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Learn more: PMC Disclaimer | PMC Copyright Notice letter Reprod Health . 2026 Apr 10;23:76. doi: 10.1186/s12978-026-02310-3 Search in PMC Search in PubMed View in NLM Catalog Add to search Husbands’ knowledge of women’s reproductive rights and its associated factors in Gacho Baba District, Southern Ethiopia, 2023: a rights-based approach to male engagement Kinde Kibe Kinde Kibe 1 College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Arba Minch University, P.O. Box; 21, Arba Minch, Ethiopia Find articles by Kinde Kibe 1, ✉ , Wubshet Estifanos Wubshet Estifanos 1 College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Arba Minch University, P.O. Box; 21, Arba Minch, Ethiopia Find articles by Wubshet Estifanos 1 , Genet Asefa Genet Asefa 1 College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Arba Minch University, P.O. Box; 21, Arba Minch, Ethiopia Find articles by Genet Asefa 1 , Addisalem Haile Addisalem Haile 1 College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Arba Minch University, P.O. Box; 21, Arba Minch, Ethiopia Find articles by Addisalem Haile 1 , Arega Abebe Lonsako Arega Abebe Lonsako 1 College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Arba Minch University, P.O. Box; 21, Arba Minch, Ethiopia Find articles by Arega Abebe Lonsako 1 , Aster Dure Aster Dure 1 College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Arba Minch University, P.O. Box; 21, Arba Minch, Ethiopia Find articles by Aster Dure 1 Author information Article notes Copyright and License information 1 College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Arba Minch University, P.O. Box; 21, Arba Minch, Ethiopia ✉ Corresponding author. Received 2024 Dec 10; Accepted 2026 Mar 6; Collection date 2026. © The Author(s) 2026 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ . PMC Copyright notice PMCID: PMC13067495 PMID: 41964079 Abstract Background Husbands’ knowledge of women’s reproductive health rights is a key determinant of rights-based maternal health care, particularly in rural settings where men strongly influence household decision-making. Poor awareness of women’s autonomy, informed choice, and access to services can delay care-seeking, reduce service utilization, and worsen maternal outcomes. In Ethiopia, no prior study has examined husbands’ knowledge of women’s reproductive rights in rural areas, including the present study setting. Therefore, this study aimed to assess husbands’ knowledge of women’s reproductive rights and its associated factors in Gacho Baba District, Gamo Zone, Southern Ethiopia. Methods A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from April 1 to 30, 2023. A total of 613 participants were selected using systematic random sampling. Data were collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire, entered into EpiData version 3.1, and exported to SPSS version 26 for analysis. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify factors associated with knowledge of women’s reproductive rights. The strength of association was reported using adjusted odds ratios (AOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI), and statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results The knowledge of women’s reproductive rights among husbands was 36.5% (95% CI: 32.7–40.3). Attending reproductive health services with wives (AOR = 3.07, 95% CI: 2.14–4.43), discussing reproductive health issues with spouses (AOR = 2.10, 95% CI: 1.02–4.31), and exposure to mass media (AOR = 4.60, 95% CI: 1.97–10.65) were significantly associated with better knowledge. Conclusions These findings highlights that knowledge of women’s reproductive rights among rural husbands remains low, indicating a significant gender based knowledge gap. Accompanying wives to reproductive health services, engaging in spousal discussions on reproductive health issues, and exposure to mass media were positively associated with husbands’ knowledge. Strengthening male involvement in reproductive health services, promoting open spousal communication, and expanding targeted mass media interventions tailored to rural contexts are recommended to enhance husbands’ knowledge and support for women’s reproductive rights. Keywords: Women’s reproductive rights, Husbands knowledge, Male involvement, Southern Ethiopia Introduction Women’s reproductive rights are internationally recognized human rights endorsed by the United Nations and declared in global documents such as the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) [ 1 , 2 ]. These rights include the freedom to decide the number, timing, and spacing of children; access to accurate reproductive health information and services; and the right to make reproductive decisions free from discrimination, coercion, and violence [ 1 , 3 ]. Under Ethiopian law, reproductive health rights reflect the constitutional guarantee that individuals have the right to access comprehensive sexual and reproductive health information and services, including family planning and maternal care, enabling informed and autonomous decision-making without discrimination [ 4 ]. Additionally, the Revised Criminal Code permits safe abortion under specific conditions, when a pregnancy results from rape or incest, endangers the health and