Mainstreaming Gender Equality in Family Planning: A Case Study of the Vasectomy Program in Surabaya

Nofitasari Nofitasari; Agus Syaifudin Efendi; Ajeng Widya Prakasita

doi:10.15642/politique.2025.5.2.227-247

Authors

Nofitasari Nofitasari UIN Sunan Ampel Surabaya
Agus Syaifudin Efendi UIN Sunan Ampel Surabaya
Ajeng Widya Prakasita UIN Sunan Ampel Surabaya

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15642/politique.2025.5.2.227-247

Keywords:

Gender Equality, Family Planning, Vasectomy Policy , Collaborative Governance, Hegemonic Masculinity

Abstract

This article explores the inconsistency in how gender mainstreaming policies are applied within the Family Planning (KB) program in Surabaya, where these policies still impose structural burdens on women. The low vasectomy rate (0.31%) amid widespread contraceptive use highlights the state's challenge in addressing the patriarchal structures and male dominance in society. Using a qualitative case study approach, this research assesses the Surabaya City Government's capacity to reformulate its intervention strategies on the vasectomy program. Findings indicate that the program's success largely depends on shifting from policy tools focused on providing medical facilities to those targeting cultural change. The effectiveness of informal networks in male public spaces, along with strong political support from regional leaders, has helped reduce resistance rooted in fears of emasculation. This study argues that attaining reproductive justice requires transforming governance to be more responsive and positioning vasectomy as a strategic policy tool to challenge gender inequalities.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Adelekan, Ademola, Philomena Omoregie, and Elizabeth Edoni. "Male Involvement in Family Planning: Challenges and Way Forward.” International Journal of Population Research 2014, no. 1 (2014): 416457.

Alkadafi, Muammar, and Susanti Susanti. “Strategy and Role of Public Sector Leadership.” 2023, 190.

Allifiyah, Rhizma Ananda, and Agus Prastyawan. “Implementasi Kebijakan Pengaduan Masyarakat Melalui Aplikasi WargaKu Surabaya (Studi Kasus: Dinas Komunikasi Dan Informatika Kota Surabaya).” Jurnal Inovasi Administrasi Negara Terapan (Inovant) 1, no. 3 (2023): 574–86.

Andriani, Muthia. “Pengarusutamaan Gender Dalam Implementasi Program KB Di Kota Yogyakarta.” Jurnal Penelitian Kesejahteraan Sosial 18, no. 2 (2019): 167–78.

Ansell, Chris, and Alison Gash. “Collaborative Governance in Theory and Practice.” Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 18, no. 4 (2008): 543–71.

Aulia, Fika, Rr Sri Nuriati Masdi Putri, Mahfuzhah Deswita Puteri, and Pratiwi Puji Lestari. “Eksplorasi Pengalaman Partisipasi Suami Dalam Penggunaan Kontrasepsi Vasektomi.” Jurnal Keperawatan’Aisyiyah 11, no. 1 (2024): 35–44.

Aziz, Muhammad. “Women’s Double Burden in the Family between Culture and Discrimination.” Potret Pemikiran 27, no. 2 (2023): 227–44.

Bafadal, Jihan Zafira. “Perspective and Practices on Gender Roles in Childcare and Division of Household Labor from Indonesian Families.” Governance and Development Policy (GDP), Int. Inst. Social Studies, Hague, The Netherlands, Tech. Rep 1 (2024).

Blackburn, Susan. Women and the State in Modern Indonesia. Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Cameron, Lisa. “Gender Equality and Development: Indonesia in a Global Context.” Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies 59, no. 2 (2023): 179–207.

Connell, Robert W., and James W. Messerschmidt. “Hegemonic Masculinity: Rethinking the Concept.” Gender & Society 19, no. 6 (2005): 829–59.

Dery, Isaac, and Constance Awinpoka Akurugu. “‘‘Real Men’Support Their Wives’: Reconstructing Masculinity among Men in Rural Northwestern Ghana.” Hypatia 36, no. 1 (2021): 172–90.

Emerson, Kirk, Tina Nabatchi, and Stephen Balogh. “An Integrative Framework for Collaborative Governance.” Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 22, no. 1 (2012): 1–29.

Greene, Margaret E., Manisha Mehta, Julie Pulerwitz, Deirdre Wulf, Akinrinola Bankole, and Susheela Singh. Involving Men in Reproductive Health: Contributions to Development. 2006.

Hull, Terence H., Valerie J. Hull, and Masri Singarimbun. Indonesia’s Family Planning Story: Success and Challenge. Population Reference Bureau, 1977.

Ilham, Teguh, and Adam Udi Velianto. “Belajar Dari Yang Terbaik: Evaluasi Pengarusutamaan Gender Di Kota Surabaya, Indonesia.” Jurnal Ilmu Pemerintahan Widya Praja 48, no. 1 (2022): 127–40.

Intruksi Presiden Nomor 9 Tahun 2000 Tentang Pengarus Utamaan Gender Dalam Pembangunan Nasional, 9, Presiden Republik Indoneisa (2000).

Ischa, Naila Amalia. “Analisis Faktor Penggunaan Kontrasepsi Metode Operatif Wanita (MOW) Pada Wanita Usia Subur.” Jurnal Ilmiah Kesehatan Media Husada 6, no. 2 (2018): 245–54.

