Female condom not so blissful

VIVIAN NTHWESANE
Correspondent | Monday April 26, 2010 00:00

In an interview with The Monitor, Gabana said it is likely that some people are turned off by the fact that the female condom has to be inserted well in advance before sexual intercourse.

The other reason, he said, might be that some people find it irritatingly noisy during sex.

'I once heard that these condoms are loose, so I think its user unfriendliness might be reasons for its rejection by most women in the country,' he added.

However, Gabana said although he cannot confirm that female condoms are seldom used, he believes that the Ministry of Health has been carrying out campaigns to educate people on how this condom is used mostly in clinics.

'I think it may be just because in terms of decision-making women do not have much say,' he noted.

He also expressed the need for intensive education for both men and women on this issue because sexual intercourse involves both.

About nine years after the only female-controlled method to prevent HIV was introduced, it is still largely shunned and inaccessible. What one would really like to know is whether the government has done enough in terms of raising awareness about the female condom.

Recently, Botswana Television (Btv) reported that government will continue to buy female condoms despite people not showing interest in them.

Some people, including former president, Festus Mogae, and MP for Mahalapye, Botlogile Tshireletso, had been quoted saying that the condom is not used and therefore government funds could be going to waste on their procurement. A 34 year old woman of Mochudi, Thandiwe Sekoboane, says she feels the government has not done enough in educating the public about the female condom as she still lacks knowledge about it.

'I have no interest in it and I think lack of education on how it works is a large contributing factor in this, so I think government is spending money on something that does not benefit us. The money used to buy these condoms should be used on something useful,' she suggested. She suspects that the condom might be uncomfortable because of the time it takes to insert it before intercourse.

She says the condom is too big so the vagina cannot accommodate such a big ring, and that is why people remove the rings and make them bracelets.

Lesedi Mokgethi, aged 24 says she knows about the female condom but she just is not interested in it. She has never used it since it was introduced.

The 36 year-old David Lobase says he does not have any problems with the female condom but he has realised that most women are not interested in using it. 'Most women do not like it and I have never used it because my girlfriend never brings it. She prefers the male condom over the female one but I do not have a problem with it at all,' he disclosed.

Another man who does not have a problem with Bliss says he would have long tried it if his girlfriend did not have a problem with it.

'My girlfriend hates it because she says it is very big. If it was not for her I could have already used it. I also feel the campaigns and demonstrations that took place since the condom was introduced were not enough,' says 36 year-old Isani Babolai.

He concluded that the government seems to be focusing only on women when raising awareness about Bliss so he feels men also need to know about it since they are both involved in sexual intercourse.