2. How to nuance and enrich what we learn from communities

How we learned about gender dynamics…

When we first began to explore youth and religious leaders’ perspectives on and knowledge of reproductive health practices, one thing that became clear very early was the strong role of gender norms in these communities. In most cases, prevailing social norms position men as the primary decision-makers in their households, even over issues of women’s health.

But that doesn’t mean that women don’t form their own opinion on the matter. If the final say is the husband’s, the wives generally are aware of each contraceptive method, where to access them, and have opinions on preferred methods. That’s mostly because women talk to women. Women meet in the fields, at the health center, or during marriage and baptism ceremonies. They discuss their reproductive health choices, and trust one another’s experiences. That’s why, when a young father was having trouble persuading his wife to wait between pregnancies, he asked the women among his family and neighbors to talk to her and help change her mind. When asked why, he said: “Ciwon mace na mace ne” (“The hurt of women, is for women”), because only women understand the unique challenges they face, and can convince other women of the hurt — in this case, the health complications related to closely spaced pregnancies — they may face. So who better to persuade his wife if not other women?

How we found out about money and polygamy…

Polygamy, or the practice of taking multiple wives, is widely acceptable for men in Niger who are of the Islamic faith, which allows husbands to marry more than one woman, but requires that each wife is treated equally, including equal financial protection. In a region where the domestic economy revolves around agricultural production that is threatened by persistent droughts, men who have to provide for larger families are becoming increasingly attuned to the financial implications of their decisions. It is no surprise then that some of the younger men with whom we met were actively trying to enhance awareness about the burden of polygamy to their peers: “Jiki ma gayi” (“The one who feels, knows”), because when men marry once, they know how expensive it can be and don’t want to remarry as a consequence.

How we uncovered the importance of balance…

Similarly, when asked about their desired family size, we noticed that young people are gradually reducing their target family size as compared to preceding generations. Youth appreciate the importance of birth spacing and can cite the positive effects it has on maternal and infant health and quality of life. But it is the financial argument that seems to resonate most strongly, especially the cost implications of having and raising more children.

As we heard more than once: “Dede ruwa dede tsaki” (“Just the right amount of water for the right amount of flour”), because increasingly, more young families in Zinder recognize the importance of family planning to balance the number of desired children with the means of the parents.

This last proverb lent linguistic and cultural legitimacy to one of our most important design research findings — that expenses could be a powerful motivating argument. The phrase itself resonated strongly when incorporated into early prototypes and ultimately became the name of one of the programs that we recommended for pilot implementation. That program seeks to foster an understanding of household expenses and the importance of only having as many children as is economically feasible. Ultimately, this promotes family well-being and enhances young people’s confidence in their ability to make sound decisions about their finances and (closely related) reproductive health.