Feminising a Cultural Issue: The case of informed consent

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Feminising a Cultural Issue: The case of informed consent

Journal Title: Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal - Year 2019, Vol 19, Issue 3

Abstract

The sounding board article by al balushi, that was published in the February 2019 issue of SQUMJ, presents an important issue about informed consent (IC) and how it is handled in Omani society.1 Tere is a need to address the issue of IC, especially for vulnerable groups of competent adult patients. However, the article feminises the issue of IC, which in Oman should be considered a cultural matter that transcends gender division. While females should have full rights to determine whether or not IC is given, focus should be shifted towards ways to avoid implementing a paternalistic approach when handling IC in Oman. Te term ‘feminising’ is defned as giving a feminine quality to something by presenting it as “characteristic of or appropriate or unique to women”.2 Al Balushi reiterated that Omani female patients face pressure from their families, particularly male members, when making high-stake decisions and echoed the need to empower females to overcome this dependency on males.1 Any practicing clinician in Oman will observe that paternalism in IC is not unique to females, as males are also denied, albeit to a lesser extent, their right for IC. Feminising the nature of IC in Oman may not lead to the empowerment for females to make their own decisions, but rather may shift the focus and resources from understanding the real issues behind the practice. Legal Perspectives of Women in Oman Omani law is based on the principles of Islamic Sharia as stated in Article 2 of the Basic Statute of the country promulgated by Royal Decree 101/96. In Sharia law, competent adult males and females both have equal legal capacity with all its associated duties and merits. Both penal and civil laws (7/2018 and 29/2013, respectively) assert the individual’s responsibility for their actions. In relation to medical practice, Article 44/B of the Penal Law 7/2018 asserts the need for an individual patient’s consent in order to render a medical intervention legal, except in some law-exempted circumstances where consenting is inappropriate or not feasible. Tere is no indication in the law that females are treated diﬀerently or need a legal guardian to consent for them. Similarly, in the Ministry of Health’s “Policy and Procedure on Informed Consent” there are no clauses in this policy that have any notion of discrimination based on gender or towards any specifc group.

Authors and Affiliations

Nasser Hammad Al-Azri

Keywords

Feminising a Cultural Issue

EP ID EP168014
DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.18295/squmj.2019.19.03.002
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