AGE AT MARRIAGE, CONTRACEPTION USE AND FERTILITY PREFERENCES: THE ROLE OF LINGUISTIC IDENTITY ON
WOMEN REPRODUCTIVE BEHAVIOUR
Abstract of the Thesis submitted in Partial Fullfilment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy by
Pallabi Das
Under the supervision of
Dr. Inder Sekhar Yadav
and
Prof. Zakir Husain
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
May 2021
October 2021
Age at marriage, contraception use and fertility preferences:
The role of linguistic identity on women reproductive behaviour
The thesis examines the influence of culture on nuptiality patterns and reproductive behaviour of Bengali women. Using linguistic identity as a proxy for culture, this work investigates variations in nuptiality and reproductive behaviour between Bengali-speaking respondents and women belonging to other linguistic groups. Specifically, it examines differences in age at first marriage, age of consummation of marriage, reliance on behavioural contraception methods. The study also attempts to find out whether similarities in reproductive behaviour can transcend political boundaries and be observed in societies with similar cultural and linguistic traits. The work is based on different rounds of National Family and Health Survey (NFHS), Demographic Health Survey (DHS) for India and Bangladesh and Demographic Level Household Survey (DLHS) data for West Bengal for the time period 1992 to 2016. A quantitative study design and appropriate econometric methods, like multi-level models and spatial econometric models, are employed for the analysis.
Results reveal that culture plays an important role in causing variations in the outcomes studied; its impact can go beyond political boundaries, resulting in similar patterns of behaviour in the Bengali linguistic group residing in different countries. Specific results are as follows:
(i) Urban Bengalis have a significantly higher age of first marriage and consummation than Hindi speaking women. The differences are more prominent among urban wealthy respondents.
(ii) Irrespective of their place of residence, a significantly higher proportion of Bengali women rely on behavioural methods than non-Bengalis. Moreover, such women are able to use behavioural methods as effectively as modern method users.
Alternative explanations are examined, but fail to explain this phenomenon.
The remaining analysis investigates similarities in patterns of reproductive behaviour between Bengali speaking respondents in West Bengal, and Bangladesh. It is found that reproductive behaviour has diffused across political boundaries, indicating that a common culture is more important than artificially created political boundaries.
The highlighting of the role of culture on nuptiality and reproductive behaviour is an important contribution to the existing Indian studies on this area. The study also has important policy implications. This study emphasizes the need to preserve the cultural diversity in India and take into account the complexities produced by a heterogeneous society when designing population policies and family planning strategies.
Keywords: Contraception; Culture; Fertility; Linguistic identity; Marriage; Nuptiality;
India.
