In August 2022, the Indonesian government declared its commitment to contribute to FP2030, a global partnership for family planning. In the declaration, until 2030, the Indonesian government is committed to realizing voluntary-based and quality family planning and reproductive health services in accordance with legal provisions.
What does voluntary family planning actually mean? Why is it important for women and the sustainability of the family planning program?
In simple terms, voluntary family planning is related to human rights or rights-based. This means that family planning services should be under human rights principles such as non-discrimination, availability, accessibility, acceptability, quality of information and family planning services, informed decision-making, privacy and confidentiality, participation and accountability.
As an analogy, when a woman has decided to choose a contraceptive method whether natural or modern, it should be in accordance with her choice and health condition. She is entitled to accurate information. During counseling, her privacy should not be shared with others. She should also be welcomed without discrimination when accessing services.
Voluntary family planning is an ideal concept for women to realize their reproductive rights. According to the World Health Organization(WHO), voluntary family planning contributes greatly to women’s empowerment, not only in terms of health, but also in terms of education and economy. In fact, this approach can be the most effective way to create a more sustainable and prosperous society.
In Indonesia, the implementation of rights-based family planning still faces a number of challenges. Cultural values, social norms and the patriarchal system are still obstacles for women to determine their rights in planning their families. In addition, limited access and differences in quality and stigma exacerbate the fulfillment of women’s rights.
In some areas with patriarchal social constructs, the number of children is often determined by the husband and extended family, not by the woman herself. In addition, limiting the number of children by using contraception is seen as violating cultural norms. In some areas, contraception is considered incompatible with religious values. This makes contraceptive use still low, causing family planning to not be maximized.
Even so, we should appreciate the achievements of the family planning program in Indonesia. According to data from BPS, the trend of national family planning use for women aged 15-49 years increased from 2021 to 2023, from 55.06% in 2021 to 55.49% in 2023. The number can mean that the level of awareness in planning family planning is getting better.
In addition, the government has also succeeded in reducing the number of babies born (fertility rate). Based on data from BPS, the fertility rate in 2020 fell to 2.27 from 2.41 in 2010. The figure is targeted to be 2.21 by 2025.
This success is supported by many policies launched by the government such as the involvement of all stakeholders, the utilization of the media, and the role of religious leaders to educate the public about the importance of contraception as well as comprehensively educate about the types of contraception and their impact and the importance of having good planning before pregnancy.
Even so, what needs to be considered is how women actually decide to choose contraception in planning their families. We can reflect a little on how the family planning program was carried out in the 1990s. Indeed, the family planning program at that time was claimed to be successful.
At that time , many women were asked to take family planning under the pretext of an agenda to improve the welfare of the population. Because of this, women were not given transparent information regarding the choice and its impact. Even at that time, the family planning program involved the TNI and Polri. This shows that the family planning program at that time was far from being rights-based.
In 2016, the government began to move towards rights-based family planning with the KB Village program. The program seeks to train health workers to provide women with a better understanding of contraceptive use.
When it comes to rights-based family planning, we can learn from Ethiopia. In educating the importance of rights-based family planning, the Ethiopian government involves religious leaders. They emphasize that contraceptive use is not a rejection of religious teachings. This has reduced stigma and increased awareness among the community. The contraceptive use rate in Ethiopia was 44.2% in 2023 and the highest in Addis Ababa at 52.3%.
The number of family planning achievements is important because it is an indicator of how far the program has progressed. However, the fulfillment of women’s rights should also not be put aside. To support women’s life choices, there must be qualified access free of stigma. As well as guarantees of no discrimination or coercion. Because, to get pregnant, not get pregnant and plan a pregnancy, it is a fundamental right for women.