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WOMEN activists have called for behaviour and attitude change among Zimbabwean men in order to promote the use of the female condom. Last week, the Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council revealed that in every 40 male condoms used, only one femidom was used.
ZNFPC marketing and communications manager Simon Chikwizo attributed the low uptake of the femidom to poor marketing.
Former Deputy Minister of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development, Jessie Majome, said gender stereotype was the main reason why femidom was still being shunned by women.
“Femidom will not be accepted for as long as men are believed to be in total control of everything. Most of the women are not even in control of their bodies,” Majome said.
She said the femidom distribution needed to be accompanied by advocacy campaigns that seek to change attitudes of people, especially men.
Majome said women lack confidence and power when it comes to femidom use.
“Most women don’t have the courage to use femidom because a few men respect it. The only woman who can use it is the one who has a partner who understands and respects women and the femidom,” she said.
Majome said condom usage evolved around power relations and attitudes mostly.
Bulawayo Provincial Officer in the Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development, Vaidah Mashangwa, challenged condom distributors to improve femidom marketing skills so that women are aware of the femidom.
“Most women don’t know how to use the femidom and as a result they cannot even buy it. It is high time distributors widely advertised the femidom so that females appreciate its existence and usage,” Mashangwa said.
She said there was a myth among women that the femidom was not user friendly as it is perceived to be too big.
“The truth is that the femidom has got a wide opening which serves a purpose. As soon as it is inserted it takes the shape of the female organ,” she said.
Mashangwa said there was need for people to be educated on the use of the femidom.
When Chronicle visited a number of pharmacies and supermarkets in the city centre, the femidom was not displayed on the shelves.
Several pharmacy assistants said women were more interested in taking the “morning-after” pill as opposed to using the femidom.
Last week Chikwizo dismissed the myths that the femidom was meant for sex workers.
He also dismissed as untrue that the femidom was big and not user friendly especially when being inserted.
Chikwizo said the myths and beliefs were all baseless but unfortunately affected the universal acceptance and usage of the femidom.
Online Reporter