Stiring Up The Societal Gender Hierarchy Order : A Study in how Sexual and Reproductive Health Programs Are Challenging and Changing the Power Relationship between Young Men and Women

Abstract: The onset of modernization, globalization and urbanization has begun to challenge the gender relationship between in Tanzania. Western influence and globalization factors such as religion, donor funds and mass media have propagated ideologies that have challenged and changed old rooted traditionalist ideas and created a power – knowledge struggle between males and females and older generations. Younger people are living a different lifestyle than their elders and are demanding more individualistic freedoms and are breaking away from cultural constructions such as the extended family. The aim of this study is to evaluate the gender policy of the male-centric sexual and reproductive programs called Young Men as Equal Partners (YMEP). The aim is to criticize the premise that male involvement sexual and reproductive health programs are the single best method to implement sustainable behavioural change. The raison d’être that these male involvement take for granted is that women generally are powerless to affect the behaviour of their partners, and are unable to negotiate with their partners to have safe sex or to change their behavioural patterns. The following study is a qualitative study, which uses semi-structured interviews conducted in secondary schools in Manyara Region in Tanzania as a method of data collection. The theory used in this study is social constructivism where empirical results from conducted interviews both individual and group interviews will be evaluated in the background of social constructivism. The conclusion of this study is that it is therefore imperative for the implementation of sustainable behavioural change that sexual and reproductive health programs do not only focus on single sex exclusion strategy which create knowledge-power gender inequalities, but rather it is more effective in order to implement sustainable sexual and reproductive behaviour change to include all the members of the community, and to tailor the program strategies to individual sexual and reproductive needs rather than focusing exclusively on one gender or social group.