A Kerala man's Facebook post is making waves on the social media platform, for all the right reasons. The post in Malayalam, published on Wednesday, discusses a pertinent issue which is hardly a topic of conversation outside closed doors- contraception.
A native of Palakkad district, Habeeb underwent vasectomy recently, after the birth of his second child. Vasectomy is a surgical procedure for male sterilisation or permanent contraception. The small tubes in the scrotum that carry sperm are cut or blocked off.
Narrating his experience of undergoing the procedure that hardly took 20 minutes, Habeeb asks why the onus of contraception is often placed on women, despite tubectomy being a more complicated and time-consuming medical procedure in comparison. Tubectomy is a surgical procedure for sterilization in which a woman's fallopian tubes are clamped and blocked or severed and sealed, either of which prevents eggs from reaching the uterus for implantation.
"Women are supposed to put up with many things. Statements such as ‘I cannot do anything, let her do it if she wants’, ‘Look at her audacity! Poor guy’ are not new to women and are often thrown at them. Now, if the doctor gives you two options -one, a medical procedure that has to be done just beneath one's skin, and another - in which the abdomen is cut, which one would you choose? You would obviously go for the easier one, right?" Habeeb asks, initiating the topic of permanent contraception.
He then asks, "Then why is it that when it comes to family planning, why don't we opt for the less complicated procedure and make women undergo a more complex procedure?"
Narrating how he and his wife Anju arrived at the decision to opt for vasectomy, Habeeb says that when they were planning their family, they decided that if Anju has a caesarean delivery, then they would opt for her to undergo tubectomy along with the delivery procedure. Otherwise, the couple had decided that Habeeb will get a vasectomy done.
Explaining his experience of getting the procedure done, Habeeb writes that it hardly took 20 minutes and had to undergo little pain. Saying that the procedure could be done in the time one would take to watch a movie after work, Habeeb says:
"On my way back home after work, I went to visit our house-owner who was hospitalised. While I was there, I took an OP and met the general surgeon and told him my requirement. When the doctor said he was free after 6 pm to do the procedure, I agreed. A couple of tests were done and by 6 pm, the nurse and attender came and got me ready and took me to the theatre. I felt pain when I received the injection, but apart from that, I did not feel a thing. I was on the table for 20 minutes. Another 1 hour for the nurses to take notes and take me to the ward. I then got dressed, paid the bill, bought the medicines and rode back home - all on my own. Vasectomy won't affect erection, ejaculation or orgasm in anyway."
Habeeb says that after returning home, he went about his chores as usual and that the only care he was told to take, was to not lift anything heavy for a week.
Saying that vasectomy is a simple procedure which will not have a surgery wound or pain, Habeeb adds that the recovery period was also very less.
Having narrated his experience, he further questions why women are forced to undergo tubectomy, despite vasectomy being a comparatively cheaper and less complicated procedure. He also asked why women, who already went through a painful delivery, were being forced to undergo tubectomy.
Habeeb concludes his post, stating, “So dear women, now that both men and women have equal say in family planning and a less complicated option exists, the next time your husband sweetly asks you to undergo tubectomy, tell him why he must undergo the procedure instead. After all, you are not asking him to give birth to a baby!”
A day after Habeeb put up the post, it has resonated with several users, who lauded his family's decision. The post has got more than 400 shares.
Habeeb told TNM, "I have noticed that though many of my friends are progressive, when it comes to such choices, they are reluctant. Most of the comments I got were congratulatory, hopefully people will become more open to it."
Editor's note: Though Hajeeb's post has been reproduced, readers should read about tubectomy too. Tubectomy can be done in two ways. During a tubectomy, the surgeon reaches the fallopian tubes by either cutting open the abdomen (open surgery) or using laparoscopic techniques (minimally invasive surgery). Read more here.