What Women Want for Respectful Maternity Care
This is a right, and it is what women and girls are demanding most urgently
In Kenya, more than 120,000 women and girls spoke out through the What Women Want campaign, placing respect and dignity at the very top of their priorities for reproductive and maternal healthcare. Their message is clear: without respect, health services remain out of reach, no matter how well-equipped or available they may be.
Disrespect, abuse, and harmful attitudes from health workers create invisible yet powerful barriers that prevent women especially young mothers, women with disabilities, and other marginalized groups from seeking and receiving the care they need. Respectful maternity care, therefore, goes beyond medical treatment. It is about safeguarding rights: the right to privacy, consent, confidentiality, and freedom from coercion or discrimination.
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Achieving this vision requires more than policies on paper. It calls for collective action at every level. From community, system, and national and for the meaningful engagement of women and girls themselves. It also requires empowering health providers, who are central to the experience of care, to embrace dignity, compassion,Â
