IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0263958.html

Women empowerment and sexually transmitted infections: Evidence from Bangladesh demographic and health survey 2014

Author

Listed:
  • Md Abdullah Al Jubayer Biswas
  • Mohammad Abdullah Kafi
  • Muhammad Manwar Morshed Hemel
  • Mondar Maruf Moin Ahmed
  • Sharful Islam Khan

Abstract

Background: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among women have led to substantial public health and economic burdens in several low-middle-income countries. However, there is a paucity of scientific knowledge about the relationship between empowerment and symptoms of STIs among married Bangladeshi women. This article aimed to examine the association between women empowerment and symptoms of STIs among currently married Bangladeshi women of reproductive age. Materials and methods: We extracted data from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS), conducted from June 28, 2014, to November 9, 2014. We utilised cross-tabulation, the conceptual framework and multivariable multilevel mixed-effect logistics regression to explore the association between women’s empowerment indicators and women’s self-reported symptoms of genital sore and abnormal genital discharge. All of the analysis was adjusted using cluster weight. Results: We found that among 16,858 currently married women, 5.59% and 10.84% experienced genital sores and abnormal genital discharge during the past 12 months, respectively. Women who depended on husbands to make decisions regarding their health care (AOR = 0.75, 95% CI = 0.67–0.84), significant household purchases (AOR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.71–0.88), and visiting family or relatives (AOR = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.64–0.80) were less likely to report signs of abnormal genital discharge. Women who could make joint healthcare decisions with their husbands were also less likely to report genital sores (AOR = 0.78, 95% CI = 0.67–0.90). Conclusion: Genital sores and abnormal genital discharge were prevalent across all parameters of women empowerment among currently married women in Bangladesh. Our estimates show that the husband plays a significant role in decision-making about sexual and reproductive health. Efforts need to be invested in establishing culturally relevant gender policies which facilitate the involvement of women in joint decision-making.

