Pads and Punchlines: Humour as an Awareness Tool to Address Teenage Pregnancy
摘要
Early marriage and teenage pregnancy have emerged as public health problems in India, along with other South Asian countries. According to the Fifth National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5, 2019–21), 6.8% of the females aged 15–19 years were already mothers or pregnant, indicating only a 1% reduction of that fell from 7.9% reported by the previous NFHS-4 (2015–17) survey. Early marriage and teenage pregnancy have adverse health consequences for both young women and their children. Socio-economic factors such as poverty, lack of education, and limited economic opportunities play a significant role in the occurrence of teenage pregnancy and early marriage in this region. Cultural norms and traditional practices that prioritise early marriage for girls and limit their decision-making power also contribute to the high rates of teenage pregnancy. Additionally, gender inequalities and patriarchal norms perpetuate the problem, as girls often lack the agency to negotiate safe sexual practices or ensure their reproductive health rights. Further, lack of access to sexual and reproductive health education and services is a major contributing factor to teenage pregnancies. In this paper, we discuss the design process and interventions to address reproductive health awareness among teenage females and understand the complexity of this problem. In the primary research, we conducted ethnography through onsite interviews with multiple stakeholders and mapped the complexly interconnected problem in a colony in Visakhapatnam. We propose “Design with Humour” to impart awareness among teenage girls.