BEYOND FAMILY PLANNING MEASURES

Beyond family planning measures include all those policies which affect the value of children, sex preference, age of marriage, and women's reproductive decision making power. One reason behind high fertility in the developing countries has been the lack of old age security and dependence on son in the old age. If an effective old age security programme can be developed, it will definitely reduce the need for having sons. Similarly, in multi-ethnic society like India, alienation among certain groups may make them adopt a pronatalist stand. They can be brought into the national mainstream by fighting inequalities and creating a more egalitarian society. Then they are likely to agree with government policies and their fertility levels are likely to change. Table 9.1 shows the various possible family planning and beyond family planning measures that governments can adopt to reduce fertility.

The beyond family planning measures work in the following manner:

• They subject the family size decisions to rational calculations based on knowledge, and minimize the importance of traditional, ethical, ethnic and emotional factors. This is achieved by providing various choices and opportunities to people and thus raising their aspirations' level. They lead to individuation, modernization and Westernization.

• They reduce the demand for children by providing functional alternatives to children such as pension schemes, insurance policies, and old age security.

• They limit the reproductive span available for childbirth by raising the age of marriage, and providing working opportunities for women.

• They generate trust among people. Researchers have noticed that in the absence of development works the governments lack the trust of the people and whenever new programmes and schemes are launched (such as family planning) people do not come forward to avail the benefit of them. They may even reject them collectively.