Jacobstein, Roy, Scott Radloff, Farhad Khan, et al. “Down but Not out: Vasectomy Is Faring Poorly Almost Everywhere—We Can Do Better to Make It a True Method Option.” Global Health: Science and Practice 11, no. 1 (2023).

James-Hawkins, Laurie, Cristen Dalessandro, and Christie Sennott. “Conflicting Contraceptive Norms for Men: Equal Responsibility versus Women’s Bodily Autonomy.” Culture, Health & Sexuality 21, no. 3 (2019): 263–77.

Kuhlmann, Ellen, and Ellen Annandale. “Gender and Healthcare Policy.” In The Palgrave International Handbook of Healthcare Policy and Governance. Springer, 2015.

Menchik, Jeremy. “The Co-Evolution of Sacred and Secular: Islamic Law and Family Planning in Indonesia.” South East Asia Research 22, no. 3 (2014): 359–78.

Messerschmidt, James W., and Michael A. Messner. “Hegemonic, Nonhegemonic, and ‘New’ Masculinities.” Gender Reckonings: New Social Theory and Research, 2018, 35–56.

Msoka, A. C., S. M. Brownie, E. S. Pallangyo, and E. Holroyd. “The Male Role as ‘King of the Family’: Barriers to Vasectomy Uptake.” Africa Journal of Nursing and Midwifery 21, no. 2 (2019). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.25159/2520-5293/6263.

Mwakisole, Agrey H., Valencia J. Lambert, Aneth Nzali, et al. “Partnerships with Religious Leaders to Promote Family Planning in Rural Tanzania: An Open-Label, Cluster Randomised Trial.” The Lancet Global Health 11, no. 12 (2023): e1943–54.

Nilan, Pam. “Contemporary Masculinities and Young Men in Indonesia.” Indonesia and the Malay World 37, no. 109 (2009): 327–44.

Paramithasari, Anindya Wayan. “Implementasi Program Keluarga Berencana (Kb) Di Kelurahan Jeruk Kecamatan Lakarsantri Kota Surabaya.” Publika 3, no. 1 (2015).

Pollock, Scarlet. “Refusing To Take Women Seriously:‘Side Effects’ And The Politics Of Contraception.” In Test-Tube Women. Routledge, 2024.

Purnama, Tirza Haqia, Roni Ekha Putera, and Tengku Rika Valentina. “Gender Mainstreaming National Development Plan: Analysis of Its Integration into Public Policy.” KnE Social Sciences, 2024, 69–81.

Purwanti, Ani, and Fajar Ahmad Setiawan. “The Challenges of Women Contribution in Policymaking and How They Overcome It: An Indonesian Study.” 2020, 74–78.

Robinson, Kathryn May, and Sharon Bessell. Women in Indonesia: Gender, Equity and Development. Vol. 8. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2002.

Shattuck, D., B. Perry, C. Packer, and D. C. Quee. “A Review of 10 Years of Vasectomy Programming and Research in Low-Resource Settings.” Global Health Science and Practice 4, no. 4 (2016): 647–60. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-16-00235.

Starbird, Ellen, Maureen Norton, and Rachel Marcus. “Investing in Family Planning: Key to Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.” Global Health: Science and Practice 4, no. 2 (2016): 191–210.

Surdia, Widianti, Chika Desyanti Batubara, Muhammad Dafa Yudhistira, Fathya Kayyisa Adelia, Berard Kenneth Hosters, and Adzkia Kirana Dipa. “Mapping Public Awareness of Vasectomy in the Stigma of Contraceptive Use in Indonesia.” South Sight: Journal of Media and Society Inquiry 1, no. 2 (2025): 75–86.

Taloko, Cyndi PO, Lydia EN Tendean, and Aaltje E. Manampiring. “Analisis Strategi Promosi Kesehatan Dalam Meningkatkan Partisipasi Pria (Vasektomi) Pada Program Keluarga Berencana Di Provinsi Sulawesi Utara.” E-CliniC 11, no. 1 (2023): 11–18.

VanSickle-Ward, Rachel, and Kevin Wallsten. The Politics of the Pill: Gender, Framing, and Policymaking in the Battle over Birth Control. Oxford University Press, 2019.

Wong, Jaclyn S. Equal Partners?: How Dual-Professional Couples Make Career, Relationship, and Family Decisions. Univ of California Press, 2023.

Wono, Hilda Yunita. MULTIMODALITY IN THE SPREAD OF VASECTOMY PROGRAM IN SURABAYA CITY. 2024.

WONO, Hilda Yunita, Sunarto SUNARTO, and Mirza RONDA. “Implementation Of The Diffusion Program And Adoption Of Vasectomy Innovation In The City of Surabaya.” International Journal of Environmental, Sustainability, and Social Science 4, no. 5 (2023): 1408–15.

Yulianti, Titis Risti, Kemal Nazarudin Siregar, Milla Herdayati, and Indra Supradewi. “Knowledge and Perceptions Role Towards Modern Male Contraceptives Use in Indonesia.” Jurnal Kesehatan Masyarakat 18, no. 4 (2023): 463–72.

Zain, Ita Mardiani, Wiwik Sri Utami, and Mr Daryono. “The Study of Male Reproductive Health in Surabaya City.” 2018, 410–12.