life of the woman or fetus, or involves serious fetal abnormality [ 5 , 6 ]. A Rights-Based Approach (RBA) to reproductive health conceptualizes reproductive health rights as part of the broader human rights framework, recognizing that every individual has the entitlement to control their sexual and reproductive lives. Within this framework, husbands are not merely partners but are understood as duty-bearers whose knowledge and attitudes can significantly influence women’s ability to exercise their reproductive rights and access reproductive health services [ 7 , 8 ]. Despite recognition at international and national levels, the practical understanding of reproductive rights remains uneven, particularly in rural sub-Saharan Africa [ 7 , 9 ]. In Ethiopia, male-controlled social structures often spot husbands as primary decision-makers regarding fertility preferences, contraceptive use, health service utilization, and healthcare-seeking behavior during pregnancy and childbirth [ 10 – 12 ]. Within such contexts, women’s reproductive autonomy is frequently negotiated within male-dominated power hierarchies [ 13 ]. Male dominance in reproductive decision-making, compounded by knowledge gaps regarding reproductive rights, significantly restricts women’s autonomy and contributes to violations of their reproductive health rights [ 14 ]. This dynamic neglects women’s reproductive health needs, increases the risk of gender-based violence, and enables husbands to exert control over reproductive decisions. Such gaps also perpetuate harmful cultural norms and hinder open communication between spouses about reproductive health [ 15 – 17 ]. Many studies have reported considerable variation in the level of knowledge regarding sexual and reproductive health rights across different regions, with 19% in India [ 18 ], 37% in Nepal [ 8 ], 18.2% in Nigeria [ 16 ] and 80% in Ghana [ 19 ]. In Ethiopia, several studies assessing awareness of sexual and reproductive health rights among women and adolescents have reported knowledge levels ranging from 16.4% to 59.2% [ 20 – 25 ]. However, a single study conducted among husbands indicated that fewer than 50% were know about women’s reproductive rights [ 17 ]. Knowledge of reproductive rights is shaped by multiple factors [ 26 , 27 ]. Structural determinants, including socioeconomic status, educational attainment, media exposure, and socio-cultural norms, influence husbands’ access to information and engagement in reproductive health discussions. These structural factors interact with intermediate determinants, such as participation in community forums, spousal communication, and utilization of reproductive health services, which determine husbands’ knowledge of women’s reproductive rights [ 16 , 19 , 27 , 28 ]. In turn, this knowledge functions as a proximal determinant, promoting women’s decision-making autonomy, contraceptive use, skilled birth attendance, and protection from coercion [ 22 , 24 , 25 , 29 ]. In Ethiopia, particularly in rural areas, the government has implemented the Health Extension Program (HEP) to improve reproductive health awareness at both household and community levels [ 30 ]. A substantial body of evidence exists regarding women’s awareness of reproductive health rights, service utilization, and the role of male involvement in enhancing reproductive health service uptake [ 10 , 31 , 32 ]. However, evidence on husbands’ knowledge of reproductive rights in rural Ethiopia is lacking, and rural husbands remain underrepresented in reproductive health research. This gap persists despite the significant influence of cultural gender norms, and household decision-making dynamics on men’s engagement in reproductive health. This study addresses this gap by assessing husbands’ knowledge of women’s reproductive rights and its associated factors in rural District Gacho Baba, Southern Ethiopia. Methods and materials Study area, period, and study design A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in the rural district of Gacho Baba from April 1 to 30, 2023. The district is located in southern Ethiopia, 472 km from Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. The district has 11 rural Kebele, four health centers, and 14 health posts. The district had an estimated 104,663 population, of which 51,285 were men and 53,285 were women. Of these, 21,360 husbands were eligible for the study. Study population and eligibility criteria All husbands in the district were the source population. Husbands systematically selected from the sampled Kebeles in the district were included in the study population. The study included all married men who had lived in the area for six months or more, while critically ill participants who could not respond were excluded. Sample size determinations and sample procedures The sample size was calculated using the single population proportion formula ; using 48.3% Prevalence of husbands’ knowledge of partner reproductive rights from a previous study conducted in Harar [ 10 ], with an assumption of 95% confidence interval (z = 1.96), 5%, and a margin of error (d = 0.05). Thus, . . A non-response rate of 10% and design effect of 1.5 were considered, and the final sample size of 634 was used for this study. Five Kebeles were selected from the district by simple random