Cultural Stigma, Infertility Constructs, and Psychosocial Distress Among Married Women in Rural Uganda

African Journal of Gender and Women Studies | Vol. 11, No. 9, August 2026 | pp. 281–288

DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001283

Article Type: Original Research Article

Title: Cultural Stigma, Infertility Constructs, and Psychosocial Distress Among Married Women in Rural Uganda

Names of Authors: Dr. Juliet J. Akello¹

Authors’ Affiliations: ¹Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda

Abstract:
In many pronatalist societies, childbearing is a primary requirement for validating adult female status and marital security. This study investigates the cultural constructions of involuntary childlessness and its direct correlation with psychosocial distress among married women in rural eastern Uganda. Using a cross-sectional qualitative case design, researchers conducted 40 clinical psychometric assessments alongside 15 narrative interviews with women diagnosed with primary or secondary infertility. The quantitative metrics reveal a profound mental health crisis: 86% of childless respondents met diagnostic criteria for severe clinical anxiety and major depressive disorders. The sociological analysis indicates that cultural frameworks completely exempt men from reproductive accountability, placing blame for reproductive failure entirely on women. The thematic findings document severe patterns of structural violence, including domestic banishment, physical assault, and state-sanctioned property dispossession by male in-laws following marital dissolution. Furthermore, infertile women are actively ostracized from vital communal rituals and micro-credit networks, as their childlessness is framed as an ancestral curse. Healthcare access is heavily constrained, with public hospitals lacking affordable diagnostic laparoscopy or reproductive endocrinology services. The study concludes that current maternal health frameworks completely ignore reproductive health complications. We recommend introducing community-level mental health counseling, establishing affordable public fertility clinics, and launching public education campaigns to reduce social stigma.

Keywords: Infertility, Social Stigma, Psychosocial Distress, Pronatalism, Domestic Abuse, Uganda

Manuscript Timeline: Received: April 15, 2026; Revised: June 20, 2026; Accepted: July 15, 2026; Published: August 31, 2026.

Citation: Akello, J. J. (2026). Cultural Stigma, Infertility Constructs, and Psychosocial Distress Among Married Women in Rural Uganda. African Journal of Gender and Women Studies, 11(9), 281–288. DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001283

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