Female Condoms : Still Frightful to Many

The 2009 AIDS-Free Holiday campaign seeks to promote the use of female condoms amongst Cameroonian girls. Have you ever used a female condom? The question brought a surprising expression on the faces of some young girls met yesterday down town Yaounde. While some were

taken aback about the existence of a female condom, others who had used a female condom were irritated by the question. One of the girls who opted for anonymity burst into anger and asked; ??who is even at the origin of the female condom??? ??The female condom is not only uncomfortable to use but it also produces an unpleasant noise during s*e*xual intercourse. This just goes to kill ones s*e*xual interest??, the girl said. Her experience with a female condom is not different from that of many young girls in Cameroon and beyond. Information gathered from some women in Cameroon indicates that the female condom is not welcomed like that of the male folks. Irene Ngassa says just the presentation of a female condom is ??horrendous??. According to her, the condom is not secretive to handle. The package is too big. ??One can not freely put a female condom in his wallet, one??s anxiety for love making can even drop to zero the moment he/she opens the package of a female condom to realise how big it is??, Irene noted. The worst about the female condom is during usage. Jeannette Ndo explains how the condom is not only difficult to be placed in a woman??s private part but that situations can become complicated when it is the woman who has to be on top of the man during intercourse. Besides the psychological barrier the condom creates during love making, Papa Nkem says the female condom has just come to render love making a nightmare with one disturbing noise that comes with its usage. As such, people turn to concentrate on the noise rather than on what they are doing. ??Thus the spontaneity in the sense of love making is lacking when using a female condom??, Papa Nkem underscores. Dr Etienne Nnomzo??o, Assistant Permanent Secretary at the National AIDS Control Committee says the reaction of Cameroonian women towards the female condom is not different from that elsewhere. But the fact that HIV is still ravaging the society particularly women, Dr Nnomzo??o says, women have to learn how to love and use the female condom for their own good. Although a large scale campaign to promote the use of female condoms is still to take place in the country, steps are already being made to get women acquainted with their own condom. That is why during the current edition of the AIDS-Free Holiday, peer educators will be carrying out demonstrations to promote the use of female condoms. Also, a good number of them will be distributed during the campaign. Experts, however, say research is still going on, on ways to render the presentation of a female condom user-friendly.
Brenda YUFEH, Cameroon Tribune

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