The effect of some gender-related characteristics on women's health: The case of Somalia

This research is a descriptive study that aims to determine the effects of some gender-related features on women's health in Somalia. The research included 250 male and female individuals from the city of Hargeisa, Somalia. The data was collected using Google Forms. This form consists of two parts to determine the socio-demographic and gender role related characteristics of the participants. SPSS 25 was used. While evaluating the data, descriptive statistics and chi-square test were used. Ethics committee approval was obtained. The mean age of the participants was 25.61±5.19 (min-max=18-51). 53.6% of the participants were male. It was found that 88.8% of the women and 90.3% of the men are university graduates. Also, the income status of 54.3% of women and 56% of men was equal to the expense ratio. It was found that 40.8% of the participants agreed with the statement "Women should use a method of contraception". In this statement, it was determined that there was a statistically significant difference between the participant's genders (p<0.05). It was also found that 37.6% of the participants agreed with the statement "Women are responsible for household chores", and a statistically significant difference was discovered, and it was stated that men agreed with the statement at a higher rate than women (p<0.05). As a result, it was determined that participants have shown a wide variety of attitudes towards the gender role of women. It was found that 12.8% of the participants stated that female circumcision is necessary, while 7.8% of the women considered it necessary, 17.2% of the men stated that it was necessary. Among the reasons for necessity, culture and religion were shown as factors at the highest rate. Suggestions have been developed to gain egalitarian attitudes toward gender roles and to improve women's health.