Hinda
How one Nigerien client became a fierce trailblazer for contraception in her community
Poisonous snakes, bandits and Boko Haram are just some of the obstacles Hinda faced when she traveled to a Marie Stopes outreach site in Niger to receive a contraceptive implant.
35 years old and a mother of four, Hinda has become a strong advocate for family planning after seeing the difference contraception made in her life.
She says women like her have to overcome intense stigma from their husbands to access contraception, but their desire to plan their families is fierce.
“Last year when the rains failed, men fled the village for Nigeria to try to find work. How do you manage on your own with 10 children?”
In a country that already claims the highest birth rate in the world, women in Hinda’s community have more children on average than anywhere else in Niger.
Despite the stigma that surrounds family planning, however, she remains steadfast in her determination to spread the word about its benefits. Raising her arm to show off the matchstick-sized implant embedded just beneath the skin of her upper arm, she says:
“I want to leave time between my births in order for my children to be healthy and blossom. I want a good future for my children. It is truly my plan to allow them to grow up strong and be educated.”
Our outreach teams in Niger trek for days at a time to help women in rural areas space their births so they can have happier, healthier families. Thanks to the implant she received from Marie Stopes, Hinda will get that chance.
