Family Planning vis-à-vis gender relations and its impact on peace building’:
Case of the Cameroons
A.
Introduction
This paper explores the Cameroons family planning policy and questions whether
the policy affects gender relation vis-à-vis peace building; case of Njindom married
men. Gender, a socially constructed ideology (in patriarchal societies) entails
inequality between men and women. The overarching question is: do Njindom men
as patriarchs exclude their wives from reproductive decision-making process? If
they do, how does this affect family peace building process particularly if they
cannot feed and / or provide medication to the family? This paper also discusses
the country’s population policy debate vis-à-vis food productivity. The key
questions are: 1) what accounts for Njindom men’s decision to pare or increase
family size? 2) What is the Cameroons’ policy on family planning and how does
this affect gender relation and peace building?
i. What is the meaning and origin of patriarchy?
According to The Cassell Compact Dictionary (1998), a patriarch “is the head of a
family or tribe, ruling by paternal right in a patriarchal society which is distinct
from a matriarch who is a female head of a family, tribe in a matriarchal society”.
This concept underpins the adage that ‘he who rules dominates and that power and
authority are identical twins to a ruler’. In patriarchal societies, because men rule,
they dominate, hence have the power and authority to wield over subjects. Then in
the family situation, because they are also family heads, they control their wives.
For an in-depth understanding of patriarchy and what it involves, it is important to
1
discuss the origin of male control over women. Such discussions will reveal facets
of men’s attitudes in the Cameroons in general before localising it to the specific
case study.
The idea of men’s domination over women in the family seems to have its origin
from sex and gender inequality particularly in patriarchal societies. Giddens (1986:
121) argues that, “the origin of patriarchy and dominance of men over women is
within the family and in the context of other social institutions”. For him, this
seems to have been the ideology first nurtured in the higher echelons of the class
system and filtering down. He argues that the idea that ‘the place of women is in
the home’ has different implications for women at varying levels in the society.
Similarly, Marx (in Hearn, 1987) notes that patriarchy developed in the family.
Marx, like Engel, however, relates the general division of labour in the family to
sexual division. They noted that, "sexual division developed spontaneously or
naturally by virtue of natural predisposition" (Hearn, 1987:36). Engel (in Hearn,
1987) emphasises the origin of patriarchy linking it to a form of enslavement
embedded in the family. He notes that the word 'family' originally referred to the
total number of slaves belonging to a man. He also notes that the Latin word
'proletariat' meaning, "he who has no wealth but his children", is rather closer to the
modern meaning of family, or the head of the family who is the father (Hearn,
1987: 36).
Similarly, Max Weber (in Christopher, 1980:37) had earlier conceived
"patriarchalism with authority invested in the master over his household with
2
domestic authority decentralised through the assignment of land and sometimes of
equipment to sons of the household and other dependants". Weber’s views are
similar to those expressed by Gericke (in Gray, 2000:303): that: “the house wife
stands below the husband” underpinned by Bernhard’s idea (in Gray, 2000:303)
that: “every man is king in his house”. The analyses above fits exactly the
prevalent Cameroons’ patriarchal tradition, which permeates Njindom households,
underpinned by its patrilineal kinship system, which also underpins the supremacy
of Njindom men as the head of the family, hence control and dominate their wives.
Therefore, the term which best explains men’s domination and control over women
for Rich (in Maynard and Winn, 1997) is ‘patriarchy’. The exact meaning of this
term remains however a subject of academic debate. Nonetheless, the definition
that acknowledges the nature and degree of men’s control over women’s sexuality
varies within and across societies, and this paper is interested in exploring such
variations. Despite this variation, Rich’s perception of patriarchy may be an
excellent point to start here. For her:
"Patriarchy is the familial, social, ideological, political system in
which men by force direct pressure or through rituals, laws and
language, customs, etiquette, education, and the division of
labour, determines what part women shall or shall not play, and
in which the female is everywhere subsumed under the
male"(Maynard and Winn, 1997: 177).
3
‘Patriarchy’ is thus a social system in which the father is the head of the family and
men have authority over women and children and this permeates the family,
community or society based on this system governed by men. This form of social
organisation in which the male is the family head, and titles are traced through the
male line, suggests that men subjugate women. How does this affect family peace
building? For radical feminists, the heterosexual family is the pivot of male
domination and exploitation risking family harmony, thus it should be annihilated.
‘Radical Feminists’ perceive patriarchy as a universal characteristic of human
society, while ‘Marxist Feminists’ consider both mode of production and
patriarchy in their understanding and explanation of men’s dominance over women
in society (Ramazanoglu, 2002). Marxist feminists like McDonough and Harrison
hold a dual opinion of patriarchy as, first, the control of women’s fertility and
sexuality in monogamous marriage, and second, the economic subordination of
women via the sexual division of labour and property (Murray, 1995).
For Murray (1995) ‘patriarchy’ is the power of the father over his household, while
for Ramazanoglu (2002) ‘patriarchy’ is the mechanism, ideology and social
structure which has authorized men to gain and to maintain their domination over
women throughout most of human history. Also, Walby (1990: 20) defines
patriarchy as a “system of social structures and practices in which men dominate,
oppress and exploit women”. In the same vein, Eisenstein (in Murray, 1995)
4
defines ‘patriarchy’ as a sexual hierarchy in which the woman is a domestic
labourer and consumer. Similarly, Coveney et el., (1984:12) notes that:
“male sexuality as a facet of patriarchy acts as a social control
mechanism and, in any political system of oppression, the ruling
class maintains its power and control in a variety of ways… and
ideological controls to which social institutions contribute by
different means, women are controlled by men, and under male
supremacy, overt physical violence is used on a large scale by
men to discipline women”.
In view of the above, below is a discussion on the meaning of heterosexuality, and
examines the link between patriarchy and heterosexuality, arguing whether they
both perpetuate gender inequality in household decision-making around sex,
reproduction and family size in the Cameroons. In this paper, theoretical /
ideological traditions are discussed side by side with an attempt to reconcile them,
as well as to build a model of the various social processes that help to explain
Njindom married men’s attitudes towards family planning, and whether this affects
peace building in the family.
ii. What is heterosexuality?
Defining ‘patriarchy’ above gives some idea about the nature of women’s
oppression by men as linked to heterosexuality (Murray, 1995, Rich in Maynard
and Winn, 1997). Rich (in Maynard and Winn, 1997) argues that what is of prime
5
concern is that heterosexuality is seen as a key site for gender dichotomy, hence
results in women's subordination. Her argument suggests that heterosexuality is a
socially constructed institution that constructs and maintains male domination; in
particular through the way it channels women into marriage and motherhood
through the use of customary laws. Though this is at a fairly high level of
theoretical abstraction, this is however perceived in terms of male sexual practice,
male sexual needs, which establishes a subordinate position for women in terms of
their fertility control by men.
Heterosexuality comes from the Greek word ‘hetero’ meaning ‘different’ and the
Latin for ‘sexuality’. It developed from the term heterosexual as an opposite to
homosexuality (sexual activity between people of the same sex, e.g. gays or
lesbians). Heterosexuality thus describes sexual activities between people of the
opposite sex characterised by romantic love and / or childbearing. This word thus
refers to sexual behaviour, sexual orientation, and sexual identity. For the purpose
here, it is used to mean sexual behaviour or sexual orientation.
A broad array of opinion holds that much human behaviour ultimately is
explainable in terms of natural selection, and humanity as a whole exhibits a strong
tendency towards heterosexuality as heterosexual intercourse has the potential for
producing offspring and homosexual intercourse does not.
6
In some traditional societies, men are often under social pressure to marry and have
children, and to have authority over their wives and children as family heads. In
contrast, in advanced western societies, some homosexuals have found ways to
procreate (through artificial or natural insemination) despite their sexual orientation
(http://marriage.about.com/cs/generalhistory/a/history/a/marriagehistory.htm).
There are numerous theories about the origins of a person's sexual orientation.
Some writers believe that "sexual orientation is most likely the result of a complex
interaction of environmental, cognitive and biological factors", and that genetic
factor, play a ‘significant role’ in determining a person's sexuality and preference
(American Psychiatric Association, 2002).
iii. What is the link between patriarchy and heterosexuality? How do these
concepts impact on gender relations and peace building: case of Njindom?
The link between patriarchy and heterosexuality is that both come together via
marriage between man and woman. Such relationship often results in the control
and domination of women by men on issues about sex and reproduction because
men have more authority, power and capital (Bourdieu, 1994, 1998, 2001), and
legitimated via traditional marriage rituals, thus men see their wives as property.
The above suggest that in patriarchal societies (case of Njindom) the social
structure maintains a hierarchy to ensure unequal roles for women from those of
men, perpetuated by socialisation based on biological identification of sex and
gender (Rubin, 1975, Seidler, 1992, Chow, 1999, Irvin, 2000). Linked to this,
7
Allen & Baber (in Mckenry & Price, 1994: 21) argue that “gender is a central
organising principle of contemporary social life and that gender issues permeate
physiological functioning, identity, personality relationships, social roles and
institutional structures”. For them, children become aware of who they are as
gendered beings by age 3, and such individuals continue to be socialised as males
or females throughout their lives. They argue that gender is a pervasive force in
family life based on biological sex identification at birth that develops into intimate
and / or unequal relationships or interactions with others and hence determines the
way they behave. Such interactions occur in a societal context that provides
different opportunities and has different expectations (Allen & Baber in Mckenry
& Price, 1994, Ferree, 1990, Thompson & Walker, 1989).
The above highlight theories linked to the origin of patriarchy and its connection
with men’s attitudes towards women in Njindom. Such discussions will serve as a
prelude to understand whether these theories help explain whether because of sex /
gender dichotomy, Njindom men do not share family planning decisions with their
wives, hence affect family peace.
B. Brief description of Njindom reflecting sex and gender dichotomy
The discussions here further explain sex and gender inequalities and argue whether
these influence Njindom men’s attitudes toward family planning. This also
explores the influence of socialisation and considers whether this perpetuates
gender inequalities in marriage. Such discussions are a prelude to the larger issues
discussed in this paper.
8
In Njindom, there is high illiteracy especially amongst women, particularly in poor
households where the girl child is socialised for early marriage and childbearing.
Only women participate in subsistence agriculture to feed the family and sell farm
surplus to support the many children and their husbands. This is so because of
inequality which impacts on gender relation, as women as compelled to do the
backbreaking tasks.
i.
Women’s ordeal / desire to limit births?
The story below about a Njindom woman illustrates the sex and gender dichotomy
and women’s status in marriage. It discusses women’s ordeals in marriage, hence
their desire to control birth though they are never allowed to do so (Rubin, 1975,
Doyal, 1995, Smyke, 1995,Chow, 1999). Linked to this, the analysis in this paper
reveals that most respondents argued that marriage arrangements make them see
women as property, hence control and dominate them.
She is 35 years old. When she was born, her mother was malnourished,
undernourished and over-worked. She was very low weight at birth and grew
slowly. During childhood, she had little good food to eat even, less than her
brothers. She could not go to school as her brothers could but remained at home
with her mother to help with the housework and child minding.
When she became an adolescent, her pelvic bones were misshapen and she was
shorter in stature than might have been expected. As was the tradition, she was
married early and had her first baby when she was 14 even before she had fully
9
developed. It was a difficult birth, but she survived it. It was a painful event with
her second pregnancy shortly after as it was aborted spontaneously. She was tired
and weak afterwards. Her many subsequent pregnancies occurred as well, with
little time between to recuperate or replenish her health. On one delivery, she had
so much bleeding that every one was afraid she would never recover, and she had a
high fever for days. She has been anaemic ever since, a condition aggravated by the
hookworm she carries and the inimical environment rife with malaria.
During another pregnancy, she suffered a malarial fever and aborted. During later
pregnancies, her nutritional state was very poor, and her fatigue was draining her.
She had so much work with the children, keeping up the household, fetching water
from far away, working all day long on the farms under the scorching sun, coupled
with the petty trading of farm surplus that she began to dread the next pregnancy.
When it happened, she went to a woman in the village for something to end it. She
was very sick but it worked. She breastfed all of her eight children, but many times
it was difficult and tiring. Once, in order not to stay off from her multiple activities,
she bottle-fed her infant. She did not have enough money to buy enough powder so
she diluted the little she had and her eldest daughter had the job of giving the bottle
to the baby. The baby died at 4 months from diarrhoea.
Like her mother before her, she never went to the health centre when she was
pregnant. It was too far away and too foreign. She used the traditional birth
attendant (TBA) who delivered her and who helped her sisters. The TBA, unaware
10
of the importance of cleanliness used a bamboo blade to cut the umbilical cord, and
her unclean hands to extract the placenta. Thus, she suffered serious infection.
Though she survived those episodes, today at 35, she still feels dull pains and
soreness in her ‘belly’, which flares up from time to time. During her rare
menstrual periods, she does not experience too much pain, but she is anaemic, and
sometimes there is infection because she is not able to use clean enough protection.
Also, after so many pregnancies, abortions, and miscarriages, her body has a partial
prolapsed uterus, which often causes her strong discomfort, especially after a hard
day’s work. Despite all her long hours of hard work in petty trading and helping the
family working in the fields, there is never enough food. She does all she can to
prepare the family’s meals all alone, but the husband and children must have the
most, and she will manage. She is always malnourished and underfed.
She is a woman who cares desperately about her family and wants to limit her
pregnancies. She heard about family planning from her sisters but was always too
afraid of her husband who would never allow it. What would people think if she
has no more babies, especially after her last son died lately? Despite these
anxieties, she once got some contraceptive pills clandestinely, yet she felt so
nauseated and had so many headaches (this was surely a punishment, she thought),
that she stopped. Her next pregnancy was a disaster, an ectopic pregnancy
unattended and led to her demise.
These difficult situations bedevil the majority of women in Njindom. At the centre
11
of this fine labyrinth are the women whose reproductive deliberations take place
within a particular set of beliefs and values about the nature of men and women,
the purpose of sexuality and the meaning of marriage, sex, parenthood and family
life. In this community, women experience powerful pressures to ‘prove their
femaleness’ by becoming pregnant often. At the same time, women and their
partners are influenced by the socio-economic reality of the world around them.
Therefore, a woman does not simply get pregnant and give birth like the flowing
tides and seasons. She does so under the constraint of material conditions that set
limits on natural reproductive processes. For many women, the decision to have a
large family is not only from ignorance or religious obscurantism but also because
children represent an important army of labour and a sign of social status
aggrandisement, and a source of material security in their old age. Decisions of this
sort are invariably represented as belonging to couples or households, but it would
seem most of these decisions in Njindom are made in the context of gender
inequality. Thus, this paper argues that the institution of patriarchy legitimate
men’s claims to control women’s sexual reproductive lives regardless of whatever
happens to women’s health. The focus on Njindom men aims to understand
whether or not they stop their wives from practicing family planning, because they
are unequal in terms of ‘money power’ authority etc.