sampling, and the assigned sample was proportionally allocated to the selected Kebeles (Fig. 1 ). The family folders maintained by health extension workers were used as the sampling frame. The first participant was selected using a simple random lottery method from the Kth interval (K = 15). Thereafter, the remaining participants were selected through systematic random sampling by including every 15th household, beginning with the first selected household. If a selected household did not meet the eligibility criteria or the respondent was unavailable after two revisits, the next household within the sampling interval was selected. Fig. 1. Open in a new tab Diagrammatic presentation of the sampling procedure for the study in Gacho Baba District, Gamo Zone, Southern Ethiopia, 2023 Data collection tools and procedure Data were collected using a structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire. The questionnaires adapted from different studies in the local context [ 15 , 17 , 22 ]. The questionnaire was translated from English into the local language (Gamogna). The interviews were conducted in Gamogna and translated into English to maintain consistency. The questionnaire contained three parts: sociodemographic characteristics, health service and information-related characteristics, and knowledge domains. Study variables Dependent variable: knowledge of reproductive rights. Independent variables: Sociodemographic characteristics: Age, Religion, family size, duration of marriage, occupation, educational status, partner’s education level, and wealth indexes. Health service and information related factors: nearest health facility, access to the reproductive health service, experience of attending for reproductive health service, means-of transportation, exposure for media, and discussion with partners about reproductive health. Operational definition and measurements Knowledge of reproductive rights was assessed using 11 dichotomous (yes/no) items. The items were adapted from validated Ethiopian studies, contextualized for rural husbands, translated and back-translated to ensure linguistic consistency, and pretested prior to final administration [ 17 ]. Each correct response was coded as ‘1’ and each incorrect response as ‘0’. A composite knowledge score was then calculated by summing the 11 items, yielding a total possible score ranging from 0 to 11. Internal consistency of the scale was acceptable (Cronbach’s α = 0.79). The mean score (5.3) was used as the cutoff point, consistent with previous Ethiopian studies employing similar dichotomous measures. Participants who scored at or above the mean were categorized as having good knowledge of reproductive rights, whereas those scoring below the mean were classified as having poor knowledge [ 17 ]. Mass media exposure Participants were considered exposed if they used any form of mass media (radio, TV, newspapers) at least once per week. Those who did not were considered unexposed [ 33 , 34 ]. Spousal discussion on reproductive health Participants were coded ‘Yes’ if they had accompanied their wives to any reproductive health service in the past 6 months, and ‘No’ if they had not [ 35 ]. Husbands’ attendance to reproductive health services was measured by asking whether they had accompanied their wives to any reproductive health service in the past 6 months. Responses were coded as ‘Yes’ for attendance and ‘No’ for non-attendance [ 36 ]. Data quality control Data collectors and supervisors were trained on the study objectives, data collection procedures, and importance of maintaining respondents’ confidentiality and privacy. A pre-test was conducted on 5% of the sample prior to the main data collection, and necessary adjustments were made based on the findings of the pre-test. All completed questionnaires were carefully reviewed by the investigators and supervisors for completeness, accuracy, and consistency prior to the data entry. Questionnaires with substantial missing information were excluded from the analysis, while minor missing responses were addressed using list-wise deletion. Data processing and analysis The data were cleaned and coded prior to entry into EpiData version 3.1 and subsequently exported to SPSS version 26.0 for analysis. Descriptive statistics, including frequencies, were used to summarize participants’ characteristics. Household wealth status was determined using principal component analysis. Multicollinearity and model fit were assessed using the Variance Inflation Factor (VIF = 1.67) and the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test ( p = 0.62), respectively. Bivariate logistic regression analysis was done to explore the initial relationship between each independent and the dependent variable before adjusting for potential confounders. Variables with a p-value < 0.25 in the bivariate analysis were included in the multivariable logistic regression model. Adjusted odds ratios (AOR) with 95% CIs were used to quantify the strength of associations, and statistical significance at p < 0.05. Results Socio-demographic characteristics of respondents Of the 634 respondents, 21 questionnaires were excluded due to incomplete responses, yielding a final analytic sample of 613 and an overall response rate of 96.7%. The mean age of the respondents was 