Tooth Decay Science Experiment

March 8

Empowering women: the key to controlling population growth

Sohad Ahmad lives in a village 92km south of Cairo, Egypt's capital. Her husband is a farmer and his family is poor. At first glance one might think that the situation of this woman fit the typical stereotype of low-income countries per capita: extreme poverty leads families to have more and more offspring to work in the fields, and can get more income. But in this case, it is not. Sohad

Ahmad has had only two children and no plan to have more. Population growth in Egypt has caused a big demand of land that his family can not afford more children. And most importantly, Ahmad Sohad not want your life to revolve around raising children. It has therefore adopted decision not to have more children. Women like Sohad

Ahmad, who control their fertility and seeking more opportunities are becoming more numerous in Egypt. In fact, this country has come a long way in reducing the annual population growth from 3% 10 years ago to 2.3% today. This is the reason why the International Conference on Population and Development chose Cairo to their historic 1994 meeting. The 1994 conference in Cairo was not the first of its kind, the most noteworthy for several reasons.
First, got a record turnout, with the presence of representatives of 180 countries. In addition, more than 1200 delegates from non-governmental organizations also attended the meeting. Second, the Cairo conference got almost a complete consensus on new guidelines to be followed for effective control of the world: improving the status of women.

In the past, the programs of population control have been limited to technology planning to birth, females available. This is a fundamental objective, since only half of married women in the world use effective methods of birth control. But it now seems clear that it takes more than technology to curb the increase of the population. A detailed analysis shows that even with methods of birth control available, the population continues to grow in societies that believe that the main responsibility of women, is having children.

Nafiz Dr. Sadik, an Egyptian who heads the UN efforts to control population growth, thus summarizes the new approach to curb the birth rate to give women more opportunities for decision and they have fewer children.
words, women who gain access to education and work, which can decide whether (no) and when they marry, have offspring as a result of a decision own, they limit their fertility. The possibility to education must also be open to older adults, says Dr. Sadik, as they often exert a great influence in their local communities.
The choice of the Cairo conference, and the evidence from countries around the world, is that control the population and improving the social situation of women are two inseparable goals.

Sources: Linden (1994), Ashford (1995); UNFRA (2000).