Muslim women’s marriage, pregnancy, abortion and spacing of children: Evidence from the United States, Iran and Malaysia

Raja Ariffin, Raja Noriza and Abdul Talib @ Abdul Mutalib, Muzalwana and Mohd Satar, Nurulhuda and Hanafi, Hanira and Othman, Azmah and Tumin, Makmor and Zahari, Rustam Khairi (2017) Muslim women’s marriage, pregnancy, abortion and spacing of children: Evidence from the United States, Iran and Malaysia. Journal of Health Management, 19 (4). pp. 1-9. ISSN 0972-0634 E-ISSN 0973-0729

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Abstract

Background: This study investigates the decisions on marriage, pregnancy, abortion and spacing of children among Muslim women (MW) residing in the United States, Iran and Malaysia to explore the occurrences as well as socio-demographic characteristics associated with the likelihood of making an independent decision regarding sexual and reproductive health rights. Methods: A total of 1140 MW in Washington, D.C. (the United States), Tehran (Iran) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) participated in this study, and the number of respondents were equally distributed across the three cities. To examine the occurrences of sexual and reproductive rights violation, we report the descriptive statistics from the responses given by MW in these cities. Results: On the decision to solemnize marriage, 84.5 per cent of MW in Malaysia reported that the marriage decision is made jointly with their husbands, but this figure stands at only 30 per cent in Iran and 47.9 per cent in the United States. More than 80 per cent and 72 per cent of MW in Malaysia and Iran, respectively, make decisions on pregnancy, abortion and spacing of children jointly with their husbands. Conclusions: Policymakers should promote jointly made (made by wife and husband together) decisions among Muslims, which accords with Islamic teachings and is considered as good practice among Muslims.

Item Type:	Article (Journal)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Abortion, marriage, Muslim women, sexual and reproductive rights, spacing of children, pregnancy
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman
Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button):	Kulliyyah of Architecture and Environmental Design > Department of Urban & Regional Planning
Depositing User:	Rustam Khairi Zahari
Date Deposited:	27 Feb 2019 12:28
Last Modified:	17 Aug 2019 10:25
URI:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/60565

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