School of Public Health, University of Alberta, 3-309 Edmonton Clinic Health Academy, 11405-87 Ave, Edmonton AB T6G 1C9, Canada.
Reprod Health. 2013 Jan 15;10:3. doi: 10.1186/1742-4755-10-3.
While infertility is a global challenge for millions of couples, low income countries have particularly high rates, of up to 30%. Infertility in these contexts is not limited to its clinical definition but is a socially constructed notion with varying definitions. In highly pronatalistic and patriarchal societies like Pakistan, women bear the brunt of the social, emotional and physical consequences of childlessness. While the often harsh consequences of childlessness for Pakistani women have been widely documented, there is a dearth of exploration into the ways in which prescribed gender roles inform the experiences of childlessness among Pakistani women and men. The aim of this study was to explore and compare how gender ideologies, values and expectations shape women's and men's experiences of infertility in Pakistan. Using an interpretive descriptive approach, in-depth interviews were conducted with 12 women and 8 men experiencing childlessness in Punjab, Pakistan from April to May 2008. Data analysis was thematic and inductive based on the principles of content analysis. The experience of infertility for men and women is largely determined by their prescribed gender roles. Childlessness weakened marital bonds with gendered consequences. For women, motherhood is not only a source of status and power, it is the only avenue for women to ensure their marital security. Weak marital ties did not affect men's social identity, security or power. Women also face harsher psychosocial, social, emotional and physical consequences of childlessness than men. They experienced abuse, exclusion and stigmatization at the couple, household and societal level, while men only experienced minor taunting from friends. Women unceasingly sought invasive infertility treatments, while most men assumed there was nothing wrong with themselves. This study highlights the ways in which gender roles and norms shape the experiences associated with involuntary childlessness for men and women in Punjab, Pakistan. The insight obtained into the range of experiences can potentially contribute to deeper understanding of the social construction of infertility and childlessness in pronatalistic and patriarchal societies as well as the ways in which gender ideologies operationalise to marginalise women.
虽然不孕不育是困扰全球数以百万对夫妇的全球性难题，但低收入国家的不孕不育率尤其高，高达 30%。在这些情况下，不孕不育并不仅限于其临床定义，而是一个具有不同定义的社会构建概念。在像巴基斯坦这样高度重视生育和男权的社会中，女性承受着无法生育带来的社会、情感和身体上的后果。虽然经常有文献广泛记录了无法生育对巴基斯坦女性的残酷后果，但对于规定的性别角色如何影响巴基斯坦女性和男性的不孕不育经历，却鲜有探索。本研究旨在探讨和比较性别意识形态、价值观和期望如何塑造巴基斯坦女性和男性的不孕不育经历。我们采用解释性描述方法，于 2008 年 4 月至 5 月在巴基斯坦旁遮普省对 12 名经历不孕不育的女性和 8 名经历不孕不育的男性进行了深入访谈。数据分析是基于内容分析原则的主题和归纳式的。男性和女性的不孕不育经历在很大程度上取决于他们规定的性别角色。无法生育削弱了婚姻关系，带来了性别化的后果。对于女性来说，母亲身份不仅是地位和权力的源泉，也是女性确保婚姻安全的唯一途径。婚姻关系的破裂并没有影响到男性的社会认同、安全或权力。与男性相比，女性还面临着更严峻的心理社会、社会、情感和身体上的不孕不育后果。她们在夫妻、家庭和社会层面上遭受虐待、排斥和污名化，而男性只是受到朋友的轻微嘲笑。女性不断寻求侵入性的不孕治疗，而大多数男性则认为自己没有问题。本研究强调了性别角色和规范如何塑造巴基斯坦旁遮普省与不孕不育相关的经历，为深入理解重视生育和男权社会中不孕不育和无法生育的社会建构以及性别意识形态如何运作以边缘化女性提供了依据。
