Hania Sholkamy

Reproductive Health Working Group

Population Council. Regional Office for West Asia and North Africa

This monograph examines the health perceptions of women living in the Middle East in order to 1) identify key theoretical concepts that facilitate incorporation of women's health perceptions into discourses on health and ill-health; 2) illustrate the relevance of understanding women's health perceptions to understanding their health and health-seeking behavior; 3) emphasize the relevance of women's health perceptions to the work of medical and social scientists; and 4) indicate how health and ill-health relates to women's self-perceptions and ideals. After an introduction, section 2 of the paper explains why women's health perceptions are important. The third section reviews the theoretical literature in the field of medical anthropology to develop the key concepts. Next, these concepts are applied to a consideration of major ethnographic works dealing with women's health issues in the region (maternal mortality, "frustrated" fertility and infertility, gynecological morbidities, somatization, and spirit possession as well as poverty, violence, and other non-health indicators of health). The fifth section discusses the relevance of women's "good health" to health perceptions with a look at female genital mutilation and menarche, marriage and fertility, natural child birth, sexual activity, and menopause. The concluding section shows how an understanding of women's health perceptions can lead to improvement in health services for women and to a better understanding of women's health issues.

Population Council. Regional Office for West Asia and North Africa

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