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Gender Dimensions of Population Growth By Ejiro Joyce Otive-Igbuzor, PhD
Executive Director,
Women Empowerment and
Reproductive Health
Centre (WERHC), Abuja, Nigeria
At the beginning of
the 20th Century, the World’s population was less than 2
billion people. Each year, it increases by about 80 million people. It
is projected to rise to 7 billion by the end of October 2011 and 9.3
billion by 2050. The largest increase is projected to be in Africa
where total fertility rate (TFR) is more than 5 in over 20 countries.
Africa accounts for
20% of the World’s population and by all measures, is the fastest
growing continent. Most countries in West Africa have TFRs between 3.0
and 8.0 - Ghana, 3.48; Liberia, 5.13; Sierra Leone, 4.94; Nigeria,
2.73; Benin, 5.33; Togo, 4.69; Mali, 7.38 and Niger, 7.37. Though the
current TFRs represent a decline in the number of births per woman
over the years, they do not indicate a decline in population growth as
is the case in developed countries where TFRs have fallen dramatically
below 2.6 in most instances.
Nigeria, the most
populous country in Africa with a current population of over 158
million will maintain its first position with a projected population
of at least 289 million by 2050. Nigeria is expected to overtake the
population of the US by 2050 even though its total land area of
923,000 square kilometers is only one tenth of that occupied by the
US. The impoverished and drought-prone West African country Niger is
projected to have a meteoric population rise from 16 million to 58
million by 2050 at the current population growth rate. This could
portend massive food insecurity, social and environmental problems for
the small Sahelian country.
In most of West
Africa, birth rates range between 27 – 51 per 1000 population (Ghana -
27.55, Nigeria - 35.51, Togo – 35.58, Senegal – 36.46, Benin – 38.11,
Burkina Faso – 43.59, Mali – 45.62, Niger – 50.54) compared to 13.83
per 1000 population in the US[i],
7.31 per 1000 in Japan, 12.00 per 1000 in France, China and the UK and
8.00 per 1000 in Germany. In the richer countries, people are living
longer due to access to socio-economic opportunities. Coupled with a
decline in birth rates, there is a demographic transition in which the
population is growing older (an increase in the dependency ratio)
compared to a bourgeoning population of youths in developing
countries. It is instructive to note that while families in France,
Japan and Germany are offered cash incentives to have children, poorer
countries are being lectured on small family sizes.
Some demographers
believe that the earth has already exceeded its carrying capacity. The
earth is under tremendous pressure to host the teeming population of
humans, most of who do not care about maintaining a balance in the
ecosystem. Some environmentalists argue that though population growth
puts immense pressure on the ecosystem, our misuse of available
resources does more damage to the ecosystem than population growth.
Determinants of
population growth are gendered. They reflect gross inequalities
between women and men but also between the global North and South.
These gendered determinants include child survival, female literacy,
changes related to hygiene, access to healthcare, access and control
over income.
Culture and
tradition place high values on large families in West Africa. A
decline in death rates and access to socio-economic activities,
including female literacy has removed the incentive for large families
in the richer countries. In agrarian societies, children form part of
the workforce on their parents’ farms. A cultural requirement also
prevails that children take care of their parents in old age. These in
turn place a high demand on women’s fertility. There is anecdotal
evidence that in some cultures in South Eastern Nigeria a woman who
has had 10 children is celebrated in a special way. In the same vein,
a woman who is ‘unable to prove her fertility’ after years of marriage
is often derided and sometimes lacks a sense of fulfillment.
On a global
scale, West African countries have the lowest literacy rates (Burkina
Faso being the lowest at 22%) worldwide. Of all the illiterate adults
in the world, two-thirds are women. Female literacy has a positive
correlation with the health status of families. In
The Demographic Transition
(2011) Montgomery posits and we agree that “increasing female literacy
and employment lower the uncritical acceptance of childbearing and
motherhood as measures of the status of women. Valuation of women
beyond childbearing and motherhood becomes important. In addition, as
women enter the work force their life extends beyond the family and
the connections they make with other women serve to break their
isolation and change their attitudes towards the burdens of
childbearing. Within the family they become increasingly influential
in childbearing decisions”[ii].
West Africa is caught in a vicious cycle
of inequality resulting in poverty and disease which will further
entrench inequality. As women who are mostly based in rural areas
labour to replenish the increasingly urbanising population, many lose
their lives. At a UN Conference in 2009, the Food and Agriculture
Organisation of the UN (FAO) stressed the need for a proper
socio-economic framework to address imbalances and inequalities.
Maternal mortality in West Africa is an avoidable tragedy.
As the population of the world
increases, the demands for energy use further damage the ecosystem and
plunders women’s livelihood which are often tied to the ecosystem.
A burgeoning population raises the
important question of food security. Of the world’s current population
of 7 billion, at least 1 billion goes to bed hungry daily. Food
insecurity results more from distributive injustice than of lack of
food. Studies have shown that in rural areas where most of the world’s
hungry people live, women produce most of the food consumed locally.
Their contribution could be much greater if
they had equal access to essential resources and services, such as
land, credit and training[iii].
Processes of growth and institutions that make and promote
policies that disadvantage the poor widen gender gaps and place women
and girls in marginal positions where they are unable to access and
control resources, denying the world of women’s selfless
contributions. In our view, women hold the keys to sustainable
development in the 21st century.
An International
Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) held in Cairo in 2004,
heralded a rights-based paradigm to addressing population issues
rather than focusing purely on population policies and targets. This
approach being pursued by United Nations institutions like UNICEF,
UNFPA and UNDP need to percolate through national justice and security
institutions in the subregion to make any meaningful impact, even in
20 years. For instance, population pressure on employment and the
economy will further result in worsening cases of gender-based
violence as a recent study in Nigeria by CLEEN Foundation shows that
women are unlikely to report domestic violence and rape cases for fear
of stigmatization and poor response from the authorities.[iv]
Interventions to
tackle the current population problems must be gender transformative.
Key issues of focus include women’s access to education, health
(especially sexual and reproductive health) and other social services.
The developed world needs to take environmental protection measures
more seriously. Also, poverty reduction strategies must mainstream a
gender perspective. Some of the Millennium Development Goals targets
are positioned to address this, but many West African nations appear
poised to miss the targets by 2015. Finally, women and girls must be
empowered at all levels to take advantage of existing opportunities
for growth and development. A shift in the cultural mindset, practices
and values placed on high fertility will emerge once living conditions
become more favourable for the vulnerable members of society.
[i]
http://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html
[ii]
Montgomery, K., 2011, The Demographic Transition
http://www.marathon.uwc.edu/geography/demotrans/demtran.htm
[iii]
Women, Agriculture and Food Security, http://www.fao.org/worldfoodsummit/english/fsheets/women.pdf
Ejiro J.
Otive-Igbuzor, PhD
Executive Director
Women Empowerment
and Reproductive Health Centre (WERHC)
2nd Floor, Tolse
Plaza, 4, Lawan Gwadabe Crescent, Apo, Abuja.
Nigeria. Tel:
+234-7033676020
WERHC...making the money work for
women and girls in Africa
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