TITLE: EXAMINE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FERTILITY LEVEL AND GENDER RELATIONS.
AUTHOR: IBRAHIM OLADEJO, UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN.
INTRODUCTION
Fertility level is the number of offspring born per mating pair, individual or population. It is quite different from fecundity which is merely the biological ability of the female population to reproduce [1] [2].
Gender may be defined as the behavioural, cultural, or psychological features typically associated with one sex; and gender relationsmainly entail the male and female roles, attitudes etc., and how the different genders interact with each other.
THE RELATIONSHIP
The two concepts, gender relations and fertility level, are linked from numerous aspects. The nature of the inter-relationship between the genders, whether friendly or otherwise, goes a long way in determining the rate of fertility, whether it will increase or decrease.
For instance:
A cordial relationship between the sexes may increase the use of contraception and a prevalence of abortion; leading then to a low fertility rate.
Again, if the relationship is so strained that women are denied a right to formal education, it leads to early contracting of marriages; thereby increasing their likelihood to give birth to more offspring.
In addition, a cordial relationship tends to give room for an effective family planning system, again causing a decrease in fertility rate.
Finally, the relegation of the female sex by their male counterpart is reflected in some countries through female infanticide. This equally causes a decline in the fecund population, leading to an inevitable decrease in fertility.
CONCLUSION
By virtue of the afore-mentioned facts therefore, it is very obvious that there is a strong link between gender relations and the rate of fertility.
REFERENCES