Closely linked to the above, Jacobson in Smyke (1995: 69) argues that, “whatever
happens to women depends on the value placed on women’s health”. This poses a
question about the value placed on women’s lives. Could social intransigence;
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religious intolerance, economic self-interest and political apathy all narrow the
options for men in Njindom to practice family planning? The society’s message to
these women is ‘carry these unwanted pregnancies or risk your lives to end them’.
Doyal (1995: 103) quoting Royston and Armstrong (1989: 191) argues that in subSaharan Africa, fertility generally reflects large family size. Paradoxically, millions
of women say they want no more children, but are not practicing contraception,
while millions more wish to space their children more effectively, yet are never
given the opportunity by their husbands to do so, and this results in unnecessary
pregnancies, and related deaths and diseases. Doyal, (1995) further quoting
Royston and Armstrong (1989) argues that if women were able to have only the
number of children they say they want, this would result in the reduction of 17% in
maternal mortality in Africa. The barriers women face in meeting their desire for
safe and effective contraception and their struggle begins at home if their partners
are resistant. This paper below discusses the resistance amongst Njindom men and
the explanations on whether or not this resistance affects peace building in the
household.
C. Factors that influence attitudes to control women.
i.
Geographical
Cameroon is a mosaic of differing cultures, languages and religions, united only by
the accident of colonial history. There is great diversity in traditional attitudes
towards women and girls, hence men’s non-participation in family planning.
Linked to its regional diversity is the geographical aspect of the educational
13
penetration of the country by the various Christian missions, first in developing
boys' education and later that for girls, as the missions worked inwards from the
coast. The north and east of the Cameroons are underdeveloped educationally with
fewer literate women. In 1955, primary enrolment was 6% in the north and 86% in
the south-central province though the gap is smaller today (Education Research
Paper, No. 09, 1993).
Apart from the local cultural diversity, the major division of the Cameroons into
Anglophone and Francophone regions is significant; the relative neglect of the
western regions has led to the take-up of Anglophone educational opportunities by
males in West African universities with fewer parents willing to send their
daughters to these far off lands. Aspects of this dichotomy that affect the role,
status and education of females include polygamy. Although this is in most parts of
the Cameroons, it is prevalent in rural areas. As participation in secondary
schooling becomes strained, it is the poorer families whose girls lose out as the
economic factor emerges. At primary level the potential problem of distance
between home and school normally arises and is indeed a major problem in the far
north, particularly among nomadic groups. They tend to hold the girls back from
attending school due to the Islamic seclusion ideology. This paper argues that
Roman Catholicism in Njindom motivates most respondents to educate both boys
and girls equally and to stick to one wife, although a few respondents argued the
contrary.
14
ii.
Socio-Cultural
Socio-cultural attitudes to a large extent account for female non-participation in
education and family planning activities, due to gender inequality. There are
arguments that traditionally, Cameroonian women are 'parallel' or 'complementary'
in their traditional roles rather than being oppressed. However, the debates in this
paper about whether or not Njindom men involve their partners in family planning
suggest that the women are in a marginal position, driven by the traditional
marriage arrangements.
Women are a scarce resource in some regions: "given in marriage to the highest
bidder". Their bride prices buy their labour, their sexuality and their childbearing
capacity. Marriage traditionally is early, at puberty or just after in some tribal
groups, and before puberty in others, particularly in poor households who do not
know the value of educating children, especially the girl child. Early marriage is
common in most rural areas, and the tradition continues that marriage is the only
possible future for a girl. In such tribes, all females are married, even widows
immediately marrying their husband's heir. The girl-child is regarded not only as a
valuable asset but also for her work in the fields and for her bride price, and her
high fecundity. There is a clear link between early marriage and the making of
money. Although the father's role and influence is declining in some tribes,
particularly in urban areas, the continued operation of a patrilocal system and the
bride price custom make investment in the education of girls less attractive than
15
that of boys. A girl is transitory within the family group (Rubin, 1975, Chow,
1999).
Traditional non-formal education for girls in most tribes centres on preparing them
to be good housekeepers and mothers. A satisfactory wife must have "un ventre de
fécondité", a strong spine (for working), good cooking skills and good manners.
Her mother educates her towards these ideals. These traditional views however
conflict with the curriculum of formal education, hence schooling often seems
irrelevant to what is still seen as her only future role by many parents, especially in
rural areas.
In most rural regions in the south, women always work in the fields and move
freely around the extended compounds and villages but in the northern provinces,
there is a tradition of seclusion. In the far north, women and / or girls are not
allowed to attend community activities or to vote. Such socio-cultural belief
systems have obvious implications for school drop out rate at puberty for the girls,
hence their non-involvement in family planning driven by Islamic culture.
Some interviewees nonetheless disagree with the idea in some culture that ‘girls
don’t need to go to school as much as boys’. Though some Njindom men disagree,
nonetheless, they dominate and control their wives, as some of them do not involve
them in family planning since they are regarded as property.
16
In view of the broad regional diversity in customs, some men fear the
independence of women (Fanon, in Chow, 1999) that can come through education
hence there is more pressure on women to conform to traditional norms
(www.ippfnet.ippf.org/pub/IPPF_Regions). Such attitudes affect primary and
secondary education for most girls, despite the calls for religious and health
education to be strengthened, so as to emancipate women so that they can have
control over their sexuality and fertility. In the south, Christian beliefs tend to make
people a bit more liberal and this tends to narrow the sex and gender dichotomy.
iii.
Sexual and Reproductive Health
Mother and child health centres are unevenly distributed at all levels of the
Cameroons’ three tiered public health systems. Rural areas suffer most despite the
government’s apparent support for maternal and child health adopted in the 1992
National Population Policy. This policy, emphasizes ‘responsible fertility
decisions’, commensurate with parents’ financial and health situations; this means
couples and not the government decide about family size, unlike the case in China.
Obstacles include pro-natalist attitudes both in the government and among couples,
inadequate family planning staff training and facilities, and poor communication
infrastructure.
Though health is important because of its connection with the sexual dimension of
youth culture, where sex education and the health of adolescent girls are matters of
concern, the government is less involved in protecting maternal and child health.
While the custom of bride price protects the health of young girls to some extent,
17
early marriage and pregnancy militate against health and educational opportunity
for girls. This permeates family structures in most rural areas with the least
educated wives, without jobs dependent on their husbands, hence dominated and
controlled.
With such socio-cultural beliefs marginalizing women, this significantly reduces
the average life expectancy in years for women to 56, often resulting from the high
maternal mortality rate due to pregnancy or childbearing complications. The ratio
of infant live births per 100,000 in a given year is 550, though this varies and is
highest in most deprived regions without maternal and child clinics.
(www.dfid.gov.uk/).
iv.
Economic factors
Women play a central role in subsistence agriculture: they are the prime source of
labour, while men are engaged in mechanized cash crop production. In some tribes
women own fields and own storehouses for grain. Their role in feeding the family
has implications for their daughters who have to work with them both to help and
to learn the agricultural skills they will need later in marriage; hence their school
enrolment and attendance suffers. Girls are also involved in their mothers' pettytrading activities with similar results. Their tasks and those of their daughters are
not any easier, and coupled with frequent pregnancies, deliveries and poor nutrition
drain their health.
18
Cameroon had enjoyed something of a boom until the last decade, but now is
experiencing rapidly deteriorating economic circumstances, with the severe
economic climate affecting the take-up of primary and secondary schooling
opportunities, especially by girls.
The economy of polygamy is a significant factor in rural areas: "le travail familial a
besoin de bras". More hands mean more agricultural production hence more
income. More income means a man can purchase more wives and this in turn
increases production and income. More wives also mean more daughters hence
more bride price. The large polygamous families particularly amongst Muslims
tend to perpetuate male dominance. There is thus a rather utilitarian view of girls
within the traditional economy: that they are useful for housework and farming and
will ultimately bring in a bride price. The boy, in the north is allowed to
concentrate on his schoolwork, while the girl is expected to divide her time
between domestic duties and school. Girls help extensively on the farms and in the
preparation of food and also care for their younger siblings, especially in rural
areas in the south.
In view of their work in farming and petty trading with their mothers, girls tend to
have a relaxed attitude to schooling in poor households. Many from poor
households in the rural areas see themselves as economic burdens on their families
and are keen to enter productive work in the context of trade and then to marry
early. Because of the desire for money and to marry early, tensions often arise in
19
the early secondary school years between making money and continuing with
schooling. Despite increased opportunities for women to obtain paid jobs during
the boom period, there is often significant early leaving in order to marry and
support their families financially (as shown in table 1). In the professional milieu
women have not made considerable progress and this is partly due to the nature of
the bureaucracy and because women are discriminated against, as they are mainly
appointed at the lower levels, though a few are in high positions as the tribal
affiliation factor is also at work.
v.
Religion
Dominant religions include traditional cults, Christianity and Islam. Though these
may not seem direct factors, indirectly they are influential and generally supportive
of the education of girls in Christian communities, unlike in Moslem communities.
Traditional men however religiously legitimize the discrimination against girls in
education in Muslim communities. The Catholic and Protestant traditions are very
critical of early pregnancy, though paradoxically they do not support the use of
contraceptives as argued by some Njindom men below.
Some of the indigenous religious rites in the Francophone
region
give
some
indication of the traditional importance of boys as opposed to girls: for example,
unless a man has a son, his skull will not be exhumed and he will never become an
ancestor, and this affects family fertility and peace.
20
vi.
Legal
Although customary laws give almost all power to the male, on paper there exists,
since independence, the notion of equal opportunities. However, the various factors
mentioned above have engendered different types of female disadvantage in
respect of education and family planning involvement.
On the issue of early marriage, which is a constraint on girls' education, while the
minimum age for the girl is 18, lawyers often agree to legalise the union at much
younger ages (as low as 12) provided that both sets of parents consent. This is not
uncommon, especially in rural areas among poor families, and is clearly a
significant factor that leads to women’s subsequent domination and control in
marriage, as men tend to exercise more power and control driven by traditional
beliefs.
vii.
Political /Administrative factor
The broad Anglophone / Francophone divide noted above results in two distinct
schooling systems which feed into a single tertiary sector. Though the systems
seem officially complete, there are locational diversities that enhance difficulties of
access in some places, especially for the girl child. The Anglophone northwest and
southwest provinces are relatively neglected, and this widens the sex and gender
divide as most parents tend to favour the education of boys over the girls especially
in poor households.
21
‘A Ministry of Women's Empowerment and the Family’ created lately appears to
boost equal gender roles, though the budget in this ministry is limited. Ironically,
this ministry is still male dominated despite the increasing number of qualified
females being employed. Due to the economic crisis in the country, this sector has
come under serious financial crisis, especially in the rural regions, hence women
lose out. Aid agencies like the Overseas Development Agency (ODA) however
assist this ministry in striving for gender equality, though this remains an uphill
task, due to local traditional beliefs about sex and gender dichotomy serving as
barriers. However, as discussed below, some indigenous family planning agencies
(CAMNAFAW) are helping to break these barriers via mass sensitization
programmes to involve couples in family planning.
viii.
Education
Table 1(in thousands) shows the parallel Anglophone and Francophone divide in
the education systems reflecting the sex and gender inequalities, and drop out rate.
Table 1: Primary Education in Selected Regions 1985-86
Centre
Southwest
B
G
B
G
Class 1
36,505
36,150
10,217
9,593
Class 2
26,768
26,070
17,574
16,521
Class 3
30,784
29,869
13,382
12,949
Class 4
22,623
22,691
13,362
12,369
Class 5
22,452
22,379
12,139
11,323
Class 6
20,044
18,784
11,311
10,382
Class 7
155*
188*
7,355
6,028
Source: Postlethwaite (1988)
Far north
B
32,886
21,029
20,768
13,073
11,269
10,668
-
22
G
17,434
9,645
8,606
4,436
2,729
2,122
-
The table shows the drop out rate during the primary cycle compared in three
regions. The figures for the far north show a high degree of wastage, particularly
amongst girls. The gap widens between boys and girls as they proceed through the
system, and the degree to which especially girls repeat classes, reflects the degree
of female marginalisation and permeates households in marriage.
Usually, primary school age in most remote areas ranges from 9-18 driven by late
enrolment and repeating classes, especially amongst girls, who sometimes stay
away from school in order to support their mothers on the farms or to care for their
younger siblings (Postlethwaite, 1988).
There is diversity in the involvement of boys and girls in agricultural work in rural
areas. In the south, girls support their mothers on the farms, while in the north girls
help less. Involvement in the preparation of food is a girl’s job as part of the
socialization process in preparing her for marriage, childbearing, and to be a ‘good
mother and house wife’ throughout the country. Boys and girls in elite families in
the south share tasks such as sweeping, cooking and other household chores, but
again in the north the boys do this, as the girls are secluded, driven by the Islamic
tradition. In the south, girls help at home more than boys, especially in rural areas
where girls are still playing a more traditional role and girls sometimes miss school
because of doing jobs at home or petty trading to augment the family’s income.
23
Particularly in rural areas there is an expectation that "girls don't really need to go
to school", driven by family socialisation for marriage and procreation. Such
attitudes are generally strongest in the north (Education Research Paper, NO. 09,
1993). In the various regions, generally, children particularly from poor families
marry very early. These children, particularly in rural areas, desire large families in
respect of tradition perhaps to compensate for their poverty and because daughters
guarantee bride price. Such attitudes reflect the family background of the high
number of brothers and sisters they themselves have. This paper argues that a few
respondents in Njindom, particularly the poor socialize their girl child for early
marriage and procreation, which attracts financial benefits (bride price) hence
compensates for their lack of a stake in the economy.
Many schools, particularly at secondary level, charge high school fees, and this
affects girls’ enrolment more than boys’, because poor families pull out the girls
for marriage in order to raise money for the family via bride price. There are
significant differences between the enrolment figures for boys and girls at all
levels, particularly in the northern regions (see table 1). Even in primary schools,
where girls' enrolment figures are the least different, female drop out starts quite
early and is very heavy at the end of the primary cycle (see table 1). The lower
socio-economic households suffer most particularly because their children tend to
enroll late and to drop out earlier than others. The long school day extending until
5.30pm in Francophone schools is another factor that militates against girls, who
are required to help at home and in the fields. Because of this, most families that
24
cannot cope with such school timing system tend to hold back their children,
particularly the girls who must support them on the farms and other household
chores.
