The goal of our project, KissaKahani,is to explore the role of gender in influencing the sexual and reproductive health of youth ages 15-24 living in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. The project uses participatory, narrative-based methods to understand key aspects of participants’ lives including their childhood, family, education, community and other contextual factors,that shape their experiences with gender and sexual and reproductive health.

Based on our initial analysis of data from KissaKahani, we find youth especially, girls have limited control over their lives. They have little to no bargaining power within the family unit and as a result, feel disempowered to influence decisions made at the household level. Below is a list of questions that were used to understand bargaining and decision-making abilities of youth in KissaKahani:

Life Course Interview

Source: Ci3

  • What things does your family spend money on?
  • What does it mean to be a girl in your family?
  • What does it mean to be a boy in your family?
  • Do you wish you had been raised differently (a different place, different ways of doing things)? How so?
  • Who in your household attends school?

[If never attended school] Why did you never attend school? (probe: family, money, job, gender, safety)

[If left school] Why did you leave school?

  • How old were you when you got your menstrual cycle? What did you think or feel at that time?

What did your family say to you?

Were you treated differently after you got your menstrual period?

  • Are you married? Do you think you will marry? At what age do you think you will marry? (probe: Why?)
  • Do you work for pay outside your home?

[If works for pay] When did you start working? How old were you?

[If works for pay] Whose decision was it for you to go to work? (probe: parents, others)

  • When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grow up? What do you want to be now? Tell me more.

Story Circles

Source: Ci3

  • Think about a time when you felt unsafe. Where were you? What made you feel unsafe?
  • Tell us about a time you felt threatened because you are different in some way (for instance, because you are a boy, a girl, gay, bisexual, transgender).
  • What is the most difficult thing about being a young person in Lucknow?
  • What is the best or worst thing about being a boy or a man in Lucknow?
  • What is the best or worst thing about being a girl or a woman in Lucknow?
  • Where do you feel like you can be yourself? Who makes you feel comfortable with who you are?

KissaKahani Survey

Source: Population Council

  • What ages do/did you want to marry?
  • How frequently do you do the following tasks? Would you say never, sometimes, or often?
  • Work in the house (cooking, cleaning)
  • Shopping (e.g. vegetables, household provisions)
  • Other tasks like collection firewood, water grinding wheat, paying bills?
  • Have you ever done any work for which you got paid in cash, kind or both?
  • Yes
  • no
  • When you work/worked for cash and kind, do/did you keep all of your earnings to yourself, or give all or some to others in your family?
  • Keep all to self
  • Give some away to family
  • Give all to family
  • Do you have a say in how the household’s overall income is spent?
  • Yes
  • no
  • If you wanted to buy yourself a sari/kurta, would you feel free to do so without consulting your spouse or a senior member of your family? (sari or kurta changes based on gender of participant)
  • Yes
  • no
  • Has your mother ever discussed with you the ways in which boys’ and/or girls’ bodies change (e.g. menstruation)?
  • Yes
  • No
  • Has your father ever discussed with you the ways in which boys’ and/or girls’ bodies change (e.g. menstruation)?
  • Yes
  • no
  • Has your mother ever discussed with you the sexual and reproductive systems of men-women and/or how pregnancy occurs?
  • Yes
  • No
  • Has your father ever discussed with you the sexual and reproductive systems of men-women and/or how pregnancy occurs?
  • Yes
  • No
  • Who are you most likely to talk to about boy-girl relationship
  • Mother
  • Father
  • Brother
  • Sister
  • Other relations
  • Friends
  • Healthcare provider
  • Boyfriend/girlfriend
  • Teacher
  • Sister in law
  • Brother in law
  • Locally influential person
  • Nobody
  • Other
  • If you have a personal problem, e.g. in school with friends etc., who would you turn to first for comfort and support?
  • Yes
  • no
  • Who usually makes the following decisions: mainly you, mainly your spouse, you and your spouse jointly, or someone else?
  • Decisions about making major purchases
  • Decisions about making purchases for daily household needs?
  • Decisions about visits to your family or relatives?
  • Do you have a say in whether or not you should work outside the home?
  • Yes
  • no
  • Do you have a say in how many children to have?
  • Yes
  • no
  • Do you feel uncomfortable speaking/giving an opinion in the presence of the following people?
  • Husband/wife
  • Father in law
  • Mother in law
  • Elder brother in law
  • Elder sister in law
  • Outside men
  • Do you have any money of your own that you alone can decide how to use?
  • Yes
  • no
  • Are you usually allowed to go to the following places alone, only with someone else, or not at all
  • To the market
  • To the health facility
  • To places outside this village/community
  • To visit a friend?
  • Have you and your spouse ever discussed about
  • When/whether to have a baby
  • How many children to have
  • Using contraception?
  • Would you say that using contraception is mainly your decision, mainly your spouse’s decision, or did you both decide together
  • Mainly respondent
  • Mainly spouse
  • Joint decision
  • Family decision
  • Other
  • Now I would like to ask you some questions about medical care for you yourself. May different factors can prevent young people from getting medical advice or treatment for themselves. When you are sick and want to get medical advice or treatment, is each of the following a big program, a small problem, or no [problem?
  • Getting permission to go?
  • Getting money needed for treatment
  • Distance to the health facility
  • Having to take transport
  • Finding someone to go with you
  • Concern that there may not be a female health provider
  • Concern that there may not be any health provider
  • Concern about the cleanliness of the health facility
  • Concern that there may be no drugs available?
  • Have you ever discussed contraception with anyone?
  • Yes
  • no
  • With whom have you discussed contraception?
  • Other
  • Father
  • Brother
  • Sister
  • Male friend
  • Girl friend
  • Neighbor
  • Other females
  • Other males
  • Doctor/nurse/ASHA
  • Other community healthcare provider
  • Brother or sister in law
  • Teacher
  • Husband/wife
  • Other
  • (record all that are mentioned)
  • Now I would like to ask about sexual education for children. For each of the following, please tell me whether you were taught this in school
  • Changes in boys’ bodies at puberty
  • Changes in girls bodies at puberty
  • Sex and sexual behaviors
  • Contraception
  • Hiv/aids
  • Condoms to avoid sexually transmitted diseases
  • Do you think that husband alone/mainly should decide how household money is to be spent?
  • No
  • Yes
  • Don’t know/unsure
  • Do you think that girls should be allowed to decide when they want to marry?
  • No
  • Yes
  • Don’t know/unsure
  • Do you think boys should be allowed to decide when they want to marry?
  • No
  • Yes
  • Don’t know/unsure
  • Do you think that a woman should obtain her husband’s permission for most of the things?
  • No
  • Yes
  • Don’t know/unsure
  • Do you think that a man should obtain his wife’s permission for most things?
  • No
  • Yes
  • Don’t know/unsure
  • Do you think that girls are usually as good as boys in studies?
  • No
  • Yes
  • Don’t know/unsure
  • Do you think that boys should do as much domestic work as girls?
  • No
  • Yes
  • Don’t know/unsure