Suggested Citation

  • Md Abdullah Al Jubayer Biswas & Mohammad Abdullah Kafi & Muhammad Manwar Morshed Hemel & Mondar Maruf Moin Ahmed & Sharful Islam Khan, 2022. "Women empowerment and sexually transmitted infections: Evidence from Bangladesh demographic and health survey 2014," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(2), pages 1-17, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0263958
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0263958
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0263958
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0263958&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0263958?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Naila Kabeer, 1997. "Women, Wages and Intra‐household Power Relations in Urban Bangladesh," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 28(2), pages 261-302, April.
    2. Shelah Bloom & David Wypij & Monica Gupta, 2001. "Dimensions of women’s autonomy and the influence on maternal health care utilization in a north indian city," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 38(1), pages 67-78, February.
    3. Mumtaz, Zubia & Salway, Sarah, 2009. "Understanding gendered influences on women's reproductive health in Pakistan: Moving beyond the autonomy paradigm," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(7), pages 1349-1356, April.
    4. Heath, Rachel & Mushfiq Mobarak, A., 2015. "Manufacturing growth and the lives of Bangladeshi women," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 1-15.
    5. Story, William T. & Burgard, Sarah A., 2012. "Couples’ reports of household decision-making and the utilization of maternal health services in Bangladesh," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(12), pages 2403-2411.
    6. Alam, Nazmul & Streatfield, Peter Kim & Khan, Sharful Islam & Momtaz, Dalia & Kristensen, Sibylle & Vermund, Sten H., 2010. "Factors associated with partner referral among patients with sexually transmitted infections in Bangladesh," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(11), pages 1921-1926, December.
    7. Pitt, Mark M & Khandker, Shahidur R & Cartwright, Jennifer, 2006. "Empowering Women with Micro Finance: Evidence from Bangladesh," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 54(4), pages 791-831, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Robin A. Richardson, 2018. "Measuring Women’s Empowerment: A Critical Review of Current Practices and Recommendations for Researchers," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 137(2), pages 539-557, June.
    2. World Bank, 2011. "Empowering Women through BISP," World Bank Publications - Reports 27367, The World Bank Group.
    3. Fernandez, Antonia & Kambhampati, Uma S., 2017. "Shared agency: The dominant spouse’s impact on education expenditure," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 182-197.
    4. Pratley, Pierre, 2016. "Associations between quantitative measures of women's empowerment and access to care and health status for mothers and their children: A systematic review of evidence from the developing world," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 119-131.
    5. Thapa, Deependra Kaji & Niehof, Anke, 2013. "Women's autonomy and husbands' involvement in maternal health care in Nepal," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 1-10.
    6. Mumtaz, Zubia & Salway, Sarah, 2009. "Understanding gendered influences on women's reproductive health in Pakistan: Moving beyond the autonomy paradigm," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(7), pages 1349-1356, April.
    7. Suresh Govindapuram & Samyukta Bhupatiraju & Rahul A. Sirohi, 2023. "Determinants of women's financial inclusion: Evidence from India," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 94(1), pages 131-158, March.
    8. Yasmin, Nazia & Grundmann, Philipp, 2020. "Home-cooked energy transitions: Women empowerment and biogas-based cooking technology in Pakistan," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    9. Lee-Rife, Susan M., 2010. "Women's empowerment and reproductive experiences over the lifecourse," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(3), pages 634-642, August.
    10. Thiagu Ranganathan & Avina Mendonca, 2023. "Does being Educated more than the Spouse give Women Higher Autonomy? Findings from India," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 66(3), pages 833-853, September.
    11. Nyarko, Samuel Anokye, 2022. "Gender discrimination and lending to women: The moderating effect of an international founder," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(4).
    12. Amit Kumar Biswas & Taufiq-E-Ahmed Shovo & Moutithi Aich & Sykat Mondal, 2017. "Women’s Autonomy and Control to Exercise Reproductive Rights: A Sociological Study from Rural Bangladesh," SAGE Open, , vol. 7(2), pages 21582440177, June.
    13. Arohi Anand & Animesh Karn & Avirup Mukherjee & Naboshree Bhattacharya, 2025. "Does earning money empower women? Evidence from India," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-17, December.
    14. Maria Porter, 2016. "Effects of microcredit and other loans on female empowerment in Bangladesh: the borrower's gender influences intra-household resource allocation," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 47(2), pages 235-245, March.
    15. Mahmud Minhaj & Otsuka Keijiro & Sawada Yasuyuki & Tanaka Mari & Tanaka Tomomi, 2017. "Women Empowerment in Bangladesh: Household Decisions under Development of Non-Farm Sectors and Microfinance Institutions," Working Papers 154, JICA Research Institute.
    16. Kathryn M. Yount & Kristin E. VanderEnde & Sylvie Dodell & Yuk Fai Cheong, 2016. "Measurement of Women’s Agency in Egypt: A National Validation Study," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 128(3), pages 1171-1192, September.
    17. Naved, Ruchira & Rahman, Tabassum & Willan, Samantha & Jewkes, Rachel & Gibbs, Andrew, 2018. "Female garment workers’ experiences of violence in their homes and workplaces in Bangladesh: A qualitative study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 150-157.
    18. Annan, Jeannie & Donald, Aletheia & Goldstein, Markus & Gonzalez Martinez, Paula & Koolwal, Gayatri, 2021. "Taking power: Women’s empowerment and household Well-being in Sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    19. Siddiqui, Shayzal & Smith-Morris, Carolyn, 2022. "Professional competition amidst intractable maternal mortality: Midwifery in rural Pakistan during the COVID-19 pandemic," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 313(C).
    20. Molina, Teresa & Usui, Emiko, 2022. "Female Labor Market Opportunities and Gender Gaps in Aspirations," IZA Discussion Papers 15453, IZA Network @ LISER.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0263958. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.