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African Population Studies
Union for African Population Studies
ISSN: 0850-5780
Vol. 12, Num. 1, 1997
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African Population Studies/Etude de la Population Africaine, Vol. 12, No. 1, March/mars 1997
Book review
The Role of Men in Determining Fertility Among the Banyankore
of Southwestern Uganda - By JAMES P. N. NTOZI.
Moleboheng LEHUTSO-PHOOKO
Population Research Programme,
University of the Witwatersrand
Code Number: ep97009
The Role of Men in Determining Fertility Among the Banyankore
of Southwestern Uganda
By JAMES P. N. NTOZI.
Uganda: Marianum Press, 1993. xix + 143 p.
This work is the third in a monograph series based on surveys
on the determinants of fertility in Ankole, Uganda. As stated in the foreword,
this
study is significant, in view of the gaps in the existing body of research:
the dearth of research on mens role in determining fertility and the sideline
attention devoted to cultural factors which increasingly prove very central
to fertility behaviour.
Most African societies are patriarchal and yet the amount of research in this
dimension does not reflect the scale of patriachal influence. This is particularly
worth noting, given the fact that most fertility occurs within marital unions
and the institution of marriage fortifies the position and power of males.
The empirical and measurement limitations associated with male fertility tend
to discourage research. The vigour of this area, however, points to its inevitability
as a crucial and yet least explained phenomenon. It has become increasingly
evident that population research and programmes should tackle issues around
the status of women as the cornerstone of fertility dynamics, in particular,
and development, in general. The 1994 Cairo Conference is testimony to this
realization. This book could not have come at a better time. Decisions about
the number of children and contraception, marriage patterns and status of women
are embedded in cultural and patriarchal structures.
In his introduction, Ntozi notes "...marriage patterns, value of children,
cultures and non-use of effective contraception were behind the high fertility
level attained by women in that area. These factors are all men-related. The
aim of this study is therefore to investigate the attitude and behaviour of
men vis-à-vis those factors" (p. 1). It is based on the 1984 survey
of 546 ever-married men interviewed in a probability sample of 600 households.
These were selected from rural parishes inhabited by the Banyankore. Ntozi
sets out to examine the attributes, fertility and marriage patterns of the
respondents, their knowledge, attitude and use of contraception, their value
of children and the existing fertility related customs, taboos and other traditions.
He uses bivariate and log-linear analysis and the chi-square to evaluate the
interactive effect of the various variables.
The book has nine chapters. The first one includes an overview of research
areas on male fertility, family size and preferences, contraceptive use and
marriage patterns and the objectives and hypothesis of the study. The second
chapter is on the methodology- the survey area is described and the data collection,
processing, analysis and limitations of data are outlined. In the third chapter
the author describes the socio-economic attributes of the sample. It is characterized
by low literacy rates (53%), an almost universal rural background (97% rural
childhood residence) and high (99%) religiosity of which less than 1 per cent
are Muslims. They are nearly all farmers of one kind or another. In summarizing,
Ntozi states "...mens fertility in Ankole is very high [with parity of about
8] and increases with age...the more educated men have produced more children.
Men engaged in mixed farming activities have the highest number of children
in contrast with pastoral men who had the smallest numbers. The marriage patterns
described in the fifth chapter point to the mean age at first marriage of 24
years and a 22 per cent incidence of polygynous unions of whom at least one
out of every three had four wives. Chapter five reveals a high (85%) awareness
of contraceptives. Although 65% allowed or advised their wives to use contraceptives
only 6.7 per cent ever used them. Attitudes, intentions to use and the differentials
are also examined. The seventh chapter reflects the mens strong desire for
children arising from an interest in the continuation of lineage and expectations
of assistance at old age. This reinforces the preference for sons. Chapter
eight focusses on the cultural factors. The central theme is the customs around
sexual relationships. Ntozi surmises that, generally, the traditional practices
which encourage a resumption of sexual activity within ninety days of delivery,
are intensely pronatalist and they give rise to high risks of fertility and
minimal child-spacing. The concluding chapter shows that the area of study
is characterized by marriage patterns, contraceptive prevalence and cultural
structures that reflect a pronatalist setting, hence the high level of fertility,
even among the women- as revealed in his earlier study. Hence, Ntozi emphasizes
the need for family life education for boys and for raising the male literacy
levels.
The main contribution of this work is the empirical affirmation of pronatalism
in African customs in general and in male attitudes, in particular. Ntozi could
have gone far in realizing what he had set to do if he had brought to the fore
the cultural influences throughout the analysis. Much of the inference is deterministic
in that it is largely rooted in economic causation. For instance, he suggests, "...
the pastoralists reported the highest proportion of advantages in having many
sons and daughters... This reflects the fact that pastoralists needed many
children to provide labour demanded by the groups economic activities of herding
cattle" (p.53). Before drawing the conclusion, he could have made a further
multivariate analysis of occupation with education, for example, in order to
clarify the variation as a reflection of adherence to cultural practices, independent
of the economic factors such as family labour. He also notes, "..the boys are
not expected to be beneficial to parents in terms of bridewealth. Instead,
the sons are disadvantageous in this respect since the parents have to pay
bridewealth for their sons brides.." (p.55). Outside the eighth chapter, cultural
variables are discussed peripherally. As such, this is disappointing as one
would have expected more attention paid to cultural influences. They are presented
as one of the many attributes analysed. The analysis itself does not flow
through the chapters and the differentials observed in earlier chapters are
hardly built into the subsequent discourse.
Its strength, however, lies in the breadth and scope of the issues covered.
This book succeeds in drawing attention to primary aspects of male fertility
and to areas that need urgent work in both research and policy.
Moleboheng LEHUTSO-PHOOKO
Population Research Programme
University of the Witwatersrand
Books and publications available
for review
Offers to review any of these or other books and publications
are welcome.
- ADEPOJU, A. (Ed.). The impact of Structural Adjustment on the Population
of Africa.
- London James Currey (in association with UNFPA). 1993. 148. ISBN: 0-85225-405-2.
Pp. 148.
- BLANC, A.K; WOLFF, B; GAGE, A; NEEMA, S and SSEKAMATTE-SSEBULIBA.
- Negotiating Reproductive Outcomes in Uganda. 1996. Calverton, Maryland
and Kampala. Macro International Inc. and Institute of Statistics and Applied
Economics, Makerere University. 1996. Pp. 215.
- CHIMERE-DAN, G. Community Involvement in Urban Health Programmes.
- Halfway House. International Thompson Publishers. 1996. Pp. 109. ISBN:
1 86864 004 3.
- GENDREAU, F. La Population de lAfrique: Manuel de démographie.
Paris.
- CARTHALA-CEPED. Pp. 463. ISBN: 2-86537-431-9.
- KHLAT, M. Demographic evaluation of health programmes. Paris. CICRED.
1997. Pp. 225
- LASSONDE, L. Coping with population challenges. London. Earthscan
Publications. 1997. Pp. 173. ISBN: 1 85383 420 3 .
- LEVIN, R. and WEINER, D. (Eds.). "No More Tears...": Struggles for
Land in Mpumalanga,
- South Africa. New Jersey and Asmara. Africa World Press. 1997.
Pp. 304. $21.95. ISBN: 0-86543-509-X.
- WORLD BANK. AIDS Prevention and Mitigation in Sub-Saharan Africa: An updated
- World Bank Strategy. Washington, DC. The World Bank. 1996. Pp. 47+tables.
Copyright 1997 - Union for African Population
Studies.
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