Class-size is often very large, 70-90 pupils being quite common and another
worrying factor from the point of view of girls in particular. The larger the class,
the less attention girls receive, hence the sex and gender dichotomy becomes very
visible and permeates households. This leads to their control and domination as
they are always dependent on their husbands for financial support due to their lack
of academic qualifications to enable them procure a job.
The tertiary sector presents a problem for Anglophones and for females in
particular in places concentrated largely in urban areas like Yaoundé. Though both
languages are supposed to be available, in practice French predominates. Because
of this Francophone domination, Anglophone students tend to migrate to West
African universities resulting in most families being reluctant to send girls to far
off lands. Because girls are more protected as future economic assets to generate
the bride price, they are therefore less likely to go to school; hence this makes
women in marriage dependent on husbands, resulting in their domination and
control driven by disparities resulting from their lower academic qualifications.
D. What constitutes patriarchal power, control / authority over women?
Njindom men’s attitudes were expressed via ideas of power, control, authority and
domination, which relates to the discussions about the origin of patriarchy. ‘Power’
25
is an elusive term often used to describe gender differences. It is also a broad
concept that describes the ability or freedom of individuals to make decisions and
behave as they choose. It also can describe a person's access to resources and
ability to control them. When the term ‘power’ is associated with gender, it usually
refers to inequalities between men and women. Two types of power help to
describe the inequalities in male and female gender roles-‘power to’ and ‘power
over’. ‘Power to’ describes the ability of individuals to control their own lives and
to use resources for their own benefit (Irwin, 1999). For instance, a Njindom man
is more likely than a woman to have the power to go where he wants, find a good
job, and earns money. ‘Power over’ means that individuals can assert their wishes
even in the face of opposition, and force others to act in ways that they may not
want to. For example, a Njindom man forcing the wife to be pregnant or to have
sex against her will (read respondents’ reaction to vignette 3 hypothetical story).
In Njindom, as a chiefdom where there exists a traditional chief and quarter heads,
family heads, priests, pastors and other community leaders who are all men, this
sort of patriarchal leadership, control and hierarchical power permeates families,
and underpins Njindom men’s attitudes towards their wives’ sexuality and fertility.
The data from 40 interviewees reveals the complex, sensitive, insensitive and
assertive facets of their attitudes towards their wives. It can be argued that being a
man in Njindom predisposes him to have certain intrinsic (either covert or overt)
attitudes which tend to make him behave in particular ways, influenced by certain
26
factors identified and explained in this paper below. The debate is whether or not
they involve their wives in such life choice decisions.
Most interviewees expressed similar opinions about the need to share decisions
with their wives about when to have sex and family size. Interviewees showed a
range of feelings from infatuation to deep affection, indifferent and / or insensitive
attitudes toward their wives as to whether or not they use contraceptives in
marriage. This paper ascertains and describes attitudes toward arranged marriage,
the bride price ideology, and perception of their wife as property, hence illustrates
how this affect family peace due to gender inequality.
i. What are Njindom men’s attitudes towards arranged marriages?
Arranged marriages have been the oldest form of marriage institution in Njindom.
Such marriages involve the settlement of property or money in view, and in
consideration of a union between the bride and the bridegroom. The settlement is
the payment of bride price by the bridegroom to the family of the bride intended to
unite the two parties and families though in the interests of the bridegroom.
However, some respondents like Mr Ticha argued the contrary that:
“I suspect that arranged marriage is never based on love. If
couples make the choice by themselves and not by their parents,
then discussing when to have sex and the number of children to
have would just be one of those things that could freely be
discussed if they are in love prior to marriage which will be void
of exploitation and marginalisation”.
27
For Mr Ticha, this means that this traditional marriage institution marginalizes and
exploits women. Such ideas are similar to Rubin (1975) and Chow’s (1999)
arguments and underpinned by Gutierrrez (1991). For example, Rubin (1975) and
Chow (1999) present the argument that male power, authority and control over the
woman has its origin in what they call ‘a suspect’. Their argument is that this is a
suspect because of the direct link this creates between biology and culture, which
asserts that women's roles in reproduction are linked to the domestic division of
labour, and that male supremacy ultimately flows from this division of societal
functions. Sex and gender analysis for Rubin is the set of arrangements by which a
society transforms biological sexuality into products of human activity and in
which these transformed sexual needs satisfy the male organisation. Rubin argues
that those who benefit in such interactions are the men. For example, "if it is
women who are being transacted, then it is the men who give and take them who
are the beneficiaries". For her, the organisation of such a system is such that
women are in no position to realise the benefits of their own circulation between
families. She further notes that the total relationship of exchange, which constitutes
marriage, is not established between a man and woman, but "between two groups
of men, women figure only as one of the objects in the exchange, not as one of the
partners" (Rubin, 1975: 174). Rubin further argues that these sorts of exchanges
make women vulnerable to oppression, as it is within a social patriarchal setting
and legalised via 'bride wealth'. This is exactly what is prevalent in traditional
28
Njindom marriage arrangements, as marriage rituals legitimate the subjugation of
the woman.
Similarly, Marcel Mauss' idea of 'gift giving' (in Chow, 1999) is that the ideology
of patriarchy is what sustains the social equilibrium of power in most societies.
Mauss like Rubin sees women as gifts in the kinship system exchange between
families and determined by men to ensure that the kinship network continues to
function. He argues that though this system of operation facilitates social tribal
communication and strengthens community relations, women are less often
considered as initiators of these networks and / or as active partners in the
community. Chow underpins this arguing that:
"If it is women who are being transacted, then it is men who give
and take them who are linked, the woman being a conduit of a
relationship rather than a partner to it. If women are the gifts,
then it is men who are the exchange partners, and it is the
partners, not the present upon whom reciprocal exchange confers
its quasi-mystical power of social linkage, it is men who are the
beneficiaries of the product of such exchange” (Chow, 1999: 40).
The exchange of women as gifts suggests women not having the same rights as
men in several domains including their inability to control their sexuality. These
29
issues raised above are rife in the Njindom patriarchal set-up for the benefit of men
as some interviewees expressed below (Mr Ticha).
Also, Gutierrez argues that the best way to ensure that familial consideration in
marriage in New Mexico was placed above all else and that personal likes and
desires did not complicate the matter was to preclude the expression of ‘love’. He
argues that perhaps the easiest way this was done was to arrange a marriage while
the candidate is still in infancy, and by the time the child reached adolescence, he
or she was faced with a ‘fait accompli’. There was little choice but to do as parents
desired and certainly the issue of love was unlikely to surface. He explains that
once a New Mexico folk poet described this practice as, “On the day of my birth,
They christened me, They found me a wife, And they married me" (Gutierrez,
1991: 228). For him, parents invariably expressed threats, intimidation and force
for the bride to marry a person the parents or the guardian considered
‘advantageous’. Similarly, for Ferraro (2001: 32), forced unions on daughters in
late Renaissance Venice often led to ragged wedding nights, “…out of great fear of
my father, I said yes with my voice and not with my heart”. These sorts of views
were actually expressed by Mr Ticha who argued that such marriage arrangements
in Njindom often fail, as they are never based on love.
The above argument by Mr Ticha is singular and quite intriguing in a patriarchal
society. This suggests that such a one-off argument is worth mentioning to
illustrate that though in general a majority of respondents hold on to the traditional
30
arranged marriages, there is at least one contradictory individual who perceives
marriage from a different angle. For him, marriage rather should be an issue of free
will made between the two individuals only if they love each other. He argued that
if this is the case, then the couple can easily discuss when to have sex and other
related family planning issues as it will just be one of the things they discuss as
lovers prior to marriage. But the majority of respondents argued the contrary.
According to Mr Ticha, arranged marriage is void of egalitarian values, as women
are property.
ii.
Njindom bride price legacy / perception of women as property
For most respondents, proper marriage must involve the payment of bride price to
cleanse the woman’s womb prior to childbearing, as soon as the bride meets the
bridegroom after the marriage rituals and ceremonies usually on ‘Tang day’. This is
a ‘country Sunday’ and is revered, and no woman is supposed to use a hoe and if
any woman goes to the farm, it is only to harvest for the ceremony and must not be
on the farm longer than mid-day.
On the day of the marriage ceremony, the bride is concealed beneath a thick veil
rubbed with ‘feburg’, which is Redwood (Mahogany) and is conducted in the
middle of the night amidst chanting songs of joy, to her future husband’s home.
Then with the coming of Christianity in Njindom (New Religion), divine grace is
invariably solicited through the sacrament of marriage-confirming monogamy and
enforcing the nuptial duties of husband and wife. This is said to represent a union
between God and the couple. No sooner than later, the wife starts bearing children
31
to prove her fecundity and socialisation that she is for childbearing and also to
please the husband. This is similar to what is common with Peru women who
would strive to have children soon after marriage to please their husbands as a
cultural demand (www.jhuccp.org/pr/j46chap4_2.stm), regardless of whether or
not they involve their wives in reproductive decision-making process, as a facet of
family planning and peace building and harmonious co-existence.
E. What is family planning?
Family planning is an elusive concept that apparently means different things to
different people in different societies. For some, there is hardly any distinction
made between family planning, birth control and / or limitation. Any of these
concepts in some societies assumes a deliberate separation of sex and procreation
by the use of contraceptives with the wife sharing in the decision-making process
of determining family size. However, this concept has evolved (in the Cameroons)
to mean fertility regulation, child spacing and control of the spread of sexually
transmitted diseases including, HIV/AIDS (Neba and Chrystian, 1991). Thus,
discussing ‘family planning’ in the Cameroons entails something of fundamental
importance to understand the manner in which 40 Njindom men via open-ended
interviews expressed their desire to have small or large families, and whether or not
they involve their wives in the decision-making process of regulating family size to
ensure family peace and harmony.
Human action is explained and understood in relation to norms, values, and
individual self-maximisation (Crompton, 1999). For instance, the assumption that
32
men’s main responsibility is rearing a large family for labour on the farms is a very
powerful normative assumption, though debatable in some societies. This paper
argues that such an assumption is a legacy in Njindom, though the condition is
changing driven by the influence of ‘western education and civilisation’. Linked to
the above, traditional ideology about women’s roles makes a normative assumption
in Njindom of ‘a good mother and wife’ if they are elastic to societal demand for
many children.
Nonetheless, some respondents in this study argued that they involve their partners
in reproductive decision-making not only because they have modern, egalitarian,
and western and civilised attitudes, but also in respect of their religious ethics of
equality before God. For them, socio-cultural tenets do not provide answers to the
desire to have many children if they cannot provide for the children, as this would
jeopardise family peace, not approved by God.
Despite the debates about sharing family planning decisions amongst some
Njindom men, which suggests narrowing the gap of gender inequalities in
household decision-making processes, generally, gender roles and gender norms
are culturally specific and vary greatly. For example, in Njindom, men and women
differ substantially from each other in power, status and freedom to make decisions
about sex and reproduction, though most interviewees argued the contrary. Hence
such arguments to an extent suggest a wide range of diversity and contradictions
consequent upon the government’s family planning policy discussed below. This
33
paper argues that such contradictions emerged perhaps because it is difficult for
these men to be ‘good husbands and good fathers’ in a challenging and radically
changing society, hence, to an extent at variance with the government’s position on
family planning.
In most developing countries, men make reproductive decisions without their
wives’ consent, caused by gender dichotomy, that is, differences in power between
men and women. Some men, especially illiterates, unemployed and / or with fewer
resources usually have little or no power in the household (Volger & Pahl, 1999).
Among younger men and women in some cultures, gender roles are changing
toward more equality. In view of this, do ideas about sex and gender roles and / or
economic issues influence Njindom men’s attitudes toward their partner? This
paper, focusing on the Njindom case, argues that the influence of the ‘new religion’
narrows the sex and gender gap since most respondents argued that because they
are Christians they make mutual decisions with their wives. However, at the other
extreme, men with more capital tend to control and dominate their wives who
depend on them for financial support, a consequence of the dependency culture.
Like a man's power, a woman's power in some societies is influenced by factors
such as her age, income, and education (Pahl, 1989, Renne, 1992, Pascall & Cox,
1993). Traditional gender roles that jeopardize the reproductive rights of women
and, hence enhance inequalities in power, often make women vulnerable to men's
risky sexual behaviours. Despite this, gender roles can be unhealthy for men
34
because they tend to encourage men's physical risk taking, (who may be involved
in unprotected sex with girlfriends and to contaminate their wives with STDs
including HIV/AIDS). Because of financial dependency, sex and gender
dichotomy, many women in developing countries often have trouble talking about
sex or mentioning their reproductive concerns to their husbands. They cannot ask
their partners to use condoms or refuse sex even when they know they risk getting
pregnant or being infected with STDs, including HIV /AIDS. In Uganda for
example, research found that one person in every four believes that a woman
cannot
refuse
sex,
even
if
she
knows
her
partner
has
AIDS
(www.jhuccp.org/pr/j46/j46chap4_2.stm). Women may submit to men because
they are afraid of retaliation, such as being beaten, refused money or divorced, and
because gender roles place them in subordinate positions in the society (Bourdieu,
1994, 1998, 2001). This paper argues that the situation amongst Njindom men is
driven by a wide range of motivating factors, as discussed below.
The type of marriage can also affect a woman's power. If a woman chooses her
husband, she usually has more influence in her marriage than if her family chooses
her husband (though divergent views emerged as discussed below in response to
the hypothetical story in vignette 1).
Vignette 1.
At 24 Mr Taminang a grade 1 teacher married Beltha 25, a grade 1 teacher. They met
and felt in love at the same training college. The wife says she is very happy, as it is her
choice of husband. They have 2 children and now married for 15 years
35
This vignette examined the importance of a woman’s choice of husband vis-à-vis
household reproductive decision-making around sex and family size preference.
Most respondents in response to the questions: 1) Is it a good thing for a woman to
choose her husband, 2) It is a good thing for a man to marry an older woman? 3) If
your wife decides to control her fertility, will you allow her? and 4) what do you
think of Mr Taminang?, responded in view of the ‘age of the bride/ sucker legacy’
in Njindom.
i.
The age of the bride / ‘sucker legacy’.
When such marriage arrangements and ceremonies are performed in Njindom,
usually it is ensured that the bride is younger than the bridegroom, as in Perugia
“…with an average marriage gap between spouses of about 3 years” (Tittarelli, in
Kertzer & Saller, 1991: 276). So it is no surprise that in this study, 27 respondents
out of 40 argued that they would not marry an older woman or one who choose
them, as in the hypothetical story in vignette 1 of Mr Taminang marrying a woman
older than him or being chosen by a woman. Meanwhile, 13 respondents argued
the contrary that there is nothing awkward in doing as Mr Taminang, if only they
love each other and are compatible.
