The misguided debate over declining fertility

If Bhagwat’s stated apprehension is the fading away of languages and culture with dwindling populations, the CMs know a smaller population could impact both budgetary allocations and parliamentary representation.

The angst might seem premature in the world’s most populous nation of 1.4 billion people. Yet, around the world, from South Korea, which has the world’s lowest fertility rate at 0.78, to the European Union, where the number of births in the 27 member States has fallen to its lowest since comparable data was first collected in 1961, alarm bells are ringing.

Women are simply not having enough children. About a year ago, I spoke to women who had chosen to be what they called “child-free”. Some told me the village it takes to raise a child is shrinking. Who raises the baby? All over the world but much more so in India, the division of responsibilities between parents is lopsided, leading to what economists call a “motherhood penalty” that leads women to drop out of paid work. Other women spoke about the cost of living where raising even one child was a serious consideration. And still others lamented about the state of politics, global affairs, and, even, the climate crisis. Was it fair to bring a child into such a world?

Urban women, says Amrita Nandy, author of Motherhood and Choice, are typically choosing to have fewer children, or none at all. “These women are discovering non-traditional ideas of fulfilment. Children and family are not all that they derive happiness from.”

There is a positive correlation between lower fertility and education, economic and political participation, and better health outcomes. Those who’ve witnessed generational struggle, seen their grandmothers and mothers fight for education, the right to work, to have a greater say in households, might not want to give up their hard-earned freedoms.

We’re nearly at 2025 but women’s fertility continues to be a preserve of patriarchy with male politicians determining policies to either curb it or spur it. China is now pushing the message for women to have more babies. Other countries are using a variety of bait from tax breaks (France) to subsidised housing deposits (Singapore).

I understand the anxiety about the economic impact of dwindling numbers. But that cross cannot be borne by women alone. There is also the niggling suspicion that advice to have more children stems from an impulse to control the bodies of women. If the concern was deeply felt, rather than dictating to women on how many kids they ought to have, a more fruitful conversation would have been on how the State plans to adapt to changing demographics — raising retirement age for instance, allocating greater resources like crèches that help women who choose to be mothers, and changing policy.

A good place to start? Equal paternity leave.

Namita Bhandare writes on gender. The views expressed are personal

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