Women's lives in transition: a qualitative analysis of the fertility decline in Bangladesh

Abstract

The fertility decline that began in Bangladesh in the late 1980s and continues has prompted diverse theories to explain it. In this qualitative analysis of 21 focus-group sessions with rural women ranging in age from the teens to late 40s and living in the villages of the Matlab area, the women's perceptions of their changing society and of the influence of the family planning program are examined. The women's statements reveal their awareness of the social and economic transition they are undergoing and their interest in family-size limitation, which is bolstered by a strong family planning program. Although the shifts in economic and social circumstances are not large, in conjunction with the strong family planning program they constitute a powerful force for change in attitudes, ideas, and behavior among these women.

PIP: In order to examine the effect of the family planning (FP) program in Bangladesh on women's status (especially on the status of FP workers), a qualitative study was undertaken with data gathered during 1987-88 from 21 focus groups composed of women from villages covered by the Matlab FP project (two focus group discussions were held with women opposed to contraception). The hypothesis was that Bangladesh's fertility transition was caused by the increased cost of large families, the growing influence of a commercial economy, changes in schooling, modernization, and the influence of the FP program. The analysis consists of a thematic grouping of quotations covering: 1) perceptions of change in contraceptive use and fertility; 2) economic and social change (changes in the cost of living, the cost of children, interest in education, family relations, marriage transactions from the bride-price to the dowry system, women's self-esteem, and women's opportunities and exposure to the world); and 3) the influence of the FP program (perceptions of the FP worker as a trusted friend and social leader, overcoming the fear of contraception, overcoming family opposition, providing access to contraception, understanding that FP represents a new concept, family-size perceptions, and the influence of the media for FP promotion). Respondents understood that their lives were in transition and were active participants in that transition. While supply-side factors are important, these data reveal that small socioeconomic changes on the demand side have coupled with substantial supply side inputs to spark the fertility transition in Bangladesh. The disagreements about fertility transition determinants in Bangladesh that have arisen over time may be understood by considering deconstructionist theory, which holds that knowledge is always being constructed, deconstructed through critical analysis, and reconstructed into new intellectual frameworks. Appropriate reconstruction of the fertility transition evidence in Bangladesh points to the simultaneous influence of supply- and demand-side factors