Gender Inequality and Fertility in Two Nepali Villages
Citation: Morgan, S. Philip, Niraula, Bhanu B. Gender Inequality and Fertility in Two Nepali Villages.
Internet Archive Scholar (search for fulltext): Gender Inequality and Fertility in Two Nepali Villages
Tagged: uw-madison (RSS), wisconsin (RSS), sociology (RSS), demography (RSS), prelim (RSS), qual (RSS), WisconsinDemographyPrelimAugust2009 (RSS)
Summary
Two villages in Nepal were selected to be similar on demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, but varying on the degree of patriarchy that they exhibit. Both settings were patriarchal in nature, but showed different levels of female autonomy and preference for male children. The authors posit that differences in female autonomy and preference for male children can lead women to desire different numbers of children and affect whether women use contraception in cases where no additional children are desired. In particular, desire for sons can lead to want a larger number of children, because on average it requires having a larger number of children to produce a minimum number of sons. In cases where a woman does not desire any more children, but her husband does, low levels of female autonomy may make her unable to adopt contraception. Low levels of autonomy may also lead women to adjust their fertility desires upward if she will have to rely on sons for support later in life. Data come from interviews with ever-married women aged 15-49, yielding 313 married women in one village and 352 married women in the other. Women were asked whether it was "acceptable" for women to go alone to certain places, who makes certain decisions, and questions about their control over household finances. In both cases, the village chosen as more patriarchal in nature showed lower levels of female autonomy. The analysis of fertility behavior used as the dependent variable current intention to have an additional child and current use of contraception. Few women who intend to have additional children are using contraception, indicating that contraception is used primarily for stopping rather than spacing. The most common type of contraception used in both villages is sterilization. The link between lower status of women and higher fertility expectations is upheld in the data. The village with lower levels of female autonomy are more likely to intend to have additional children and less likely to use contraceptives, even when current number of children, wife's age, education, and wealth of family is controlled. In both villages, those with at least one son already born are more likely to use contraception, but this effect is stronger in the village with lower female autonomy. The authors conclude that autonomy increases contraceptive use and decreases fertility desires.