39.33 ± 7.86 years. The majority (77.5%) were aged 30–49 years. More than half (53.2%) of the respondents were followers of the Orthodox religion, while nearly half (49.1%) had no formal education. The main occupation was farming, reported by 88.4% of participants. Over half (57.3%) of the respondents consist of more than five family members. Regarding marital duration, 258 respondents (42.1%) had been married for 5–15 years, and 278 respondents (45.4%) had been married for more than 15 years (Table 1 ). Table 1. Distribution of Socio-demographic characteristics of study participants in Gacho Baba Districts, Southern Ethiopia, 2023 ( n = 613) Variables Categories Frequency ( n ) Percent (%) Age < 30 years 62 10.1 [30–39] years 263 42.9 [40–49] years 224 36.6 >=50 years 64 10.4 Religions Orthodox 326 53.2 Protestant 287 46.8 Husbands educational status No formal education 301 49.1 Primary education 237 38.7 Secondary education 51 8.3 College and above 24 3.9 Husbands current occupation Farmer 542 88.4 Merchant 53 8.7 Employees 18 2.9 Length of stay in marriage Less than 5 years 77 12.6 5–15 years 278 45.4 Greater than years 258 42.1 Number of family size Less than or equal to 3 88 14.4 [4–5] 174 28.3 > 5 351 57.3 Women educational status No formal education 381 62.2 Primary education 198 32.1 Secondary education 31 5.1 College and above 3 0.5 Wealth indexes Poor 204 33.3 Medium 205 33.4 Rich 204 33.3 Open in a new tab Reproductive health service utilization and information about reproductive rights Approximately four out of ten husbands (39.5%) attended for reproductive health services with their wives, while only 57 respondents (9.3%) reported as they have spousal discussion about reproductive health issues. Nearly all participants (96.9%) were used foot or animal transport to reach health facilities. An exposure to mass media (7.1%) and social media (4.1%) were very low. Health post is the nearest health facility for the majority of respondents (73.6%) (Table 2 ). Table 2. Reproductive health service utilization and information related factors for knowledge of reproductive rights in Gacho Baba District, southern Ethiopia, 2023 ( n = 613) Variables Categories Frequency ( n ) Percent (%) Attending for reproductive health service with wifes No 371 60.5 Yes 242 39.5 Spousal discussion about reproductive health issues No 556 90.7 Yes 57 9.3 Availability of reproductive health education or program No 525 85.6 Yes 88 14.4 Nearest health facility Health center 161 26.3 Health post 451 73.7 Means of transportation Other(foot and animals) 594 96.9 Vehicles 19 3.1 Exposure to mass media No 567 92.5 Yes 46 7.5 Exposure to social media No 385 95.9 Yes 25 4.1 Open in a new tab Knowledge of reproductive rights The mean (± SD) score for knowledge about reproductive rights is 5.3. Two hundred twenty four (36.5%) husbands had good knowledge about women’s reproductive rights (95%: 32.7%–40.3%) (Fig. 2 ). Fig. 2. Open in a new tab Proportion of husbands’ knowledge of women’s reproductive rights in Gacho Baba District, Southern Ethiopia, 2023 More than three-fourths of the respondents (78.3%) were know about women’s have the right to maternity leave with adequate social support. Two out of three (67.9%) husbands were know that women have the right to access reproductive health information and education without their husbands’ consent. Majority of husbands (65.3%) agreed that women’s have equal rights to men, and more than half (54.1%) recognized that wife beating is not justifiable. One of four (24.6%) husbands knows that women’s have the right to limit the number of children without their husbands’ consent and autonomously decide on reproductive health services (25.8%). One out of three husbands (31.5%) knows that husbands should not involve in sexual activity against their wives’ will (Table 3 ). Table 3. Distribution of husbands Knowledge across reproductive rights domain in Gacho Baba Districts, Southern Ethiopia, 2023 ( n = 613) Knowledge domains Categories Frequency Percent’s (%) Married women and married men have equal reproductive rights Yes 400 65.3 No 213 34.7 Married women have the right to acquire reproductive health related information and education where it is available without their husbands’ consent Yes 416 67.9 No 197 32.1 Married women have right to use contraceptives without their husbands’ consent Yes 114 18.6 No 499 81.4 Married women have the right that their reproductive health issues are kept confidential Yes 458 74.7 No 155 25.3 Married women have the right to maternity leave with adequate social security benefits Yes 480 78.3 No 133 21.7 Married women have full right to access all reproductive health services without husbands’ consent Yes 295 48.1 No 318 51.9 Married women have right to autonomous reproductive service choices without their husbands’ consent Yes 158 25.8 No 455 74.2 A husband should not get sex whenever he wants, irrespective of his wife’s wish Yes 193 31.5 No 420 68.5 Married women have right to limit the number of their children according to their desire and without their husbands’ consent Yes 151 24.6 No 462 75.4 Must all married women be free to enjoy and control their sexual and reproductive life Yes 257 41.9 No 356 58.1 It is sometimes not justifiable for a husband to hit his wife Yes 336 54.8 No 277 45.2 