En India, the condom is still far from being democratized. A national survey unveiled by the local daily The Hindu, and shared in France by International mail, reveals that a tiny minority of men use it regularly.
The survey, conducted between 2019 and 2021 and focusing on family issues, is final: only 9.5% of men use condoms, a rate well below Western standards, while sexually transmitted diseases or infections are florès in India. In comparison, sterilization among women is reaching remarkable proportions, notes International mail : more than 37.9% of Indian women have already used it, against 36% in the previous survey (conducted between 2015 and 2016).
A question of mentality
A difference that challenges, sterilization being an operation much more cumbersome than the use of a condom, and which cannot be explained by a lack of knowledge: “The refusal to use condoms is not linked to a lack of information, ”says The Hindu, who argues that 82% of men surveyed know full well what are the interest and effectiveness of latex. It is, in reality, much more a matter of mentality: in India, questions related to contraception are “the responsibility of women”.
“For men, sex is simply pleasure”, while, “for women, it is associated with the idea of procreation or the fear of becoming pregnant.” And to remedy this, there is no doubt, believes Poonam Muttreja, director of the NGO Population Foundation of India: “We must change behavior and social norms” and put an end to “gender stereotypes” in order to “empower men”. An entire program.
