Gendering reproduction and fertility control in Ethiopia

The conference "Regional and Global Ethiopia – Interconnections and Identities" takes place at Mekelle University, Tigray, Ethiopia on 1-5 October 2018. Panel 1101 is convened by Dr Mulumebet Zenebe, Addis Ababa University and Dr Thera Mjaaland, University of Bergen, both researchers of the SAFEZT project.

For online submission of abstracts by 10 December 2017 go to: http://www.ices20-mu.org/abstract.html 

Visit the conference web-site on: http://www.ices20-mu.org/index.html

Panel 1101: "Gendering reproduction and fertility control in Ethiopia"
Ethiopia has implemented progressive policies on sexual and reproductive health with expanded access to contraceptives and liberalised indications for safe abortion services. But how are these new policies negotiated in practice? How does the availability of family planning and safe abortion services impact on socio-cultural and/or religious perceptions of female and male sexuality and gendered aspects of reproduction? This panel addresses the competing moralities underlying grassroots ideas, religious norms and policy discourses on sexuality, reproduction and fertility control from a gender perspective. 

Theoretically, the focus of this panel is situated at the intersection of perspectives  emphasising how gender shapes reproduction in different contexts (e.g. Greenhalgh), and perspectives indicating that it is (hetero)sexuality itself that shapes gender roles and relations (e.g. Pereira 2009; Miriam 2007). In this panel we are therefore particularly concerned about how gendered dimensions of power and inequality are encoded in local ideas surrounding sexuality and reproduction, with a specific focus on fertility control.

We are interested in papers which address the knowledges and competing moralities that adolescent girls and women draw on to negotiate, strategize and/or cope with challenges related to their sexuality, including fertility control and abortion. We are also asking for papers that address how adolescent boys and men see their role in reproduction and their responsibility in sexual relations from the point of view of hegemonic as well as alternative notions of masculinity.

Students and senior researchers within the SAFEZT consortium can apply for travel support.