Title: Nationalism, race, and gender: the politics of family planning in Zimbabwe, 1957-1990.

POPLINE Document Number: 108649

Author(s):

West MO

Source citation:

SOCIAL HISTORY OF MEDICINE, 1994 Dec;7(3):447-71.

Abstract:

Nationalists in Zimbabwe opposed family planning when it was introduced in 1957, on the notion that it was a conspiracy to control the Black population. An official policy to reduce African fertility emerged eight years later in 1965 following the unilateral declaration of independence by the White settlers under Ian Smith. Nationalists used propaganda to fight the policy, while the facilities which were established under the policy, as well as their personnel, became military targets during the guerilla war in the late 1970s. The nationalists held their pronatalist position after independence in 1980, but a postwar baby boom during the early 1980s made it clear to officials in charge of economic and social development that society could not sustain such high fertility. The pronatalist policy was therefore reversed and by 1990 Zimbabwe had become an internationally recognized leader of family planning among developing countries. The author notes that these changes occurred without any real input by African women who were generally excluded from power.

Keywords:

Zimbabwe
Historical Review
Gender Issues
Political Factors
Family Planning
Pronatalist Policy
Africa, Southern
Africa, Sub Saharan
Africa
Developing Countries
Population Policy
Social Policy
Policy