Open in a new tab Factors associated with knowledge of reproductive rights In Multivariable analysis, attending for reproductive health services with their wives were three times more likely know about reproductive rights of women compared with did not (AOR: 3.07; 95% CI: 2.14–4.43). Spousal discussion about reproductive health issues improves knowledge of reproductive rights in two fold (AOR: 2.10; 95% CI: 1.02–4.31). Additionally, husbands who exposed to mass media were five times more likely to know about reproductive rights compared with not exposed for it (AOR: 4.6; 95% CI: 1.97–10.65) (Table 4 ). Table 4. Bivariable and multivariate analysis of factors associated with husbands knowledge reproductive rights in Gacho Baba District, southern Ethiopia, 2023 ( n = 613) Variables Categories Knowledge COR (95% CI) AOR (95% CI) p-value Good Poor Length of stay in marriage < 5 years 30 47 1 1 1 5–15 years 113 165 1.07 (0.64–1.79) 1.67 (0.92–3.09) 0.09 > 15 year 80 178 0.70 (0.415–1.195) 1.56 (0.83–2.93) 0.168 Attending for reproductive health services No 91 280 1 1 1 Yes 132 110 3.69 (2.61–5.29) 3.07 (2.14–4.43) 0.000** Spousal discussion about reproductive health issues No 181 375 1 1 1 Yes 42 15 5.8 (3.13–10.72) 2.1 (1.02–4.31) 0.043* Exposure to mass media No 186 381 1 1 1 Yes 37 9 8.42 (3.98–17.8) 4.6 (1.97–10.65) 0.000** Exposure to social media No 203 385 1 1 1 Yes 20 5 7.58 (2.8–20.5) 1.33 (0.35–5.06) 0.67 Wealth quintiles Poor 67 137 1 1 1 Medium 70 135 0.56 (0.398–0.904) 1.08 (0.668–1.747) 0.68 Rich 86 118 0.66 (0.438–0.997) 0.693 (0.447–1.074) 0.388 Open in a new tab COR Crude Odds Ratio, AOR Adjusted Odds Ratio, CI Confidence Interval Reference categories are indicated by “1” p < 0.05 considered statistically significant; * = p < 0.05, ** = p < 0.001 Discussion This study aimed to assess the husbands’ knowledge of women’s reproductive rights and it associated factors in rural district Gacho Baba, Southern Ethiopia. The result shows that 36.5% of husbands have good knowledge of women’s reproductive rights. Husbands’ attended for reproductive health services with their wives, engaged in spousal discussions about reproductive health issues, and exposed to mass media were significantly revealed as they have good knowledge. This finding was similar with the finding of the study conducted in Nepal (37%) [ 8 ]. This similarity is due to both population have low literacy level and exposure to mass media. In addition, both study conducted in rural setting and community based. However, this finding was lower than the study conducted in Harar (48.3%), Bule Hora Town (59.2%) [ 22 ], Adeta Tana Hayek College Bahir Dari (59.6%) [ 20 ], Mada Walabu Ethiopia (52.1%) [ 23 ], and in Ghana (80%) [ 19 ]. This difference could explained by variations study population, study area and period. In addition to this, disparities are due to difference in reproductive health seeking behaviors of study population, availability and accessibility of reproductive health service programs. This study involved rural husbands, who typically have lower exposure to formal education and mass media and poor reproductive health care -seeking behaviors. This supported by studies conducted in Nepal [ 8 ] and India [ 18 ]. Previous studies dominantly conducted on adolescents and women, where majority of reproductive health service programs were tailored enables them to have better opportunity to expose for information’s of reproductive rights [ 15 , 24 , 25 ]. The report of this finding is higher than studies from India (19%) and Nigeria (18.2%) [ 18 , 37 ]. This difference is due to variation in study period, sociodemographic characteristics of the study population and health policy of the regions. Husbands who discussed reproductive health issues with their wives were two times more likely to know about women’s reproductive rights compared to those who did not discuss. This could be due to discussion between couples avoids shyness and enables them to express their experience of reproductive health issues freely, which enables them to gain knowledge of reproductive rights. These study supported by studies conducted Harar [ 29 , 35 ], and Bule Hora, Ethiopia [ 22 ]. This study showed as there was low level of spousal discussion about reproductive health. It is supported by studies conducted in low resource settings were cultural norms and gender dynamics frame reproductive health as a woman’s responsibility and discourage open discussion within household [ 27 , 38 ]. Deep rooted social taboos about sexuality, male dominance in decision-making, and limit husbands’ engagement in reproductive health concerns of women were critical determinants for strikingly low experiences of couple discussion in this study area. Hence promoting a culture of couple discussion regarding reproductive health is important to enhance the husbands’ knowledge about reproductive rights of women. Husbands who attended reproductive health services with their wives were three times more likely to be know about women’s reproductive rights compared to who did not attended. These could be attributed by husbands attending for reproductive health services were high likely to gain advice and direct information from health care providers. These supported by studies done in wolaita [ 23 ] and Bule Hora [ 