Socio-Cultural Constraints affecting Women’s Reproductive Health Rights and Decision-Making: Evidence from District Layyah, Punjab Pakistan

Abstract

Reproductive health rights are crucial towards enhancing gender equality and sustainable development However, in most developing societies; these rights remain restricted due to strong cultural beliefs and limited access to education. This paper explores the role of socio-cultural constraints and level of education on the reproductive health choices of women in District Layyah, Punjab, Pakistan. A quantitative cross-sectional study design wasselected. A total of 390 married women aged between 18 and 45 years old wereselected as the sample and data were collected thougha structured questionnaire based onKnowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP)model. Descriptive statistics including percentages, frequencies, inferential statistics, chi-square tests, Pearson correlation, and logistic regression were used in the analysis. The findings indicate that a significant percentage of the responded(68.7%) were awareness of reproductive health problems;lessthan half (46.7%) respondents reported using family planning methods showed a clear gap between knowledge and practice. Women were found to have limited autonomy when it came to making reproductive health decisions due tosocio-cultural factors especially family pressure (72.1%) and religious perceptions (56.1%) (p< 0.05). Moreover, education was positively and statistically significantly related to better reproductive health practices (r = 0.428, p < 0.01)Overall, the results indicate thatalthough the women are awareness of reproductive health issuesbut they are still limited in their capacity to take action on this knowledge due to patriarchal systems, economic dependence and the socialnorms. The research highlights thateducation can improvethe understanding and attitudes, but it is only effective when socio-cultural barriers are also addressed, therefore, integrated and context-specific interventions are important.