Running Head: GENDER AND POPULATION GROWTH IN INDIA 1

GENDER AND POPULATION GROWTH IN INDIA

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GENDER AND POPULATION GROWTH IN INDIA 2
 GENDER AND POPULATION GROWTH IN INDIA 3

Introduction

The United Nations recently released reports surprisingly implying India to become the

most populous nation on the globe in the next seven years to come, overtaking China (Stephen,

John, and Julie, 2011). Lately, India has a population of 1.21 billion. The overwhelming

population growth in the country is at the rate of 15 million each year, hence largest in the world.

The population gap has been projected by 2100 to widen to 500 million. Indians longtime

population growth is associated with the fertility rates. The United Nations expected that if

Indians fertility rate which in this case is 2.3 births in every woman remains constants, then the

population would go up to 1.8 billion by 2050 and by 2100 it would reach 2.5 billion. To control

the growth, the ministry of health in the year 2017 launched a campaign to encourage the use of

contraceptives to stabilize the population in 146 districts across seven states. In the country,

abortion has emerged to be a proxy contraceptive among many women, mostly the ones in

poor households. India has relied on female sterilization for many years as principal

contraceptive methods. The country had funded almost 4 million tubal ligations yearly exceeding

other countries. Furthermore, in the year 2016, the country decided to take modernized measures

whereby they introduced inject contraceptives without charges in all government facilities. In

order to prevent the countrys population growth to surpass China by the year 2024, the country

is making efforts to find ways in which they can manage the fertility rates. Therefore this paper

discusses how gender inequality in India affects the efforts to control the population growth.

Firstly, among the Indians, sons are the most preferred as compared to daughters

(Chaudhuri, 2012). The reason behind this is that sons are perceived to be a mean of social and

economic support. The sons are recognized to offer support to their parents at old age. On the

other hand women or daughters are seen to be a financial burden regarding marriage expenses
 GENDER AND POPULATION GROWTH IN INDIA 4

and dowry. Therefore this form of gender inequality will influence productiveness or fertility

behavior. If the firstborn is a girl, there are higher possibilities that the family will continue to

reproduce until their preference is met. Therefore, this form of gender inequality is one of the

significant factors contributing to population growth hence hindering the efforts to managing the

growth. The policy restriction to have a maximum of two children will be a problem because of

boy child preference. Therefore, unless this kind of gender inequality is dealt, the efforts to

control the population will always be in vain.

Secondly, the gender biases among women raging from the barrier of land-owning, wage

discrimination to systematic women violence play a significant role in hindering the women

from getting an education, legal status as well as health status required to improve their prospects

(Majumdar, 2017). Due to lack of knowledge the women in the rural areas have become ignorant

of family planning. Studies have found that female education is substantially associated with

lower rates of fertility and also lower fertility will equate lower populace growth. However, due

to the gender discrimination, women do not have much control of their lives. They do not have

control of the reproductive rights because it is the husband who decides family planning as well

as wifes sterilization. Due to this gender biases, the men are not allowed to get sterilized only

women. Hence this leaves the women alone to get sterilized although even when the government

stresses the women to do so, only men can give consent. If the children have not reached the

desired maximum number required by the man, then the husband will not permit sterilization.

Hence, this becomes a significant hindrance to population control.

Thirdly early marriage is another factor leading to overpopulation (Matthews, Padmadas,

Hutter, Mceachran, and Brown, 2009). Even though 18 years is the legal age or marriage among

the women and 21 among the men, in many parts of the country, girls are engaged to forced
 GENDER AND POPULATION GROWTH IN INDIA 5

marriages at an earlier age. For instance in Rajasthan, girls at the age of five years are engaged

and sent away to her marital home as soon as her menstruation starts. After one to two years, the

girl is expected to begin bearing. Therefore a younger bride is likely to have more extended

childbearing period hence increase in population in the country. The practice of early marriages

is not only exercised by the Rajasthan alone but also applied by many regions of the country

even the urban areas. The women do not have the consent to determine their lives. They are not

allowed to decide by themselves to choose education rather than early marriages. Therefore, this

kind of gender inequality leading to forced early marriages will continue to hinder the efforts to

control population.

Fourthly, some religions that appear to demean women reproductive consent are other

reasons limiting Indian government from controlling the population growth (Namasivayam,

Syed, Osuorah and Antai, 2012). The women are prevented from getting the efficient birth

control schemes. Due to this, the women who crave to control their fertility or decide that they

have had enough children and their family is complete they are still compelled to continue giving

birth and have more children against their wish. Therefore, this increases the birth rates

contributing to the overall population growth and hence hinders the government's input in trying

to control the growth.

Conclusion

Furthermore, gender inequality hinders the women to be competitive to men. If woman

lack education they will not be able to protect their rights (Raina, 2017). For instance, early

marriages among girls are not fought in India because the women in the country do not know

their rights or the law. Gender inequality has denied women positions for instance in the

parliament to fight for their rights and some meaningless laws to get changed. There are some
 GENDER AND POPULATION GROWTH IN INDIA 6

laws that protect the women for being denied education but the same woman are not educated to

know how to get justice from the criminal justice system. Additionally, they are subjected to

inferiority such that they fear to fight against the men who seem to be superior in the society.

Because of the gender inequality in the country, the government is facing some challenges in

fighting adverse population growth in the country. The girl child in the society is demeaned

compared to a boy child hence, when a girl is born; there is no satisfaction until the boy is born.

If the boy is not born soon, the production will continue until the boy is begotten. Therefore,

discrimination based on gender as well as female inferiority in the country affects the effort by

the government to control the population.

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References

Majumdar, M. (2017). World Population Day 2017 How gender bias causes population

explosion in India. Marginalization of women is a major cause of population explosion.

Retrieved from www.thehealthsite.com/.../world-population-day-2017-how-gender-bias-

causes-popul.

Namasivayam, A., Syed, R., Osuorah, D., & Antai, D. (2012). The role of gender inequities in

womens access to reproductive health care: a population-level study of Namibia, Kenya,

Nepal, and India. International Journal of Womens Health, 351.

doi:10.2147/IJWH.S32569

Raina, P. (2017). How Gender Equality Can Help India Manage Population Growth. Retrieved

from https://www.newsdeeply.com/.../how-gender-equality-can-help-india-manage-

populat...

STEPHEN , B., JOHN, B., & JULIE, P. (2011). Introducing geography. The Geography

Teachers Handbook, 346. doi:10.5040/9781472926593.ch-001

Chaudhuri, S. (2012). The Desire for Sons and Excess Fertility: A Household-Level Analysis of

Parity Progression in India. International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive

Health, 38(04), 178-186. doi:10.1363/3817812

Matthews, Z., Padmadas, S. S., Hutter, I., Mceachran, J., & Brown, J. J. (2009). Does early

childbearing and a sterilization-focused family planning programme in India fuel

population growth? Demographic Research, 20, 693-720.

doi:10.4054/demres.2009.20.28

Population Growth Rate Map of India. (n.d.). Retrieved November 02, 2017, from

http://www.indmaps.com/thematic-map/population-growth-rate-map-of-india.html