PROFILE OF RAWUHDA AHMED
A LOCAL YOUTH WORKING TO IMPROVE THE LIVES OF MARRIEDADOLESCENT GIRLS AND COUPLES IN AFAR.
My name is Rawuhda Ahmed, and I was born in Semera, Afar. I grew up with ten siblings, as well as my mother and stepfather. My stepfather has four wives, which is common in my community. My mother values education and has always encouraged me to pursue it despite growing up in a patriarchal and religious family. My mother is my sole cheerleader always encouraging me to concentrate on my studies and take extra classes. I recently graduated from 12th grade after passing the national examination. I also enrolled in a three-year learning management course and will graduate in a month. Even when I received a job offer after graduating from high school, my mother insisted that I finish my undergraduate studies first.
As a Population Service International Ethiopia (PSI-E) Young Innovations Champion (YIC), I am honored to serve married adolescent girls and couples in Afar. At first, given my religious upbringing and lack of in-depth understanding of Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH), I did not agree that any women, including married women, should use FP (Family Planning). However, with proper training and first-hand experience, I have discovered that there are numerous health and financial benefits to using FP.
Since I live in the community and share the same language, religion, cultural beliefs, and values as the people I serve, it has been easier for me to build understanding and trust and successfully communicate the value of FP.
However, challenges remain because our culture promotes child marriage and childbearing. Most girls in Afar get married when they are young (under the age of 18) and have little to no knowledge of SRH and FP. Furthermore, married adolescent girls and their husbands do not have the appropriate knowledge and are discouraged from openly discussing SRH and FP. The solution I have been working on with PSI involves Health Extension Workers (HEWs), Ullatinas (Traditional Birth Assistants), religious leaders, kebele leaders, and clan leaders. We teach them how contraception can be an asset to pastoralist communities, both for health and economic reasons. Ullatinas and gatekeepers work together to mobilize young couples to attend the Family Circle session — the solution we coined and prototyped for couples attending sessions together. There, they learn about the health and economic benefits of modern contraception using a visual guide. They also receive in-depth FP information and have the chance to adopt a method on the spot. The Family Circle evolved through the different stages of prototype testing from 2021–2022. Over the course of the desirability test to pilot, the average FP adoption rate for Afar was 38 percent.
Although there are some trials that we faced while working in the community, there are also some inspirational stories that I have come across. One, is the story of a 15-year-old girl who recently married an 80-year-old man. Even though her husband wanted her to have a child, she did not want to and was scared. Fortunately, they were able to attend a family circle session counselling which explained the health risks of teenage pregnancy (such as miscarriage, anemia, and premature birth) and how FP can preserve the health of the mother and the financial stability of the whole family. After the meeting, the young girl›s husband agreed to support adoption of a FP method.
Working in the community to educate parents, husbands, and religious leaders creates agency for women to make decision about their health and FP. Now that I have seen the experiences of some of the young married adolescent girls I serve, I feel fortunate to have education and working with PSI-E to assist many in my community gain access to Sexual Reproductive Health knowledge and service.
PSI has recruited field staff and is currently preparing to operationalize Family Circle (the solution coined for the community), in Afar and Somali. Expected deliverable in 2022: adaptive implementation of FC in 3 Woredas of Afar and 4 Woredas of Somali with blanket coverage to reach 2,771 married adolescent girls.