Mr Atanga as one of those against marrying a woman who is older described such
men like Mr Taminang as cowards who cannot confront a woman to request her
hand in marriage. He describes Mr Taminang as timid, irresponsible, perhaps
implying that he is too immature to be responsible. He further argued that:
36
“I think it is not right for a man to allow a woman to decide for
him. This is not the Njindom tradition that a woman chooses the
husband. You know during such marriages certain rituals are
performed. Usually the story is that, the suitor goes out searching
for a plantain sucker to plant, and you know a sucker when you
plant it grows to produce many other suckers. This has been the
tradition and not for a sucker to go in search for someone to plant
it. So the message behind this story is that a man goes to get a
wife and not the other way round. If a woman does this, it creates
room for suspicion perhaps that the woman has not got someone,
or her biological clock is ticking against her, or she might have
had other frustrations. She could be a serpent clinging on just
anything in sight. Mrs Taminang is older so she cannot marry her
junior brother. Mr Taminang hasn’t showed any responsible
attitude by accepting to marry someone older than him”.
He was asked whether he did not think she might have been delayed perhaps
because she decided to have a job prior to marriage? He replied:
“Yes, I do agree she is a grade 1 teacher, but she is now using
money to cajole Mr Taminang. So I think this is not genuine love.
I think that if Mr Taminang is a Njindom man and one of
integrity, he shouldn’t ignore tradition, and we strongly believe
that if the man doesn’t choose the wife triggered by love, the
marriage will hardly succeed”.
37
What is intriguing in his argument is the mention of ‘love’ in marriage. For him,
traditional marriage rituals and ceremonies meant to benefit men should be
preserved, and men have the right to marry several wives for the pride that this
gives them. In this sort of argument, then to mention love is strange and
contradictory because such marriage arrangements are never based on love and / or
the woman’s choice.
Nevertheless, Mr Atanga’s ideas were expressed despite the contradictions, which
were similar to those expressed by Mr Njah whose ideas epitomise perhaps the
authoritarian attitudes of most respondents. For example, Mr Njah argued that:
“Well, it might not have been a proper thing for Mr Taminang to
accept marrying a woman older than him. This is gross exhibition
of irresponsible attitude and this is why they have only 2 children
in 15 years. I think the woman’s blood is old as well. With us
here, we always marry a woman younger in age for fear that she
may not have as many children if she is older and her blood too.
Particularly this should be everywhere in the world since we
know that women generally grow older sooner and they arrive
their menopause at about 45 years. At about this age, this is when
most men still think of getting a 2nd or a 3rd wife. In my case, I
am only older than my wife by 3 years, but most men are older
than their wives by 10 years or more. In my entire life, I have not
seen a man who is married to a woman older than him. Most
38
often, the man may not command respect or as the head of the
family give orders. Certainly the woman wouldn’t execute such
commands because she would argue that she is the senior and
because command goes with seniority in age, she would often not
want to accept her place in the home as a woman as the tradition
expects of a woman. Hence, there will always be trouble in the
home.”
In contrast, for Mr Abe:
“Em…yes, naturally men are always older than their wives
though there may be some rare exceptions. Anyway, about the
story about Mr Taminang and wife, I think the couple really love
each other since their days in the same training college. So the
idea about age difference doesn’t bother them, after all the gap is
just a year. Though I am 13 years older than my wife, but it
doesn’t matter because I could still have been married to
someone older than me if there was love and we were
compatible”.
His response is one-off and it is very intriguing and depicts the diversity of the
respondent’s attitudes. He does not see anything awkward in marrying a woman
who is older if only they love each other and are compatible. But the majority of
interviewees argued the contrary, holding on to the traditional ideology about
marrying a younger wife for the purpose of having many children prior to her
menopause, which according to Mr Njah (as above) comes sooner than that of the
39
man (Ballard et al., 2001). Nonetheless, Mr Abe who argued the contrary offered
very fascinating arguments. He constructs his argument in the light of being
modern, though in a traditional patriarchal society, as he reiterates the notion of
marriage for love and compatibility. Such arguments perhaps for him suggests that
marriage for procreation is second to marriage for love, and this makes him a
contradictory individual to the norm. Such diversity suggests that traditional norms
may be changing and making marriage to some extent an issue of love and
compatibility rather than being arranged by parents as discussed earlier.
Describing respondents’ attitudes about arranged marriages, bride price tradition
and their perception of the woman as property, the age of the bride and the ‘sucker
legacy’ have revealed the dominance of traditional attitudes amongst the 40
interviewees. Does monogamous marriage in Njindom also exploit the woman and
what are respondents’ attitudes toward monogamous marriage?
In Njindom, monogamy is the selection of a wife for the son or proposals initiated
by the father of the maiden unborn. Her own consent is not required and the young
bridegroom is bound to give as a token a price to the father of the maiden.
Sometimes bride wealth like building a house and / or gifts of live animals are
made to the father of the maiden.
With such patriarchal customs, once such exchanges are made, the bridegroom
could at once take away his bride just after birth or as a teenager to his house. In
40
general, such marriages were and are solemnised and celebrated as a feast in the
house of the bride’s parents inviting the extended families and friends, thus
legitimates the man’s right to dominate and control the wife.
Also, a woman's power to make family planning decisions sometimes increases
with her level of education (some Njindom men argued congruently with respect to
this assumption in view of Mrs Taminang’s situation in vignette 1, who is a grade 1
teacher). Generally, younger women who marry much older men have much less
power than women who marry someone closer in age (though there were divergent
opinions on this according to some Njindom men in response to the story in
vignette 1). Therefore, gender roles begin at birth and span a lifetime. At very
young ages, boys and girls learn from their families and peers how they are
expected to act around people of the same sex or opposite sex (Seidler, 1992, Irvin,
2000).
Linked to the above, in patriarchal societies, adolescent males experience more
sexual freedom than adolescent females. Thus, potentially harmful sexual attitudes
and behaviours that are developed during youth are often difficult to change during
adulthood impact on their marriage life in varied ways. Because gender lies at the
heart of social organisations (Irvin, 2000), the unequal distribution of power
perhaps calls for changes in gender roles, and hence behaviour, which touch
emotional and political nerves in Cameroon and permeates the Njindom patriarchal
tradition. However, some people (Njindom men) see such changes as threatening
41
family peace (Fanon in Chow, 1999), while others see the changes as part of the
global trend toward equality and justice (Altmann, 2001).
In some societies, gender seems to have a very powerful influence on household
reproductive decision-making and behaviour. For example, men are the primary
decision-makers about sexual activities and contraceptive use. Men are
‘gatekeepers’ because of the many powerful roles they play in the society as
husbands, fathers, and family heads, local and national leaders. Men control access
to many services and resources. Therefore, this paper reveals the dynamics of
couples' sexual and reproductive decision-making and how gender roles influence
these decisions in the case of Njindom, and arguing that this impacts on family
peace. Thus, this paper reveals that though a few Njindom men allow their wives to
practise family planning, choose when and how to have sexual relations, use
condoms and / or determine family size, a majority do not, hence affects gender
relation and peace.
However, gender is just one of the many factors that influence men’s attitudes and
affect their reproductive decisions. Educational level, family pressures, social
expectations, socio-economic status, exposure to mass media, personal experience,
expectations for the future, and religion all shape such decisions vis-à-vis gender
relation and peace. The discussions above to an extent have revealed the exact
situation amongst Njindom men vis-à-vis their wives.
42
However sensitive the issues raised above are, taking a fresh look at how gender
influences sex, reproductive attitudes and behaviour vis-à-vis peace building in the
Cameroons is an important step toward understanding how some Njindom men
make family planning decisions without involving their wives. Nonetheless, is the
Cameroon’s family planning policy a function for social change to precipitate
egalitarian gender relation and peace building in households?
F. Family planning: a function of social change?
Social change disrupts the staple equilibrium of any society, but before long a new
equilibrium is established. Social change arises from changing functional needs of
societies. For example, large families were desired throughout most of history,
particularly when death rates were high. Hence large families have always helped
to ensure some survivors in the Cameroons. In Africa for example, with a large
continent to fill and with never enough hands to do the work (Todaro, 2000), large
families have always been functionally useful. Large families provide workers on
the farms and other domestic chores, companionship and security to parents in old
age (Paul et al., 1987).
However, global socio-economic and political order seems to provide a rather rapid
change from the demands for large families. Many children are therefore no longer
seen as assets. Rather they have become liabilities, having to be sponsored for
longer periods in school, provided with decent health care, improved food intake
and many other luxuries of modern life. Large families have thus become
43
dysfunctional and threaten the fabric and welfare of families in the Cameroons. So
a new equilibrium is sought in which instead of high death rates and high birth
rates, hopefully there will be low death rates and low birth rates (Paul et al., 1987).
In view of the above, the Cameroons embraced the ‘responsible planned
parenthood policy’ to serve as a family size regulatory device and to expose the
risks involved in rearing ‘too many children’ without adequate means for
sustenance. This policy is different from that of the 1960s and the 1970s, which
had encouraged population growth via the disbursement of family allowance in
what was called the ‘Operation 10 Million Programme’ (The Population
Commission Report, 2000).
Cameroons’ idea of ‘responsible planned parenthood’ means child spacing and / or
regulating family size with respect to available resources to sustain it. It informs
and educates people on the need to have children they can adequately care for.
Couples are advised to have children they can bring up and educate, taking fully
into account all the facts making up their situation, health, finance and housing (Fr.
Thomas, 1984). This means procreation must only be accepted considering one’s
economic strength and health. This also means the decision about the number of
children and the sacrifices to be made for children must both be taken by couples
with a view to adding to the family’s comfort and preserving a peaceful existence.
44
Because this does not emphasise any ideal family size as is the case with several
countries of the world threatened by population explosion, the concept of
‘responsible planned parenthood’ has been misconstrued in the Cameroons leading
to gender inequality (as discussed below).
i. Cameroons’ family planning situation in the 1990s.
Table 2: Number of family planning centres.
Province
Centre Population
Adamawa
1
160,000
Centre
8
1,000,000
East
2
430,000
Littoral
5
1,500,000
North-West
9
1,120,000
South
1
875,000
South-West
5
982,720
West
4
1,210,000
Total
35
7,277,720
Source: Neba & Chrystian: Contraceptive use in the Cameroons (1991).
Table 2 shows a distribution by province of maternal and child health / family
planning centres which registered family planning activities in 1991.
Table 3: Number of Clinic visits for each method by marital status (%).
Status
Condoms
Injectables
IUD
Pills
Spermicides
Tubal
ligation
Not
declared
Total
Cohabitation
9.3
17.3
7.5
23.6
1.0
0.7
16.5
16.8
Divorce
Married
Single
Widowed
Not declared
0.8
49.9
22.7
0.7
17.1
0.7
69.2
6.4
2.9
3.6
0.9
72.8
9.8
1.5
7.5
0.8
49.7
15.7
1.0
9.2
1.0
68.8
17.9
3.0
8.0
1.1
77.3
15.3
1.4
4.2
0
51.7
14.8
1.7
15.3
0.8
60.7
12.4
1.7
7.6
Total /column
100
(753)
100
(3668)
100
(2168)
100
(5078
100
(201)
100
(437)
100
(236)
100
(12541)
Source: David & Chrystian: Contraceptive use in the Cameroons (1991).
45
Table 3 shows that the largest group using condoms comprise of married women,
particularly university graduates (see table 4). Socio-cultural and religious beliefs
influence most Njindom men to stop their wives using contraceptives.
Table 4: Number of clinic visits for each method by level of education (%)
Method
NonPrimary
Secondary Univ.
Total
education
Condoms
2.2
4.4
4.5
7.8
6.0
Injectables
33.3
36.9
29.9
23.2
29.2
IUD
19.7
18.2
14.0
14.2
17.4
Pills
Spermicides
30.8
0.4
35.7
0.3
48.7
0.4
50.1
0
40.5
1.6
Tubal ligation
Undeclared
12.9
0.7
3.6
0.9
1.0
1.5
1.1
3.6
3.5
1.8
Total /Column
100
(768)
100
(4297)
100
(4503)
100
(359)
100
(12541)
Source: Neba & Chrystian: Contraceptive use in the Cameroons (1991).
Table 4 further shows that Njindom men having wives with higher educational
levels are higher users of condoms and pills particularly university graduates, while
the highest users of tubal ligation were the least educated. IUD (intra-uterine
device), and Injectables were more prevalent among the less educated than with
secondary and university clients. Pills were widely used, constituting about 40.5%.
This means that contraceptive acceptors and users in the 1990s and a decade after,
were and yet mostly women and they did and do so clandestinely (Neba &
Chrystian, 1991).
Linked to the above, Petchesky (in Doyal, 1995) argues that because of the
patriarchal culture in most societies men are considered the most resistant to using
contraceptives and believe using contraceptives reduces their libido. Most
respondents (30 out of 40) argued along these lines. Petchesky’s account provides
46
insights into the explanations of respondents’ attitudes toward family planning in
the Cameroons.
ii. Family planning activities of donor agencies in the Cameroons
a. Activities of Cameroon National Association for Family Welfare
(CAMNAFAW)
CAMNAFAW, founded in 1989, is affiliated to the International Planned
Parenthood Federation (IPPF). IPPF is an American based family planning group
and sponsors CAMNAFAW activities.
CAMNAFAW supports government’s
efforts in family well-being activities through sensitisation and motivation of all
segments of the population and the provision of quality and accessible family
planning services. CAMNAFAW organizes committees for women and youths,
assesses and evaluates the prevailing problems of youth, lobbies for the
introduction of sex education in secondary schools, and deals with sexual and
reproductive health issues affecting women. CAMNAFAW involves women’s
groups in some rural areas to train male opinion leaders and husbands to involve
their wives in family planning activities.
CAMNAFAW's multi-media sensitisation campaign programmes aim to increase
the knowledge of men, women and adolescents on reproductive and sexual health
and family planning issues through information, education and communication
(IEC) activities. Outreach and community mobilisation activities are often
organised with family planning educational discussions, quizzes
47
and condoms sold and distributed. The aim is to increase the number of family
planning acceptors in rural areas (Njindom inclusive) with contraceptive
information.
CAMNAFAW run integrated projects on family planning, nutrition and parasite
control, which seek to improve maternal and child health. Also CAMNAFAW
target men and encourage them to be able to freely discuss sexual and reproductive
health issues with their wives, to use condoms and hence break cultural barriers
about negative perceptions of contraception.
At a pilot youth guidance and counseling centre in Yaounde, youth pursue
sensitization activities, and are provided messages on responsible planned
parenthood, sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS. The purpose is to help
increase the number of young people who visit and make use of the services of the
model family planning clinic. A similar project in the Bamenda youth centre
sensitises young people to the consequences of unwanted pregnancy, STDs / AIDS,
the consequences of early sexuality, and the notion of ‘responsible planned
parenthood’. Youths are also provided with condoms and other non-prescriptive
contraceptives to protect themselves during sexual activities.
