woman in Niger has seven children. The average South Korean has barely one. The future size of the world’s population depends largely on how quickly child-bearing habits in places like Niger become more like those in South Korea. If women in high-fertility countries keep having lots of babies, the number of people will keep swelling. The sooner they curb their fecundity, the sooner it will peak and start falling.
She is intensely proud of her brood—three surviving boys and four girls, aged between two and 21, and delighted that there are so many of them. “It is very, very important to have children,” she says, sitting on a wicker chair in the shade of a dusty tree. interviewing her. Her approach to child-rearing is loving, fatalistic and far removed from the “helicopter parenting” so common in rich countries. Asked where her two-year-old son is, she grins nonchalantly and looks around the yard. “He was around playing here, but he has wandered off into the fields,” she shrugs.For people in rich countries, the economics of child-rearing are different.
Having her parents to help was great, she says, but in other ways it was a tough time. Her husband worked in Seoul and came to see them only at weekends. “The idea was that he would spend time with our son or with me when he came, but sometimes he’d just sit in his room and work, so I didn’t get to spend any time with him, or even have any time to myself, because I had to look after the baby.”
Some young South Korean women go further, and say that even one child is too many. “I look at my mother and how she’s sacrificed everything and people don’t even notice. I don’t want my life to be like that,” says a 22-year-old student in Seoul. Others assume that the important factor is the availability of contraception. However, using household surveys in Africa, Mr Lutz found that less than a tenth of women who researchers thought might need birth control cited cost or lack of access as reasons for not using it. The main reasons were lack of knowledge, misplaced fear of health risks and opposition to family planning. None of these things can be changed by handing out free condoms. All require a change of mindset.
knowledge is power,and girls have more knowledge now,so girls is much more powerful than before.
margbrennan Not if the republicans have anything to say about it
Fears of overpopulation have tantalized humanity throughout history, yet we have managed to overcome any potential obstacle . I believe Aldous Huxley highlights this in his revisited edition of Brave New World.
An added benefit is that when young women do decide to start families, they will be in better positions to support them financially and to advocate for great freedoms.
Wow! Fabulous news. No more unplanned babies by very young girls. Congratulations to all the people who have been working tirelessly educating parents and young people about women's health and family planning. Education for young girls is paramount....