Elly Burhaini Faizal, Jakarta – Indonesia may fail to achieve balanced population growth by 2015 without intensifying the family planning campaign to curb men's refusals to use contraceptives, a senior family planning official says.

National Demographic and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) Center for International Training and Collaboration head Eddy N. Hasmi said Indonesian women currently had better access to reproductive health services, including contraceptives. In many cases, however, the use of contraceptives required the consent of their husband.

"In the absence of a husband's consent, women may not participate in the family planning program," Eddy recently told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of a family planning training session.

In other Asian countries, such as Sri Lanka, contraceptive use was possible only with the husband's consent. In Sri Lanka, women depend on their husband's permission in using contraceptives due to local tradition, culture and religious norms that are still widely practiced.

University of Colombo senior lecturer Sunethra Perera said that despite achievements over the last several decades, family planning programs in Sri Lanka still faced strong refusals from communities, especially in rural areas.

"Many men from Muslim communities in Sri Lanka prohibit family planning programs, saying that no human has a right to refuse what is given by God, whereas it is good not only for the infant and maternal health, but also for improving family welfare," she said.

Over the last several years many civil organizations and women's groups have advocated broader rights for women making decisions about the use of contraceptives. They propose the autonomy of women as one mechanism required in consideration of the use of contraceptives.

In Indonesia, however, men seem to still have control over their spouses' involvement in family planning. Many stories have portrayed how men exert strong influence in the implementation of the family planning program, particularly in the use of long-term contraceptives.

"One of our family planning cadres was sued by a man whose wife was offered to use of an intra uterine device (IUD) without his consent," said Eddy.

In another case, a family planning worker was sued by a man after his wife was given an IUD without his permission. "His wife came to our health provider asking for the IUD. We had no reason to refuse her demand because she came to the clinic accompanied by a man and both of them signed the informed consent form. In turned out that man was not her husband," said Eddy.

Those suits dealt severe blows, not only to the agency, but also to overall efforts being attempted by the government to promote family planning.

Indonesia's family planning program requires that each client who asks for long-term contraceptives, such as IUDs and sterilization, should sign an informed consent document.

"We have a particular responsibility to make sure people make informed decisions before using IUDs and sterilization because they are long-term and even permanent contraceptives. These cannot be removed without help from medical workers," said Eddy.