CAMNAFAW's 'Skills Development Unit' trains young men and women of
childbearing age in sewing, embroidery etc, and encourages trainees who graduate
from the unit to settle and become financially independent and responsible. This
48
means that CAMNAFAW is the leading non-governmental organisation of
‘volunteers’ providing sexual and reproductive health and family planning services
(CAMNAFAW Periodicals, 2003). Thus, CAMNAFAW works in close
collaboration with government ministries involved in population development
issues sharing similar concerns on reproductive health issues.
Its other activities include: protecting sexual conjugal relations for healthy life,
encouraging pregnancies between couples by will not by coercion, and advocacy
for reasonable choices in reproductive health. CAMNAFAW informs and educates
families on such life choices as a right not a privilege, particularly to those women
who are most marginalised. CAMNAFAW also provides quality and affordable
family planning services to individuals, couples and families and fights against
high-risk pregnancies, unsafe abortions, maternal and infant mortality, sterility and
infertility. It promotes male involvement and men’s support for family planning
activities. It also encourages gender equality and the empowerment of women to
have control over their fertility and sexuality. It also mobilises community
participation in sexual and reproductive health issues through training acceptors to
be robust and to be volunteers. But such services are not available in Njindom and
this perhaps, amongst other reasons, explains in why most Njindom men do not
involve their wives in family planning.
G.
The Cameroons’ population policy debate
Long known as a pro-natalist country, with little official support for family
planning, the Cameroons seems to have made very little progress since 1990 in
49
expanding family planning information and services, though only via a network of
non-governmental organisations, as highlighted above. The growth rate
commission report (GRC) on population policy argues that after independence in
the 1960s, as a pro-natalist State, the government has rarely provided any official
support in integrating family planning services into the national health care system.
Though the minister for public health created the directorate of family and maternal
health (DFMH) and began to promote child spacing as part of a comprehensive
maternal and child health service (MCHS), there has hardly been any significant
change in service provision. At the end of 1990, there were fewer than 30 public
and private sector health facilities delivering family planning services, and no
national family planning delivery policy, and very few family planning acceptors
outside the major urban centres (Neba & Chrystian, 1991).
Because health resources are concentrated in the urban and semi urban areas,
severe shortage of health care personnel is particularly evident in rural areas where
more than 56% of the people reside. The country’s severe economic recession in
the last decade has led to even more serious cutbacks in these already stretched
health services leading to the imposition of fees for family planning and medical
services. Added to these problems is the government’s pro-natalist policy despite
its euphemism for birth control through the ‘responsible planned parenthood
policy’. The limited financial and political resources of the country are a major
handicap to the development of a health care system that is able to give priority to
identifying, preventing and treating the most prevalent health problems of the most
50
maginalised female population. In most rural regions, levels of maternal mortality
are much higher than in urban centres, and a strategy to ameliorate female
reproductive health problems in such rural areas is lacking, though some donor
agencies are helping in this direction.
i. What is the link between food productivity and population expansion?
How relevant is this to the Cameroons’ population policy debate?
About the importance of population growth to match food productivity, Darwin
(1883: 172) argued that, “all nature is at war…struggling for space and food”. For
him, the amount of food for each species gives the extreme limit to which each can
increase. Similarly, Wynne-Edwards (1962: 1) noted that, “individuals and groups
of individuals within the habitats they occupy will be more plentiful in habitats that
contain an abundance of the kinds of resources they need”. Lack (1966: 282-283)
similarly argued that, “in single-brooded species, laying tends to be so timed that
the young are raised when food is most plentiful”. These views are similar to
Mckeown’s (1976) that food availability is necessary for the survival of human
populations. Some Njindom men in this paper argued along these lines that they
must limit births to reflect their ability to provide necessaries of life (as advocated
by the government’s ‘responsible planned parenthood policy.
In some societies, people will have additional children if their economic situation
improves (Butler, 1945). Alternatively, others will have fewer children if their
economic situation improves in order to improve their living standards. This paper
51
questions whether some Njindom men are influenced by the government’s family
allowance to increase population.
Population is the number of people occupying a particular geographical area, its
composition and changes over time. The changes in composition result from the
difference between birth rates and death rates, hence lead to rapid, slow or zero
population growth rates. Fred Singer (1971) argues that improvements in living
standards in general can only be achieved through maintaining an optimum
population size. Though this is a theoretical concept, a desirable population size
would be able to use desirable technologies to exploit the available resources in
order to achieve improved living standards. He therefore defines ‘optimum
population’ as the situation in which the population of a territory as a whole enjoys
the highest quality of life.
Such a situation leads to what he calls ‘population development’ as this can only
be achieved by regulating population size to match food productivity. The
Cameroons’ present situation means that there is rapid population growth, hence
food productivity lags behind. For example, its population growth rate between
1950-1955 was 1.85%, 2.54% between 1980-1985, and its mid year 1998
population growth rate of 2.87 % (Cameroon Population Commission, 2002),
which suggests a rapid population growth rate. However, there is a need to match
population growth with economic growth to achieve population development, as
52
some parents are pulling their children from school given the increased costs
(Eloundou, 2000).
Linked to the above, Dudley (1971) defines ‘population development’ as the search
for economic growth, human progress, dignity and social satisfaction. In this
regard, the Cameroons needs to match the population growth rate with the
economic growth rate to achieve population development. If this is not achieved,
people will continue to have inadequate food, no jobs, and income inequality will
become prevalent, hence widens the gender gap of inequality. Population
development would give Cameroonians greater freedom and control of themselves,
equal treatment and greater hopes for higher per capita income including improved
sustainable living standards that creates the awareness to regulate fertility by
couples, intended to enhance family peace and harmony.
Similarly, Todaro’s (1989, 2000) perception is of ‘population development’ as a
multi-dimensional concept, involving the re-organisation and the re-orientation of
the socio-economic systems to improve inputs and outputs leading to radical
institutional changes both socially and economically, to change popular attitudes
and even sometimes the customs and belief systems of people. This explains the
link that exists between the Cameroons’ food productivity and population growth.
This concept entails improved and sustainable living standards, the creation of
conditions that enhance self-esteem, and a greater freedom of the people to make
fertility decisions, particularly when they have a stake in the economy.
53
ii.
What are the debates in favour of population growth? How do these
debates relate to the Cameroons’?
Pro-natalists argue that population growth is not a real problem. They assert that
population growth is not a cause for concern because it is a false issue deliberately
created by dominant rich-country agencies and institutions to keep developing
countries in their underdeveloped dependent condition (Todaro, 2000). This
argument presuppose that:
“if correct strategies are pursued it will lead to higher levels of
living, greater esteem and expanded freedom, then population
will take care of itself and eventually it will disappear as a
problem as it has in all of the present economically advanced
nations” (Todaro, 2000: 235).
According to this supposition, underdevelopment is the real problem, and
development should be the only goal because with it will come economic progress
and social mechanisms that will automatically regulate population growth and
distribution. For proponents of underdevelopment, birth control programmes will
surely fail, as they have in the past, when there is no motivation on the part of poor
families to limit births (Todaro, 2000). But as long as the vast majority of the
people in developing countries remain impoverished, uneducated, and physically
and psychologically weak, the large family will contribute the only real source of
social security in old age to parents. With this, a vicious cycle emerges as poor
people will continue to have large families partly to compensate for their poverty,
54
hence large families will mean greater population growth, a higher dependency
burden, lower savings and lower investments, slower economic growth, and
ultimately greater poverty and unhappiness especially amongst women who cannot
provide daily bread to their children.
Nonetheless, a more conventional economic argument is that population growth is
an essential ingredient to stimulate economic development. This is because larger
populations will provide the needed consumer demand to generate favourable
economies of scale in production, to lower production costs, and to provide a
sufficient and low cost labour supply to achieve higher output levels. Linked to
this, Todaro (2000: 237) notes that population ‘revisionists’ economists of the neoclassical counterrevolutionary school argue that:
“free market will always adjust to any scarcities created by
population pressures. Such scarcities will drive up prices and
signal the need for new cost-saving production technologies. In
the end, free markets and human ingenuity will solve any and all
problems arising from population growth”.
This revisionist viewpoint clearly contrasts with the traditional ‘orthodox’
argument of the 1950s-1970s that rapid population growth has serious economic
consequences that if left unchecked would slow economic development.
Nonetheless, the increase in numbers (Furedi, 1997) contributes in fulfilling the
need for an expanded workforce and in stimulating the expansion of the market.
For him, population growth is seen as a positive by-product of industrial
55
development signifying population development. Furthermore, in support of
population growth arguments, some third world neo-Marxist pro-natalists argue
that many rural regions in developing countries are in reality under populated, in
the sense that much unused but arable land could yield large increases in
agricultural output if only more people were available to cultivate it. For them,
many regions of tropical Africa and Latin America and even parts of Asia are said
to be in this situation. With respect to Africa, some observers have noted that many
regions had larger populations in the remote pasts than exist today. For example,
the 16th century Congo Kingdom is said to have had a population of approximately
2 million, but by the time of the colonial conquest that followed 300 years of slave
trade, the population of the region had fallen to less than one-third of that figure
(Todaro, 2000). Western and eastern Africa provide similar examples at least in the
eyes of advocates of rapid population growth, though Eloundou, (2000) argued the
contrary that most of these countries, including the Cameroons, suffer from
population growth because families pull children out of school, because they
cannot support them given the increase in costs.
Further non-economic arguments that population growth is desirable suggest that
many developing countries claim the need for population growth to protect
currently under-populated border regions against the expansionist intentions of
neighbouring nations, similar to the case of Croatia and Serbia (Shiffman, 2002).
Also, there are many ethnic, racial and religious groups within less developed
countries whose attitudes favouring large family size have to be protected for both
56
moral and political reasons as is the case in the Cameroons amongst under
represented ethnic groups. Also, military and political power are often seen as
dependent on a large and youthful population as more than 43% of population in
developing countries are young (Todaro, 2000). Some respondents in Njindom
argued that they prefer many boys as boys protect the family and country during
family crises and intertribal wars.
Most interviewees also argued that they have large families reducing the weaning
period, in disregard of cultural expectation, in search of boys because they need
heirs to protect the family name, lineage, property and the country. For Mr Anya:
“I couldn’t really give any long gap between my children because
I was afraid that my wife’s menopause might catch-up on me
when I might not have had male children since my wife started
having only girls. Because I needed boys, I ignored the traditional
idea of birth spacing of at least 2 years. I needed boys because
you know “kai mbang muk zei mahei nchup”.
His explanation of the adage is that no single man can fight a war. For him, a
family must have many boys to protect the family and country as expected by
tradition. “Our preference for boys-’Mbonmbang’ is because they are warriors,
shields and / or guns use during intertribal wars”. He said boys are also useful
because of “our tradition of inheritance that is patrilineal and the support of parents
in old age”. A majority of respondents argued along these lines.
57
iii.
Why fertility regulation? Is this relevant to the Cameroons’?
In a study on the 'socio-economic context, population policy and demographic
change in the Cameroons, Eloundou (2000) discussed the policy concerns with
population growth, labour force quality, economic and gender inequality. His main
idea was to identify policies and circumstances that favour a transition away from
large families with low investments to small families with better endowments.
Similarly, Eloundou (2000) conducted a study on 'population / economic growth
and the future of schooling in the Cameroons’ in which he discussed the impact of
economic crisis and how people with large families are pulling children from
schools because of the lack of money to support them. Major policy studies on the
Cameroons’ population focus on family planning policy formulation and strategic
planning,
awareness
raising,
and
the
need
for
fertility
regulation
(www.policyproject.com/country/afr.html).
Again, Eloundou (2000) in a study on the 'effects of high fertility on human capital
under structural adjustment’ argued that the health care sector in the Cameroons is
hugely under-funded, with a severe shortage of health care personnel and services.
He argued that the region's severe economic recession and the structural adjustment
programme since the 1990s has resulted in serious cutbacks in funding in the
already stretched health sector, leading to the introduction of high hospital fees for
medical consultation and treatment. His study also reveals that the government
encouraged population growth without a corresponding increase in economic
growth. Linked to this, this paper argues that some Njindom men have large
58
families without a stake in the economy influenced by traditional beliefs (though
some argued the contrary that tradition does not influence them to have many
children, rather they would have fewer children in order to support them with their
meagre resources, in order to ensure family peace. This suggests that attitudes of
the government to an extent permeate individual households.
Similarly, Neba and Chrystian (1991) noted that the Cameroons, a pro-natalist
country, has no official support for family planning supported by the Population
Commission’s Report of 2000. Their study assessed the impact of contraceptive
use among women in the Bamenda Catholic diocese. Though they use condoms, it
is not necessarily to control fertility but to control the spread of HIV /AIDS
(Ciambrone, 2001). The use of contraceptives was popular amongst women in spite
of their religious belief. This study argues that some Njindom men stop their wives
from using condoms not only because this artificialises sex but also it debases the
woman and because the men want additional children.
The Cameroons’ population Commission’s Report (March 2002) revealed that the
idea of creating awareness about the benefits of controlling fertility has been
unsuccessful particularly in the rural regions. This report argues that population
policy rather encourages population growth through the family allowance scheme
which pays parents (civil servants) for each additional child, as an incentive, which
challenges
any
attempt
by
individuals
wanting
to
control
fertility
(www.crtv.cm/Cameroon%20national%20population20%commission).
59
The implication of this policy is that some parents have large families without the
resources to maintain them. This study argues that some respondents argued that
the economic crisis and the reduction of the family allowance has forced them to
pare family size in order to improve their life chances, life choices, and peace
building in the family.
At the Bucharest 1974 meeting, a general concern among African countries,
including the Cameroons, was that “rapid population growth in the region creates
strong
barriers
to
economic
development”
(www.un.org/Depts/eca/divis/fssd/policy.htm). They argued that countries with
high birth rates have difficulties creating employment, providing health services,
and raising per capita income. Similarly, the African delegation including the
Cameroons at the 1984 World Population Conference in Mexico argued that
“African governments in particular had lost their earlier optimism that their
continent’s large land mass and abundant natural resources could indefinitely
sustain their rapid population growth” (Cassen et al., 1994: 3). A similar debate
emerged at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in
(Johannesburg) South Africa whose prime agenda was “seeking for ways to curb
and / or cope with rapid population growth, poverty and environmental
degradation, particularly in developing countries” (BBC 1, 2002)
Such debates suggest that fertility study and regulation has often been of major
interest to sociologists, demographers, economists, and national governments. For
60
example, Furedi (1997) argued that, in the developing countries, health care
systems are poorly developed, hence there is a need to control fertility in order that
a smaller population will benefit from such underdeveloped health care systems
and the low food availability. Though this is contentious, almost all socioeconomic, political, and health problems are linked to excess population growth
unmatched by economic growth (Singer, 1971, Dudley, 1971, Todaro, 1989, 2000,
Eloundou, 2000). In view of this, it is evident that the most urgent task for
developing nations is to seek ways to stabilise their population growth to match
economic growth. Some Njindom men argued along these lines.
