Abstract
When they do not meet norms related to sexuality and reproduction, Bangladeshi women often face abandonment and are thus deprived of an active sexual life, a marital relationship, and motherhood. Little is known about how a stigmatised disease such as tuberculosis (TB) may constrain the reproductive health and sexual lives of women. This article, derived from a larger study on the impact of TB on women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights in Narsingdi district and Dhaka, Bangladesh, aims to fill this gap. Based on interviews with nine married women who have or had TB, four husbands, and two mothers-in-law, this article highlights that the ways in which TB impedes on the sexual and reproductive lives of women depends on the stigma within their family and community, their relationships with their husbands, motherhood, their living arrangements, their economic contribution to the family and/or their disclosure of their TB diagnosis. Women with children and supportive husbands retain a stronger position among their in-laws and are less likely to be isolated or rejected. The patients’ narratives revealed that the instructions of health workers influenced their decisions about intercourse or abstinence. Future studies should examine the instructions patients receive from health workers regarding their living and sleeping arrangements, sexual intercourse, and pregnancy, as well as policy documents on TB treatment and prevention.
Highlights
The findings of the current study suggest that the effects of TB go beyond its medical impacts
The current study found that some husbands have intercourse with wives who have TB
This is contrary to the findings of a past Bangladeshi study, which reported that husbands refuse to have intercourse with their wives following a TB diagnosis [34]
Summary
Study areaThis study took place in two districts in Bangladesh, Narsingdi and Dhaka. Narsingdi is situated north-east of Dhaka, the capital. In Dhaka, the country’s capital which is home to 14.4 million people, the data collection took place in the slums of Mirpur. In these slums, at least 140 000 people live in poorly ventilated, overcrowded shacks, mostly made of tin, which are surrounded by tiny, congested alleyways and clogged drains. The respondents in Narsingdi Sadar and Monohardi mostly live in extended families, whereas in Mirpur they live mostly as nuclear families in single rooms In both regions, stoves and latrines are usually shared by more than one household. The study areas were selected because the living conditions in these environments are risk factors for TB infection [40] They are, focal points for official and NGO TB programmes
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