estimated that women had a 56% literacy rate (compared to 70.9% literacy rate for men).<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/za.html CIA World Factbook 2017]</ref> Patriarchal social structures and norms also grant many women limited agency over their property, land, sex lives, and contraceptive decisions. As a result, women may not seek out contraception because their husbands or communities do not approve.<ref>[https://www.genderindex.org/country/zambia/ Gender Index - Zambia]</ref> <ref>[https://www.daily-mail.co.zm/family-planning-the-grim-reality-in-rural-areas/ Family planning: The grim reality in rural areas]</ref> This issue is compounded by the fact that there are widespread stigmas around contraceptives. For example, surveys in 2009 showed that two-thirds of young adults in Zambia believed that condoms promoted promiscuity.<ref>[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5363807/ Why don’t urban youth in Zambia use condoms? The influence of gender and marriage on non-use of male condoms among young adults]</ref> You can read an article from the Lusaka Times, which tried to dispel many of the myths surrounding condoms, [https://www.lusakatimes.com/2016/12/05/facts-about-condoms/ here]. | ||
While Zambia has a large urban population (43.5% of total population in 2018), there are still many women who live in remote and rural areas. For these women, it is particularly difficult to access family planning services. They may need to travel long distances, often by foot, to access family planning services from Community Based Distributors (CBDs). The CBDs typically have condoms available, but as of 2016, they were not trained or authorized to offer longer-lasting contraceptive methods, such as IUDs or implants.<ref>[https://www.ippf.org/blogs/overcoming-family-planning-challenges-zambia Overcoming family planning challenges in Zambia]</ref> Rural women typically tend to marry young and give birth early, as children are seen as a sign of prestige.<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/za.html CIA World Factbook7]</ref> | While Zambia has a large urban population (43.5% of total population in 2018), there are still many women who live in remote and rural areas. For these women, it is particularly difficult to access family planning services. They may need to travel long distances, often by foot, to access family planning services from Community Based Distributors (CBDs). The CBDs typically have condoms available, but as of 2016, they were not trained or authorized to offer longer-lasting contraceptive methods, such as IUDs or implants.<ref>[https://www.ippf.org/blogs/overcoming-family-planning-challenges-zambia Overcoming family planning challenges in Zambia]</ref> Rural women typically tend to marry young and give birth early, as children are seen as a sign of prestige.<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/za.html CIA World Factbook7]</ref> | ||
===What to Get & Where to Get It=== | ===What to Get & Where to Get It=== | ||