The argument for fertility regulation is that the smaller the family, the greater the
share that will be given to each family member. This presupposes that additional
children will constitute a mere heavy burden and no actual contribution to
productivity within the family and the national economy. This is however
debatable, perhaps because this presupposition is based on the assumption that with
a constant size of the ‘national cake’, a bigger share will be given to each member
if the family size is smaller. Development is perceived as for people, and the fewer
the people the easier it is to help smaller numbers to achieve better and improved
sustainable living standards. Butler’s argument that any attempt to ameliorate the
conditions of the lower classes by increasing their income or improving
agricultural productivity would be fruitless, as extra means of subsistence would be
completely absorbed by an induced boost in population. “…if I’d have money for
them I’d have them willingly” (Butler et al., 1945: 123). This suggests that any
61
improvement in peoples’ living standards will invariably lead to the increase
tendency of people to want additional children. Some respondents argued along
these lines while others argued the contrary.
The contrary view above supports the argument that, unless couples experience the
benefits of development through better education, increased employment, increased
per capita income, improved health care services, people will not be motivated to
have smaller families, as resources are determined by a complex range of global,
socio-economic and political factors. This is perhaps because the international
family planning concept demonstrates that a small family in itself is an asset since
family size as such is said to be decisive in the bad, good health and /or peace of
the family. The erstwhile U.S Secretary of State (Madeleine Albright) argued that
"International family planning . . . serves important U.S. foreign policy interests:
elevating the status of women, reducing the flow of refugees, protecting the global
environment, and promoting sustainable development, which leads to greater
economic
growth
and
trade
opportunities
for
our
businesses"
www.usaid.gov/pop_health/pop/tiahrtpolicy.html). Similarly, Altmann (2001: 64)
notes that:
“since the end of the Second World War, population control has
been a significant element in international politics, with
considerable pressure from the US political establishments to
make it a centrepiece of economic development in poor countries,
and for the fear of population explosion usually linked to
62
environmental degradation”.
Viewed from another perspective, one may argue that the population of the US
along with other rich countries is greater than the world’s resources can sustain,
and the demands of the rich world’s population that are making ‘the cake’ smaller
and smaller in poor countries. This highlights the global and class / power relations
that underpin and sustain a vastly unequal distribution of resources, both between
and within countries. This perhaps is linked to the arguments at the 1974 World
Population Conference that the problem of underdevelopment is not to do with
population growth unmatched by economic growth, but because of resource
mismanagement and social exclusion, and unless the poor are given a stake in the
economy through increased employment, increased per capita income, and
improvements in health care services, they will have no desire to regulate their
fertility. Linked to this, some respondents argued that because they do not have a
stake in the economy due to social exclusion and lack of employment, they
compensate for this by having many children in order to benefit from the high bride
price and security in their old age, regardless or whether their decision affect
family harmony and peace.
Albright’s comments cited above are perhaps bizarre given that the US foreign
policy interests are also served by precisely those forces that create a flow of
refugees, destroy the global environment, prevent sustainable development and
deny poor people access to health care including family planning. For example, the
63
structural adjustment programmes in the Cameroons since the 1990s, imposed by
the World Bank and the IMF, with the USA as a major decision-maker, bring a
host of trade agreements that disadvantage Cameroons’ economy, investment in
logging and cash crops which undermine subsistence economies and cause
environmental degradation and growing poverty. These suggest that population
pressure might not really be the major issue to regulate fertility. In the light of this,
Castells (2000: 83) notes that:
“sub-Saharan Africa in particular for about 2 decades now has
experienced a substantial deterioration in its relative position in
trade, investment, production and consumption and the
combined earnings of its 45 countries with about 500 million
people amounted to just 36 billion in current US dollars, down
from 50 billion in 1980”.
This exacerbates their underdevelopment, leading to massive deprivation, social
exclusion. This situation has led to “the poorest 20% of the world’s people (the
Cameroons inclusive) have their share of global income decline from 2.3% to 1.4%
in the past 30 years, meanwhile, the share of the richest 20% has risen from 70% to
85%”, which widens the per capita income gap (Castells, 2000). This also destroys
the desire by the poor to regulate their fertility, because having many children
compensates for their lack of a stake in the economy. This perhaps is at odds with
the argument sometimes that people with small families would want to concentrate
their meagre resources on improving their life chances and choices rather than have
64
many children they cannot support, as this may risk family peace. Some Njindom
men argued along these lines.
In spite of the above arguments, Albright’s position makes her an interesting
exponent of the US policy rather than a disinterested observer. Whether or not
governments’ intervention in family planning is acceptable is a debatable issue in
the Cameroon. Linked to this, Bangladesh is sometimes cited as an example of
successful government intervention in family planning, as fertility rates have been
substantially reduced through the greater availability of family planning services
and counselling (Lancaster & di Leonardo, 1997).
The lesson drawn from the evidence of Bangladesh is that it has been able to cut its
fertility rate from 7.0 % to 4.5% between 1975 and 1990, though this is still
considerably higher than India’s average rate of 3.6% (Sen, cited in Lancaster & di
Leonardo, 1997). Though an achievement, some writers argue that some
governments are insensitive to the health and moral dangers of controlling fertility.
For example, Davin (1985) and Doyal (1995) criticise governments’ intervention in
family planning without regard to its ramifications on women’s reproductive health
and family peace. This however remains a contentious issue as to whether or not it
is right for governments to interfere in family planning.
Because widespread ‘absolute poverty’ and low levels of living are seen as major
causes of large family size, and large families retard economic growth, it logically
65
follows that more egalitarian socio-economic development is a necessary condition
to bring about an eventual cessation of population growth at low levels of fertility.
Nonetheless, it is not a sufficient condition that development provides people with
the incentives and motivations to limit their family size; family planning
programmes are needed to provide people with the technological means to avoid
unwanted pregnancies if they choose to limit births, in order to improve their life
choices including family peace and harmony.
H. Njindom men’s perception of family planning
What do you understand by family planning? Most respondents (30 out of 40) said
they know what family planning is but utterly reject the use of contraceptives. For
them, they rely on traditional method, which is observing their wives’ menstrual
cycle to avoid unsafe sex that could result in unwanted pregnancies. However, a
minority said they do not know what family planning is, though reported that they
were using the male condom. This may mean that they do not know that using a
condom is a form of birth control.
Among this minority, Mr Teburg-Achu (with 9 surviving children out of 11) said:
“Em…yes, when I was working, I decided to have many children
because then I had money, but soon I fell sick and lost my job.
Since then it has been very difficult. Yes, my wife and I decided
to have 9 children because we were in desperate need of boys
since she had 6 girls from the beginning”.
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Similarly, in response to the question: how many family planning methods do you
know or use? Mr Teburg-Achu replied:
“I don’t know anything concerning that since I was an orphan.
Anything to do with my wife, I learnt it intuitively. What I know is
that, traditionally our elders say if you don’t want to impregnate
your wife, don’t have sex. That is all I know and I used to do so,
especially when my wife was breastfeeding”.
He described himself as having ‘responsible attitudes’ towards his wife because: “I
am someone who discusses everything with my wife and we do things together.
We jointly provide food for the family and educate the children, and this helps us
to live peacefully”. This same respondent in reaction to the question: What would
you do if your wife suggest to you to use a condom? Said:
“I wouldn’t use a condom because I am a responsible husband
and I take care of my children. She is my wife, yes, then why
would she want me to use a condom? Well, I would use it if the
baby is less than 6 months, apart from this I don’t use it”.
He made a lot of contradictory statements as to whether or not he knows about
family planning or uses a condom. Such contradictions might have emerged as he
was faced with the radical social changes and his difficulties in reconciling
marriage for love and marriage for procreation. Perhaps he was also faced with the
dilemma to reconcile modern birth control as a traditional man in a patriarchal
society struggling to become modern in an evolving world and to share decisions
with his wife about family size.
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Alternatively, he might have wanted to express chauvinistic ideas that he uses such
a trump card to decide what happens in his relationship with his wife. It is possible
that he does not know anything about family planning, though he uses a condom.
But if such an argument is tenable, then why would he say: “I only use it when my
wife is breastfeeding and the baby less than 6 months”?
i. What are Njindom men’s behaviours towards contraceptives?
This section describes Njindom men’s attitudes towards contraceptives, which
suggests that most respondents rely on the rhythm method. In view of this, in
response to the question: what do you do to protect your wife’s health? most
respondents (29 out of 40), especially the religious, argued that they must ensure
that proper marriage rituals and ceremonies are performed so as not to hurt
ancestors who may kill their wives, particularly during delivery. This reveals a
vivid picture of the connection between their traditional beliefs and the ‘new
religion’ in motivating these men to have many children. Despite their adoption of
the ‘new religion’, which condemns the belief in ancestral veneration, there were
interesting responses to the question: to what extent are these traditional precepts
about marriage, fertility, ancestral and descendants’ beliefs being influenced or
replaced by the ‘new religion’ and influence their behaviours towards
contraceptives?
Most respondents explained that, because of the side effects of contraceptives, they
rely on the rhythm method, influenced by their tradition bequeathed to them by
their elders, irrespective of their Christian beliefs. However, Mr Fonanjong (a
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Presbyterian) argued the contrary that: “the couple should choose a contraceptive
method, especially if the wife is also an income earner and supports the family”.
For him, the ‘new religion and / or traditional beliefs do not influence or affect his
behaviour about whether or not his wife should use any contraceptive to prevent
unwanted pregnancy which may risk his wife’s health. Money according to him is
important in determining who makes decisions about family planning, and is also
fundamental family peace between husband and wife.
Similarly, for Mr Mbita:
“I think it is the responsibility of the wife to choose which
contraceptive to use guided by the husband’s consent though not
acceptable by us Catholics. It should be discreet and the wife
should make the choice of the most suitable method since she is
the person to use it, in view of its numerous side-effects. I
understand such issues because of my training in sex
determination when I was most desperate to have sons”.
According to Mr Mbita, his wife should choose the least problematic contraceptive
method, guided by his consent, because of his knowledge about family planning.
Despite such debates, most interviewees argued that because of the numerous side
effects associated with using contraceptives, they rely on the traditional method
which for them is the most effective, convenient to use and cost free. Such
arguments reveal their strong attachment to traditional beliefs in terms of their
strong desire to have many children. Linked to this, it is likely that their attitudes
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translate into the way they behave toward their wives in their desire for many
children in respect of their traditional beliefs.
a. Non-users of contraceptives
Most respondents were against the use of condoms. Read vignette 2
Vignette 2.
Mr Gah is married to Grace for 9 years and they have 7 children. Mrs Gah thinks that they
already have a large family size, therefore she suggested that they should always use
condom during sex. But Mr Gah is unhappy, and recently has become unfaithful. Mrs Gah
says she does not know what to do because she risks having more children if she does not
use condom.
This examined the sexual responsibility of a husband and to explore what men
consider as ‘responsible sexual behaviour’ linked to making decisions around sex,
reproduction, and family size preference. For example, Mr Njah in response to the
story in vignette 2 about the question: What do you think about Mrs Gah’s
situation? said:
“I think if this woman is a wise lady, rather she should learn
about family planning and know about her menstrual cycle. If she
can study this and know it, then she can only refuse having sex
when she is unsafe, but should endeavour to explain things to the
husband. It might be painstaking, but she can do this rather than
encourage the use of a condom because I personally don’t use it
and will never use it whatever the situation”.
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Then he was asked-what if she does this and the husband turns around to say she is
avoiding sex because she is having an affair? He replied:
“No, I don’t think a man would say so except he suspects her or
might have seen her with another man. You know, women are
very shrewd people; they will never lack what to tell a man as an
excuse for not wanting to have sex at any given time. Some may
say, oh, I am sorry that today it is not possible because I am sick,
or I am tired because I had been on the farm the entire day. Or,
sometimes they would say they are menstruating, and generally
our culture doesn’t permit a man to touch a woman during such
periods. So, what I am saying here is that, there are a lot of
reasons or excuses a woman can always give to a husband if
particularly she doesn’t want to have sex. The man however
would believe her, particularly if she has always been faithful”.
Similarly, Mr Aza in response to the question: What would be your attitude if your
wife suggests to you as Mrs Gah did to use a condom during sex? said:
“Of course yes, Mr Gah had the right to refuse using a condom.
He should maintain the natural way. He is married to a physical
body, one through which at sex there should be a meeting of
‘body-to-body’ instead of using a condom. He has the right to
refuse that, and to tell her that it is not ‘rubber’ that I got married
to. It was you, so I want you naturally. He should be able to talk
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to the wife against the use of condom, and to insist that, no, this is
not correct”.
The above description of respondents’ attitudes against using condoms reveals very
fascinating issues. Firstly, such discussions suggest that such interviewees have
assertive attitudes. Mr Aza suggests that whether or not Mrs Gah’s health is at risk
because of having many children this does not bother him. This suggests that his
sexual gratification is what matters to him rather than trying to understand a
woman’s reproductive concerns in marriage as highlighted in the story in vignette
2. However, Mr Njah’s argument seems to suggest that he is less assertive. For
him, Mrs Gah or any other woman should learn to be shrewd by understanding her
menstrual cycle and when she can avoid sex. This means that he would accept the
wife’s reasons not to have sex if he sees them as genuine. This perhaps suggests
that he would reconcile his traditional and patriarchal ideologies with modern /
egalitarian values and not to consider sex more than a woman’s health for the sake
of family peace.
b. Users of contraceptives
Most interviewees (25 out of 40) said that they do not use condoms. They said that
they rely on the rhythm method. For them, using a condom is proof of
‘irresponsible attitude’ and they cannot manifest their love to their wives. But a
minority (15 out of 40) argued that they use male condoms. For them, there is
nothing wrong with using a condom if unsafe sex can lead to unwanted
pregnancies or health problems of their wives. This was in reaction to the story in
vignette 2. Mr Nde in response to the same question asked to Mr Aza (above) said:
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“I think Mrs Gah is right to suggest the use of a condom for the
simple reason she gave that family planning is necessary in order
to regulate births. But it seems the husband isn’t serious, else he
wouldn’t have refused; yet he is unfaithful. What I would want to
know is whether if he goes out with other women does he not use
a condom? For me, I wouldn’t hesitate to use a condom if my
wife’s health was threatened by further pregnancies ”.
