Sexual and reproductive health rights: knowledge and practice among the married women of reproductive age residing in Besishahar Municipality, Nepal

Background: Married women of reproductive age can experience violations of their sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR). Adequate knowledge and understanding of SRRs are critical to their ability to protect themselves. This study assessed the knowledge and practice of SRHR among the married women of reproductive age residing in Besishahar Municipality. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among the 342 married women of reproductive age (MWRA) in Besishahar Municipality using a pre-tested structured questionnaire through face-to-face interview. The collected data were entered and analyzed using SPSS IBM version 16. The logistic regression model was applied to examine the factors associated with the outcome variable using an adjusted odds ratio with a 95% CI, and a p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Result: Among the total 342 respondents, 47.7% had adequate knowledge on SRHR and 41.5% had good practice on SRHR. Women who married at an appropriate age were 2.075 times more likely to have adequate knowledge of SRHR compared to women who had early marriages (aOR=2.075, 95% CI=1.16-3.69) which was 1.82 (aOR=1.821, 95% CI=1.02-3.24) in the case of good practice. Respondents who were involved in formal sectors were 1.834 times more likely to have adequate knowledge of SRHR compared to informal sectors (aOR=1.834, 95% CI=1.15-2.90) which was (aOR=1.518, 95% CI=0.96-2.39) in case of good practice. MWRA who belonged above the poverty line were 2.511times more likely to have adequate knowledge compared to MWRA who belonged below poverty line (aOR=2.511, 95%CI=1.52-4.14). Married women of the reproductive age group who had adequate knowledge of SRHR were 3.234 times more likely to have good practice of SRHR compared to women who had inadequate knowledge of SRHR (aOR=3.234, 95% CI=1.85-6.56). Conclusion: A large proportion of married women of reproductive age did not have adequate knowledge about SRHR, and their practice was poor. So intervention focusing on the promotion of knowledge on SRHR is essential at the community level.