22 ]. Providing reproductive health rights–targeted education and counseling to couples attending health facilities is essential for enhancing husbands’ awareness of women’s reproductive rights. Husbands who ever used mass media were five times more likely to know about women’s reproductive rights compared to their counterparts. This is because exposure to mass media enhances access to information, providing a reliable and repeated source of knowledge on reproductive rights and related services. These supported by studies conducted in Nepal [ 8 ], wolaita [ 23 ] and Harar [ 25 ]. Delivering reproductive health information through mass media, tailored for rural husbands, plays an important role in improving their knowledge of reproductive rights. Conclusions and recommendations The level of rural husbands’ knowledge about women’s reproductive right is low, underscoring a substantial gender disparity in knowledge. Attending with wives for reproductive health services, engaging in discussions about reproductive health issues, and exposure to mass media were significant factors associated with husbands’ knowledge of reproductive rights in rural settings. Therefore, promoting husbands’ attendance at reproductive health services alongside their wives and encouraging a culture of spousal discussion regarding reproductive health issues are essential to improve husbands’ knowledge of women’s reproductive rights in rural communities. In addition, expanding access to targeted mass media messaging tailored to rural audiences may further enhance husbands’ awareness and understanding of women’s reproductive rights. Integrating husbands into health extension program home visits, implementing male-focused reproductive rights modules, and expanding targeted rural radio campaigns is crucial to improve awareness of women’s reproductive rights. Limitations of the study The cross-sectional study limits the ability to establish causal relationships between husbands’ characteristics and their knowledge of women’s reproductive rights. Recall bias may have occurred when participants reported past exposure to reproductive health services or media. Social desirability bias may also have influenced responses, particularly given the sensitive and rights-based nature of the questions. To minimize these biases, data were collected using a pretested structured questionnaire, interviews were conducted in private settings to ensure confidentiality, and trained data collectors emphasized anonymity and the nonjudgmental nature of participation. Furthermore, broader cultural and community-level factors that may influence men’s knowledge were not directly assessed. Authors’ contributions Kinde Kibe; Conceptualization; Investigation; Writing – original draft; Funding acquisition; Methodology; Validation; Visualization; Writing – review & editing; Formal analysis; Software; Project administration; Data curation; Supervision; Resources. Wubshet Estifanos: Conceptualization; Investigation; Funding acquisition; Writing – original draft; Methodology; Validation; Writing – review & editing; Visualization; Software; Formal analysis; Project administration; Data curation; Supervision; Resources. Genet Asefa : Conceptualization; Investigation; Funding acquisition; Writing – original draft; Methodology; Validation; Visualization; Writing – review & editing; Software; Project administration; Formal analysis; Data curation; Supervision; Resources. Addisalem Haile : Resources; Supervision; Project administration; Data curation; Formal analysis; Software; Writing – review & editing; Visualization; Validation; Methodology; Writing – original draft; Funding acquisition; Investigation; Conceptualization. Arega Abebe : Resources; Supervision; Data curation; Project administration; Formal analysis; Software; Writing – review & editing; Visualization; Validation; Methodology; Writing – original draft; Funding acquisition; Investigation; Conceptualization. Aster Dure : Resources; Supervision; Data curation; Project administration; Formal analysis; Software; Writing – review & editing; Visualization; Validation; Methodology; Writing – original draft; Funding acquisition; Investigation; Conceptualization. Funding The study was not funded by any organization. Data availability The data sets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. Declarations Ethics approval and consent to participate Ethical clearance was obtained from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the Arba Minch University College of Medicine and Health Sciences (IRB/1426/2023), and all methods and procedures were conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Additionally, permission was obtained from the Gamo Zone Health Office and Gacho Baba District. Written consent was obtained from literate participants through signed forms. For illiterate participants, the consent form was read aloud in their local language, and those who agreed were provided a thumbprint in the presence of an impartial witness to confirm understanding and voluntary participation. The privacy and confidentiality of the information obtained from the respondents were maintained. Consent for publication Not applicable. Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests. 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