Feminist Contribution to Population Policy
Shifting the discourse of population policy from a focus on
reducing fertility to a focus on reproductive health
Consensus about population control is not firm
Population Policy Matters
Population Goals Matter
Measures of Population Goals Matter
Family Planning Programs Matter
Population Policies can be oriented towards
Examples of direct incentives for smaller families
Examples of indirect incentive for smaller families
The goals and intentions of population policy matter
If the goal is to reduce population growth it can be accomplished
in several ways:
Scenario A: Costs of bearing children are increased through disincentives reducing schooling and health services for higher parity children restricting access to the public distribution system that supplies essentials to low income groups persistent unemployment reduction of opportunities for children to earn income through employment
Scenario B: provision of safe water and domestic fuel reduces the need for the household labor of girls women's autonomy and decision making power are improved by programmes focused on improving their asset base and giving them access to income a focus on male education for involvement and responsibility
If the goals of population policy are
merely to reduce population, these two scenarios are equal.
Feminist activism has pushed population policy makers into
considering their goals
Sen - pre-Cairo
Goals and Intentions of Population Policy