Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” He said this in the context of the nonviolent civil rights movement but it does apply to everything. Including the well-being of your mental and physical health.
Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are part of basic human rights. It deals with issues such as sexual health, family planning, providing safe abortion care, availability of contraception, and the prevention and cure of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). So, if you decide to stay hush about it, you are practically being unfair to yourselves.
At Brave & Safe, we encourage everyone and ourselves to voice SRHR. True, it’s still a topic that gets the side-eye in Bangladesh and several other countries. But, here, we will briefly discuss a couple of points that will reflect why it’s important to do the opposite.
Empowering Individuals With Information
Brave & Safe’s primary objective is to empower everyone with knowledge, information, and resources. When they know what’s going on, they can make much more informed decisions about their health and reproductive choices. When we voice SRHR, we get the chance to discuss about sex education in a more matured and comprehensive way.
This also paves way for access to better healthcare services. Because, there are people out there who need it but are too uncomfortable to speak about it. The information helps to lead healthier and more wholesome lives. Especially, when they gain autonomy and agency over their own lives.
Getting Rid of Stigma and Taboos
A country develops. Big cities. Beautiful bridges. Booming economy. But then someone brings up the topic of menstruation and everyone loses their minds. We need to voice SRHR so that our mindset expands. Normalizing conversations about menstruation, sexual orientation, and contraception can help both men and women live healthier and happier lives.
Some are too afraid to address their concerns. Speaking up about SRHR will allow them to have a safe space to gather information, get proper healthcare services, and address their issues without being judged.
A Leap Toward Gender Equality
Perhaps, the best thing about voicing SRHR is that it allows women and girls to have complete control over the choices they make. When they get access to safe abortion care, reproductive healthcare, and contraception, they are fully independent to take control over their pregnancy choices. This in turn fosters their education and economic opportunities and enables them to acquire their rights.
Advocacy for Policy Change
Brave & Safe aspires to join hands with every organization working in this field to raise awareness and engage in public discourse. Together, we can persuade policymakers to prioritize SRHR and advocate for legislative reforms that promote sex education, reproductive rights, and genuine healthcare access. If we voice SRHR together, the rights of every individual will be well protected.
We firmly believe life is worth living. Especially, with wisdom and liberty. By creating a world, where SRHR is respected, safeguarded, and achieved, we can help everyone live happier and healthier lives. But to do that, we all need to spark meaningful conversations and make people aware about the importance of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).
