Understanding Cultural and Religious Values Relating to Awareness of Women's Intimate Health among Arab Muslims

Women’s intimate health is a historically stigmatized topic in many cultures. Arab and Muslim values such as privacy and modesty can influence the extent to which members of these communities seek information or help regarding their intimate health. However, Eurocentric approaches to design and research for these groups only yield resistance due to their challenging of core values. We explore prior work in women’s health in HCI and cultural models to design for an underrepresented group in HCI research. Through interviews conducted with 16 participants who identified as Arab Muslims, we investigated attitudes, cultural and religious values, and backgrounds relating to awareness of women’s intimate health issues. Our thematic analysis identified shared experiences in learning about women’s intimate health and ways in which Arab culture and Islam synchronize or diverge. We contribute cultural and religious elements to consider in research methodology and design for Arab and Muslim communities.