Abstract
M.A. (Anthropology)
The intended purpose of family planning is to allow men and women the right to decide how many children they want to have, when they want to have those children, how to have them and if they want to have them. This paper draws from an ethnographic study that investigates the informal buying and selling of contraceptive pills in Kadoma, Zimbabwe with the main focus of trying to find out why some women would opt for informal means of access. Through the journey of coming to an understanding of this behaviour, a vital theme emerged from the interactions and it is that of autonomy, as some women utilised alternative pathways to access contraceptive pills to ensure they fulfilled their desired outcomes. The investigation of this informal trade was qualitative in nature, with a particular use of participant observation, in-depth semi-structured interviews and field notes. 13 key informants consisting of 12 women who used an array of family planning methods and a population centre ambassador, helped fuel the information that contextualised this dissertation. The experiences the women had with contraceptive devices in relation to their bodies portrayed the individual, social, cultural and political nuances that exist in Kadoma. Also, the existence of pharmaceutical products in the informal space is an indication of the social nature of contraceptive pills in Kadoma.