Mr Nde showed a sympathetic attitude toward Mrs Gah’s situation and his views
are at odds with Mr Aza’s (see above). This shows how this hypothetical story
draws some respondents’ empathy though atypical. Mr Nde is one of the few who
would have no problem using a condom in order to protect the wife’s health. This
is perhaps because his wife had an ectopic pregnancy after the 7th child, and he was
advised of the risk. “I had no option but learnt to use a condom to prevent further
pregnancies and to protect my wife’s health”.
Despite their variation, most respondents in general hold to the traditional ideology
of not using contraceptives for the different reasons they gave. Though Mr TeburgAchu says he does not use a condom, his arguments (as above) suggest that he is
unaware that condom is a method of birth limitation. However, it seems that even if
he were aware, then he might not use it, though he would be faced with the
dilemma of whether or not to have sex when the wife is breastfeeding and the child
less than 6 months. It is a very difficult choice for him to make, very
understandable nonetheless in view of such contradictions and dilemmas.
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Given such contradictions and dilemmas, most respondents express attitudes
towards marriage and family size that are egalitarian, suggesting that they have the
desire to pare family size. But when such respondents discuss their practice of
birth control, they tend to admit to attitudes that seem to get in the way of paring
family size. This suggests that they do not want to use condoms if this is to limit
births. Rather they prefer the traditional birth spacing method, which does not
involve limiting births, bequeathed to them by their forefathers.
c. ‘Adverse effects’ of contraceptives’
Mr Tembe, in response to the same question posed to Mr Aza and Mr Nde above,
argued that:
“I wouldn’t want to use any condom, rather I would suggest that
we rely on the traditional method. This is so because a medical
doctor told me that for every method you use apart from the
rhythm method, there are huge side effects. So, personally I hate
using the condom, which I think can even cause my wife or me
cancer. Again I prefer the ‘body-to-body’ sexual contact because
‘no one would enjoy sucking a sweet in its packet’. I rely on the
woman’s menstrual cycle for her to signal to me when it is most
appropriate to have sex without any anxiety”.
It can be argued that those who said they would use a condom with their wives if
they do not want them to have unsafe pregnancy may have sensitive attitudes
toward their wives’ reproductive health. Such attitudes can be described as
sympathetic though expressed in extremely varied ways.
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Such views reveal typical patriarchal attitudes prevalent in Njindom and the
attitude diversity has all sorts of explanations. The way they expressed their
attitudes reveals aspects of chauvinistic tendencies, while some expressed
suspicion that if they use a condom, this will make their wives become
promiscuous.
The discussions in this paper have described respondents’ attitudes towards family
planning and sought to capture the diversity of responses. While there is diversity,
some contradictions inadvertently emerged in interviewees’ desire to reconcile
their traditional / patriarchal attitudes with modern / egalitarian attitudes. However,
the implications of these contradictions have worked their way through the entire
discussions and tried to explain why such contradictions emerged. It is
understandable that it is difficult for them to make balanced choices, to become
modern and egalitarian and to ignore traditional tenets, or to follow through their
perceptions and interpretations of marriage for love, procreation and family size.
The analyses in this paper reveal that a majority of respondents do not use
contraceptives. This suggests attitudes of control, domination and subjugation,
influenced by their patriarchal society. Some interviewees do not attach any value
to their wives’ health. This is underpinned by Jacobson’s argument (cited in
Smyke, 1995: 69) that “whatever happens to women depends on the value placed
on women’s health”.
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For Doyal (1995: 103), “the barriers women face in meeting their desire for safer
and effective contraception and their struggles begin at home if their partners are
resistant”. There is resistance amongst most Njindom men to use contraceptives,
because of their ‘adverse effects’ and other diverse reasons. Petchesky cited in
Doyal (1995) argues that male researchers have been particularly sensitive to the
possible side effects of any contraceptive for men, as it might affect their potency
or libido, and as the male of the species is still regarded by a patriarchal culture and
medicine as the delicate and vulnerable one. Some respondents do not use
contraceptives because according to them these may kill their sperm. They insist on
the ‘skin-to-skin’ sexual intercourse because for them, using a condom reduces
their sexual pleasure. Such attitudes perhaps indicate their patriarchal authority /
control over their wives’ fertility.
A woman in Njindom does not simply get pregnant and give birth like the flowing
tides and seasons, she does so under the constraint of all sorts of conditions that set
limits on her reproductive process. This results in the decision to have a large
family not only, as is often assumed, out of ignorance or religious obscurantism,
but also because children in Njindom represent an important army of labour,
defence, a sign of social status and a source of material security in their old age,
though at the expense of family peace. Decisions of this sort may belong to
couples, but it is evident from the analyses in this paper that most respondents
made the decisions in the context of sex and gender inequality, proved by the
majority who insist on not using contraceptives irrespective of what happens to
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their wives’ health. This suggests that the stories in vignettes 1-2 do not have any
impact on their attitudes towards family planning. Most respondents want to have
many children (especially boys) in respect of their tradition. This suggests that
most respondents marry for procreation and not for love, and will get a 2 nd or 3rd
wife if the first wife is infertile. These debates suggest that they do not involve
their wives in family planning, though they argued the contrary that they have
modern and egalitarian attitudes hence make mutual decisions for the sake of
peace.
Though women have certain inherent biological advantages that normally make
their life span between 5-7% longer than those of men (Smyke, 1995), such
biological advantages can be whittled away by discriminatory treatment towards
women by the men, and by the risks often associated with childbearing in Njindom.
Respondents expressed sensitive or insensitive attitudes toward their wives’
sexuality and fertility. If such attitudes are insensitive, they can be described as
attitudes of control and subjugation, or sensitive attitudes suggests an egalitarian
notion of sharing family planning decisions with their wives, but the latter is hardly
the case amongst Njindom men.
I. Communication between couples.
i. Do Njindom men discuss with their wives when to have sex?
Vignette 3 below examined the importance of communication between couples in
Njindom.
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Vignette 3
Afor is married to Mr Tening. She says he does not allow her to discuss about sex and
reproduction with him. She says he will always force her to be pregnant. Because of
this, she says she does not love him.
Most interviewees said they have sex usually when they need their wives to be
pregnant, as marriage is primarily for procreation. For Mr Otto:
“I do not discuss with my wife when to have sex. This just
happens when she has weaned the baby. Whenever she is
pregnant or breastfeeding, I stay away from her by separating
beds or sleep in a different room until these periods are over. This
is what is bequeathed to us by our forebears”.
Mr Sonke (45 with 3 children) said:
“When my wife was alive she couldn’t refuse having sex
whenever I wanted. This thing just happens whenever I need it. If
she denies, then why did she marry me in the first place?
Anyway, when I marry another wife, she will not refuse because I
will tell her that I need to catch-up since I have wasted so much
time due to the death of my first wife”.
Similarly, Mr Soh (40 with 4 children and married for 15 years) said:
“Yes, I have sex with my wife even when she is pregnant and / or
breastfeeding. But I don’t have to ejaculate because this may
affect the breast milk and the child will have diarrhoea or the
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sperm may affect the pregnancy, which may lead to a
miscarriage. Yes, I know all these things so I don’t need to have
her opinion about when to have sex, besides, women are not
expected to discuss such things because this will make men see
them as prostitutes and this may cause friction in the home”.
For Mr Soh, sex is sometimes for fun and not necessarily because he wants his wife
to be pregnant. However, he explained the implications, in a one-off thought about
the withdrawal method. For him, he cannot involve his partner in such discussions
because she would be seen as a prostitute and this may create marital problems.
On the contrary, Mr Amunuh said:
“Yes I discuss this with my wife and often I abstain by sleeping
in a different room. I do this in order to prevent unwanted
pregnancy and to protect her health. We must discuss this to
know when it is unsafe to have sex, particularly as I do not want
additional children”.
Similarly, Mr Aza said:
“Yes, em…we discuss when to have sex in order to respect her
fertility and sexuality. She has a right to her sexuality since it is
the most valuable thing she has. If a woman allows herself to be
loose then the man will abuse her body sexually. A woman has
the duty to protect her fertility despite that she is married.
Em…social norms also suggest that if she maintains her fertility,
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she will be healthier, she will live a better life and longer, and she
will always look pretty”.
Mr Mukong also said:
“Em…well I don’t think I should decide alone when to have sex
because she is the one who has to be pregnant. If for example I
decide alone but she refuses, there is nothing that I can do
because I cannot force her. I think she needs to tell me when to
have sex because she knows her menstrual cycle when she is safe
or unsafe. I often advise her to be discreet to avoid any unwanted
pregnancy”.
The above suggests that a few interviewees allow their wives to participate in
family planning discussions, particularly when to have sex. Most Catholics argued
along these lines, and this suggests that religion affects behaviour in terms of
involving their wives in family planning decision-making. However, the dominant
idea is that most interviewees argued that because women are regarded as their
property, women have no right over their body or to partake in decisions about
when to have sex.
ii. Do some Njindom men discuss with their wives when to be pregnant?
In response to the question: who decides when your wife should be pregnant? a few
respondents (10 out 40) said they discuss with their wives when they should be
pregnant. For Mr Aza:
“It should be em…a thing for both of us to decide because getting
a new member into the family is the joy of the husband and wife.
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The wife should be prepared health wise while I should be
prepared financially and emotionally”.
This above quotation provides evidence of what some interviewees say they do
though it does not give any evidence of whether or not they actually practise what
they say they do. However, most respondents (30 out of 40) said they decide alone.
For Mr Tembe:
“since marriage is for procreation and because men pay a huge
bride price, we must decide, because of the cultural expectation
to have many children. Sometimes some women are headstrong,
so we must as family heads be highhanded in our decisions”.
iii. Do Njindom men discuss with their wives about family size preference?
Most interviewees (32 out of 40) said that they discuss the number of children to
have with their wives. If this is so, then why do most respondents (23 out of 40)
have large families? Doyal, (1995) and Koblinsky (1995) argue that women
generally do not want to have many children. A previous study in Njindom
explored ‘women’s attitudes towards family planning’. The results indicated that
most women: “don’t practise family planning because their husbands stop them”.
They said that, their husbands do not discuss the number of children to have with
them (Soh, 1994). But most respondents in this paper reported that they discuss the
number of children to have with their wives.
These men said they consult their wives, but make the decision alone, since they
are family heads and breadwinners, particularly as they have to respect their
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traditional beliefs to have many children. Perhaps these women are compelled to
accept, either via persuasion and / or coercion, and because most women are
financially dependent on their husbands. According to these men, because women
are perceived as inferior to men, they do not need their consent in determining
family size. For example, Mr Aseh asked a rhetorical question: “If women do not
want to have many children at our command, why do they accept to marry in the
first place?” This shows the degree of male authority and dominance, which to an
extent may affect their behaviours towards their wives.
However, certain family circumstances compel a few men to negotiate about
family size. For example, Mr Anya in response to the question: Why did you
decide to have 12 children? said:
“My wife and I decided to have this number of children because
we started by having 7 girls. Because we needed boys, we went
in search of boys since boys are needed to protect the family
name and property, while girls will marry and will live with their
husbands”.
J.
Behavioural aspects of subjugation
i. What do some Njindom men do to stop their wives from practising family
planning?
Most interviewees (30 out of 40) said that it is their duty to explain to their wives
the side effects of using contraceptives to regulate births. Mr Mugri (71married for
38 years with 5 surviving children out 7) said:
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“As a Catholic Christian and because I love my wife, when we
were still having children about some 14 years ago, I explained to
her that abstinence was the proper thing to do to avoid unwanted
pregnancy. I was very worried about this firstly because, em…I
did not want her to have any abortion since my religion is against
abortion. Secondly, where I was working, em…no doctor could
accept doing an abortion because in those days doctors were
imprisoned for doing an abortion, as it was illegal. Thirdly, if you
managed to find a doctor willing to do it, it was usually very
expensive. Fourthly, most doctors explained to us the downside
of an abortion. Because of these different reasons, I explained to
my wife that abstinence was the option. Thank God my wife was
very understanding. You see, about 30 years ago, most women
here were afraid that a husband who did not want many children
with his wife meant that the husband was interested in
extramarital affairs. However, I told my wife that I wasn’t keen
on having many children or having more than one wife. So this
calmed her anxiety”.
Similarly, Mr Vincent (56 with 7 children and married for 31 years) said:
“Em…I insist that we should ‘go natural’ because it is healthy
and we don’t need to buy any contraceptives which are not even
easy to procure and dangerous to use as we know. Most
important, as a Catholic, I don’t support the use of contraceptives.
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Mrs Gah in the story you read to me, em…it seems that she is
unfaithful to her husband by wanting him to use a condom. I
wonder if she is a ‘true Christian’ wanting to use a condom. I
doubt this very much. It would appear she has this current notion
of condoms and would want to force this on her husband. This
means they can’t have ‘natural sex’ as this is being eroded with
the use of condoms, which is definitely not good. Someone needs
to advise such a woman that her marriage may be on the rocks”.
Such respondents argued that sex should be an issue of ‘skin-to-skin’ in expression
of intimate love (Flannery, 1998). For them, using a condom or ‘rubber tube’
artificialises the whole process of sex making it vapid. Similarly, for Mr Tawani,
(60 a Catholic with 7 children and married for 38 years):
“I think that if couples understand themselves, they can easily
control themselves without the use of condoms, which are not
usually safe as we are told by doctors and the church. My wife
doesn’t even want condoms because I had from the beginning
explained to her the risks involved in using contraceptives”.
Thus, most interviewees reported that they explain to their wives the need to rely
on the traditional method, not only because of the ‘adverse effects’, their religious
practices, but also because contraceptives are expensive, inconvenient to use,
particularly as condoms make sex ‘tasteless’ without intimate affection. However,
a few interviewees said they do not stop their wives from practising birth control.
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Mr Fon, (33 with 5 children and married for 15 years) though a Catholic argued
that:
“There is nothing wrong in supporting my wife to use any
contraceptive of her choice to help her limit births. I think it is
better to use a contraceptive than to cause an abortion. Things are
not quite easy for us, so I have gone back to school to be trained
as a ‘Full Gospel’ teacher so that I can earn some money to look
after the children, because it is already a big burden to support
them. I am not sure God will be angry that we are using a
contraceptive method to limit births. I think it is better to prevent
a pregnancy by using a contraceptive than to kill a foetus”.
Respondents offered diverse arguments about whether or not they stop their wives
from practising birth control driven by their religious beliefs and / or adverse
effects or other reasons. Based on what they say they do, this suggests that most
respondents stop their wives, while the few who do not stop their wives expressed
more egalitarian beliefs. But for most, the responses suggest their manner of
thinking translates itself into the way they behave towards their wives, by
controlling and dominating them.
ii.
