Status and Roles of Women as Factors in Fertility Behavior: A Policy Analysis

Family planning programs in the Third World were developed on the assumption that subsidized provision of contraceptive education information and services would increase contraceptive use help reduce national fertility and encourage economic and social development. But family planning programs at best have had a marginal impact on societal fertility. This paper explores the hypothesis that the traditional definitions of womens roles as well as the treatment of women in the modernization process have been factors that have retarded progress toward reduced fertility national development and achievement of social justice. The paper is based on the premise that a fuller understanding of both the socioeconomic determinants of population trends and the consequences of these demographic trends for development requires recognition of the relationship between womens status and population trends as well as understanding of the current and potential roles of women in national development. (excerpt)