Girls under Surveillance: Engaging Zimbabwean Parents on Young People's Sexual Health

Autor/inn/en	Bhana, Deevia; Matswetu, Vimbai
Titel	Girls under Surveillance: Engaging Zimbabwean Parents on Young People's Sexual Health
Quelle	In: Health Education Journal, 82 (2023) 6, S.623-635 (13 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Bhana, Deevia)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0017-8969
DOI	10.1177/00178969231176786
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Rural Population; Parent Attitudes; Health Behavior; Sexuality; Secondary School Students; Females; Rural Areas; Puberty; Cultural Influences; African Culture; Marriage; Expectation; Gender Differences; Zimbabwe + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Landbevölkerung; Elternverhalten; Health behaviour; Gesundheitsverhalten; Sexualität; Sekundarschüler; Weibliches Geschlecht; Rural area; Ländlicher Raum; Pubertät; Cultural influence; Kultureinfluss; Africa; Culture; Afrika; Kultur; Ehe; Expectancy; Erwartung; Geschlechterkonflikt; Simbabwe
Abstract	Background: Parents play an important role in shaping young people's sexual lives and behaviours with implications for their current and future sexual and reproductive health. This study examined the perspectives of rural Zimbabwean parents on young people's sexual health. Design: Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with 19 (6 men and 13 women) participants. Setting: Interviews were conducted in a rural district in Zimbabwe. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with Community Field Officers who were the parents or caregivers of teenage learners in two rural secondary schools. Transcripts were coded and thematic analysis conducted by reading, re-reading, interpretation and reflection on the coded texts. Results: Parents approached the question of young people's sexual health by placing young women's sexuality under surveillance and regulation. Puberty and female bodily changes triggered concern about heterosexual relationships informed by protectionist and moralising discourses. Abstinence and self-control were promoted as expectations for female sexuality based on cultural norms concerning purity and female virginity. Female sexual purity provided a claim to status, was differentiated from other forms of femininity and was an important cultural and economic resource. In a context of economic precarity, the institutions of marriage and bride wealth, whereby female virginity status is valued, provide opportunities for future economic security and reinforce cultural norms concerning respectability. Conclusion: Working with parents to address the ways in which gender and cultural norms operate within the local social and economic context is vital to understand the enduring processes by which young female sexuality is placed under surveillance while reinforcing gender inequalities. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01