“Cutting my tubes is like ending my virility” protests one Rwandan man, who’s unhappy with a new government campaign.

Rwanda’s population is growing too fast for the country to cope. So the government’s decided to encourage men to have a vasectomy. But there’s plenty of resistance to the idea.

Vasectomy is sterilisation for men. The tubes that carry sperm are cut, making a man permanently infertile. It’s an effective method of birth control – but one that worries many men who associate fertility with masculinity. And there’s plenty of confusion about just what vasectomy involves.

Suicide?
Sibomana Gratien, from the Nyabihu District in north Rwanda, compares it to suicide. "I was told that they are going to cut my testicles. Have you seen a man without testicles? It’s impossible for me to use this method”

And then there’s Munyampundu Xavier. He agrees with the government’s campaign to try and cut population growth – but not with the method. “Cutting my tubes is like ending my virility, I would prefer using tablets instead of an operation”, Mr Xavier says.

“No change”
The Rwandan Minister of Health, Richard Sezibera, says vasectomy has nothing to do with castration or virility; it’s just “the safest and most effective kind of birth control." Further reassurance comes from Dr Jean Baptiste Habyarimana, “Vasectomy does not limit having erections and ejaculations during sex. It doesn’t change your sex life at all,” he explains.

Big objections
The Rwandan Ministry of Health is hoping 700,000 men across the country will agree to undergo sterilisation and stresses that the operation will be voluntary. Dr. Habyarimana says it’s a good idea to promote birth control – but doesn’t believe this campaign will work. People still have to be convinced it’s important he says, especially in rural areas. And there are deep-rooted cultural and religious objections to family planning which will have to be tackled before men agree to a vasectomy.

Read more about vasectomy and birth control. 

Photo: Munyampundu Xavier in Rwanda