To what extent do some Njindom men have such control?
Vignette 4 examined why men have control over women’s sexuality. Should a man
have control over his wife’s fertility?
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Vignette 4.
Mrs Achu 25 with 6 children and currently pregnant is married to Mr Achu 38. At the
clinic, Mrs Achu is advised to bring her husband so that they could be advised to start
practising FP. When Mrs Achu told her husband about this, he was very angry and
threatened to divorce her if she refuses having children.
In response to the above question, most interviewees (29 out of 40) said they
control their wives’ sexuality, though to a varying extent. Because most
interviewees have 7 or more children, this suggests controlling behaviour, though
they argued that this is in response to their cultural expectations and different
family circumstances. For them, they must protect such culture for their personal
status. However, what they reported that they do suggests the extent of control. For
example for Mr Atanga (a Catholic mission teacher with 7 children) said:
“Em… we marry because we want children. My wife must give
me the number of children I want. I don’t need to seek her
opinion, particularly now that I cannot have another wife because
my religion doesn’t allow me to do so. If my wife had not had
several miscarriages and was advised medically to stop further
deliveries I should have continued having more children since I
am just 53 and still energetic”.
Such arguments suggest how most interviewees control their wives’ fertility, and
make decisions without their consent. This also suggests that their wives must do
what their husbands want, even to the detriment of their own health, and family
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harmony and peace due to the gender inequality. However, a few interviewees
responded differently that they behave in a ‘civil way’ by discussing issues about
family size with their wives as well as the appropriate time to have sex, to avoid
unwanted pregnancies that can ruin their wives’ health. They argued that they have
modern and egalitarian attitudes and would not compromise their wives’ health for
anything, as marriage for them is for love and companionship. For example, Mr
Ticha said: “I love my wife and I always need her company. This is why I married
in the first place. Whatever, I do, I consult her and we make decisions together”.
iii.
Do some Njindom men actually believe in family planning but do not
practise it?
Most interviewees (28 out of 40) reported that they actually believe in family
planning and practise it if it does not mean only limiting births. For them, people
can have fewer children only if they do not have the resources to care for them, but
if they have the resources (palm trees and coffee plantations) then there is no
reason why they should limit births. Limiting births, according to them, is against
their family tradition. For Mr Yunga, (63 with 8 surviving children out of 11):
“I am from a ‘productive family’. My 2 kid brothers have 8 and
9 children respectively, and my 2 kid sisters have 10 children
each. Yes, I know that today some people say that men with
fewer children who are well educated with good jobs are
respected more than parents with many children all rogues. But I
will tell you that out of the 8 children I have only 3 of the
children (all girls) have been very disappointing. They have
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refused to go to college and 2 of them are already having children
out of wedlock. Yes, I believe in family planning if it doesn’t
mean limiting births because you don’t know which ones could
be the ‘best ones’. I would have had more children if it were
possible for my wife. Unfortunately, this wasn’t possible so I
must accept God’s will”.
Similarly, other respondents argued that they actually believe in family planning
though do not practise it because they are sceptical of the side effects and / or
because it is against their religion. They consider abortion as a form of
‘infanticide’. Mr Fonangoh argued that he knows about family planning but does
not use any contraceptive, not only because he wants the ‘skin-to-skin’ sexual
contact but also because his religion does not accept the use of contraceptives. For
him:
“Because of our faith in God, we go about explaining to people
that they should not use contraceptives because of their adverse
effects. I think God will be happy if people don’t use
contraceptives, as this to me is a form of infanticide. You know,
God said, go into the world and multiply, so we must do as God
commands”.
Others who know about family planning do not practise it because a medical doctor
told them of side effects. Mr Anya was sceptical:
88
“Em…some doctors say that contraceptives are not good though
others say they are good. I think the option is to abstain from sex
when unsafe. People should have self-control, and have sex only
when it is necessary to have a child. This is exactly how I
behaved with my wife”.
There are others who know about family planning but said because marriage is for
procreation, then it is indecent to use contraceptives. Such men argued that if they
accept using a condom, even without the intention of limiting births, this might
motivate their wives to be promiscuous. Mr Atanga said:
“Though we were taught about family planning during my
teacher training, when I got married, I never thought about it
because I did not want to use any form of contraceptive. This is
so because my wife may misconstrue issues and will become
promiscuous if she has the knowledge of contraceptives”.
However, a few respondents (12 out of 40) said they did not know anything about
family planning, hence rely on the traditional method of planning births spacing
but not limiting births. For them, child spacing is a traditional legacy. For Mr
Angu:
“No one needs to teach me about when to have sex or how to do
it or to have the number of children I can care for adequately.
Don’t we learn these things intuitively? Though I may not know
what the white man means by family planning, our elders often
say, if you don’t want children, don’t have sex, as simple as that.
89
So for me that is how I behave, particularly now that my wife has
gone back to secondary school”.
iv. What are Njindom men’s behaviours about household responsibility
sharing?
This question explores facets of Njindom men’s control and domination over
women. Responsibility sharing is in terms of household tasks and financial support
of the children and the wife vis-à-vis family peace. Almost every interviewee (37
out of 40) expressed the opinion that they share household responsibilities with
their wives for the sake of maintaining peace in the family. Renne (1992), and
(Karanja, 1983.) arguing from a Nigerian perspective that:
“A man is expected to build and own a house that he heads and
peoples with wives and children. His authority in matters relating
to family size is based on being the head of his wife and his
house, and on his financial support of his children. Because
women are perceived to be irresponsible regarding their bodies,
fathers and subsequently husbands, feel justified in closely
regulating their wives activities” (Renne, 1992: 346).
What emerged from her study in Nigeria is a distinction between marital
responsibility based on male possessive attitudes that influence decisions about
family size and responsibility sharing over the children. Linked to this, Coontz
(1997: 109) argues from an American perspective that:
“Many of the problems commonly blamed on the breakdown of
the traditional family exist not because we’ve changed too much
90
but because we haven’t changed enough. That the failure of men
to share housework and childcare with their partners is a primary
source of overload for working mothers and a major cause of
marital conflict”.
For her, it is the lag in adjusting values, behaviours and institutions to new realities
that creates problems in contemporary families. She argues that marital
dissatisfaction and divorce frequently originate when modern parents backslide
into traditional roles after the birth of a child. Her study, which focused on ‘coming
to terms with America’s changing families’, concludes that men who accept the
Victorian notion that their wives are their main link to their children are the ones
most likely to abandon the children because they cannot take on family
responsibilities without and / or sharing with their wives. Such views are similar to
those of most respondents.
Most respondents argued that women should share in household responsibilities
because the children belong to both of them. For them, though they are the family
heads, it does not imply that women should not support the family. Mr Abia argued
along these lines that:
“Though I am the family head, I think husband and wife should
share responsibilities in the home, commensurate to their
respective earnings. If the wife’s income is less, she should
contribute less and vice versa. This however has to be a mutual
91
agreement. This is exactly what I do with my wife as she runs a
restaurant and I have a provision store”.
Although the respondents are family heads and richer, 3 out of 40 want to bear the
entire burden of family financial responsibilities. Mr Angu, as one of these said:
“a woman is not supposed to pay school fees for a child or to
provide money for the daily running of the house. If a husband
cannot do all these things, then he shouldn’t marry in the first
place, because there will never be peace in the home if he cannot
financially support his family as the family head”.
Most respondents expressed a belief in sharing household tasks and financial
responsibility with their wives, but this does not mean sharing reproductive
decision with their wives. Thus, this invariably impact on family harmony and
peace resulting from inequality in gender relation.
K.
Sex / gender relationship and marriage vis-à-vis peace building
This paper has argued that because marriage transactions in Njindom benefit men,
women in such social relationships are regarded as unequal to men; hence women
are controlled and dominated (Rubin, 1975, Chow, 1999). This suggests that sex
and gender inequality within the family motivate some Njindom men to be
assertive and to determine family size without their wives’ consent, as this affect
family peace building negatively.
92
Jones et al. (1988) note that sexuality and reproductive roles are factors that
determine the exploitation of women. This relates to the discussion in this paper,
which examines the significance of gender on the articulation of the rules and
meaning of social relationships. Linked to this, Scott (in Jones et al., 1988: 7)
argues that “gender be treated as a constitutive element of social relationships as
well as a primary way of signifying relationships of power”. This paper therefore
argues that gender inequality in practical terms influences Njindom men’s attitudes
toward sex and reproduction.
The Njindom patrilineal culture influences some respondents’ attitudes in many
ways. The cultural expectation acknowledges that women are primarily socialized
for marriage and childbearing. Seidler (1992) argues that male domination is linked
to socialization and internalization. For her, domination is a consequence of
patriarchal control and class oppression. Thus, socialization defines what the
Njindom culture expects of women in marriage.
Similarly, Irvin (2000) argues that though sexuality is a natural and integral part of
human beings, its definition is a subject of continuing academic debate, especially
as this term is misperceived amongst most ruralists. For him, sexuality is based on
the physical body with personal and social forces influencing its expression and
this encompasses all parts of life that are associated with sexual behaviour. Irvin
notes that sexuality can be perceived as having overlapping facets such as human
development, emotions and relationships, sexual health, sexual behaviour and
93
sexual violence, and therefore learning about sexuality is a life long process and an
essential part of every person's culture and socialisation (Seidler, 1992). Issues
about sexuality are therefore communicated explicitly or implicitly through daily
interactions and experiences through relatives, close friends or peer groups,
schools, the mass media, and religious institutions. Sexuality education, Irvin
argues, is "something that happens whether or not people undertake it consciously
or formally" (Irvin, 2000: 9). Culture therefore influences the way men in the
Njindom patriarchal society interact with their wives.
Closely linked to the above, studies on family planning (Speizer, I, 1995, EkaniBessala, 1998, Uchudi, 2001) suggest that men play ‘leading roles’ in fertility
decision-making as a function of sex and gender dichotomy. Maynard-Tucker’s
study (1997) had found that women often have little choice about reproduction and
contraception because of the inequality between husband and wife. Similarly,
Doyal reported (1995:104) that “54% of Sudanese men believe that family
planning should be the husband’s decision alone”, and a husband’s power in Sudan
over his wife’s ability to use contraceptives is formalised in law. The situation in
Njindom is similar and permeates most families. In Njindom, most interviewees
argued that they do not only decide when their wives should be pregnant but also
decide about the traditional birth planning method, because of the side effects of
contraceptives and respect for their religious ethics. These men argued that their
wives do not have any rights over their bodies. They regard them as inferior beings
only meant for marriage and childbearing, supported by the bride price culture.
94
Most interviewees (33 out of 40) argued along these lines. Among these, 23
respondents have 7 children or more (which fits the research assumption of a large
family) and argued in the same vein. Such attitudes suggest a form of control of
their wives’ sexuality driven by gender inequality. Though ‘gender relationship’ is
an obscure concept it influences most respondents’ attitudes towards marriage, as
marriage rituals recognise women’s bodies as ‘baby machines’ who must produce
many children as soon as they marry in order to please their husbands.
Because marriage rituals and ceremonies are expensive, 30 respondents argued that
they need many children to compensate for such expenses. These explanations
suggest that marriage and gender inequality subjugate women.
General conclusion
This paper examined the Cameroons’ diversity, reflecting its sex and gender
dichotomy evident in a patriarchal society (Njindom), and how the patriarchal
structure influence men’s attitudes to controlling women, which permeate
households and hence subjugate women. The paper also explored the population
debate vis-à-vis its family planning policy, and also examined the link between
food productivity and population growth and whether birth control is necessary if
economic growth lags behind population growth. The paper also discussed the
Cameroons’ family planning situation including activities of the most important
donor agency which support the government in sensitising couples to participate in
family planning to enable women to have control of their sexuality and fertility.
The result that emerged in this paper is that, most Njindom men desire many
95
children, (though some argued the contrary since they want fewer children in order
to improve the life chances and choices of their wives, as well as enhance family
peace.
Anti-populationists have in this paper provided very interesting insights arguing
that rapid population growth is a real problem to development, hence the need to
check population
growth because of its
negative socio-economic and
environmental consequences. Similar arguments emerged that almost all the
world’s socio-economic problems are attributed to excessive population growth
unmatched by food productivity. This paper argued that it is so because
unrestrained population increase is seen as the major crisis facing human
development. This is perhaps the principal cause of poverty, low levels of living,
malnutrition, ill health, environmental degradation, and a wide range of other
socio-economic problems. Dire predictions of world food crises and ecological
disaster are therefore attributed almost entirely to the growth in world numbers
unmatched by food production, gender dichotomy and inequality in reproductive
decision-making in households (case of Njindom).
This has led some western donor agencies to assert that population stabilisation or
even decline is the most urgent contemporary task in developing countries even if
it requires severe and coercive measures such as compulsory sterilisation (as
practised in China, India and Bangladesh) to control family size. There is empirical
evidence (as above) that population growth unmatched by economic growth
96
hinders population development, as this slows economic growth, increases poverty
and gender inequality, and reduces educational opportunities for the poor, thus
leading family unrest.
Because of the Cameroons’ economic recession (in the last 2 decades), the negative
consequences of rapid population growth fall most heavily on the poor (women)
with large families, because they are the ones who suffer from cuts in government
health and educational reform programme, and are the victims of job cuts and
family male violence. Nonetheless, pro-natalists present intriguing debates about
the need to expand population as discussed above.
In spite of what appears to be seriously conflicting arguments about the positive
and negative consequences of population growth unmatched by food productivity,
some writers on both sides of the debate agree that ‘after a decade of controversy
over the issue of population policy, there is a new international consensus among
and between industrial and developing countries that individuals, countries and the
world would be better off if populations were to grow more slowly’ (Cassen in
Todaro, 2000).
Such arguments, however, have a certain realism, if not in fact, then at least in the
eyes of vocal and influential individuals in both the developed and developing
countries. The important point about such arguments is that they represent a
considerable range of opinions (as expressed by most Njindom men), hence need to
97
be seriously weighed against the counter-arguments of theorists who believe that
rapid population growth is indeed not a real and important problem for
underdeveloped economies.
In reviewing studies on population and economic growth and whether or not
fertility control is necessary and its impact on gender relation and family peace,
this paper concentrated on bringing empirical evidence to bear on the Njindom
situation in order to understand what factors influence men’s attitudes towards
large or small families. Most interviewees argued that because they lack resources
to sustain large families driven by global socio-economic changes, they would
entreat their offspring to have fewer children in order to improve their life chances
and life choices, and also must involve their wives in reproductive decision-making
process. But the big question is do they actually practice what they say they do in
such a patriarchal male dominated society where women are marginalized
particularly in reproductive decision-making processes? Readers are left to gauged.
98
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