Household organization, women's autonomy, and contraceptive behavior in Southern Ethiopia

The Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region of Ethiopia (SNNPR ) is home to 11 million people constituting more than 45 language and ethni c groups, most of whom live in extremely poor rural communities. Data for c urrently married, fecund women aged 15-49 from demographic surveys conducte d in the SNNPR in 1990 and 1997 are used to investigate contraceptive knowl edge and communication, and the use and future need for family planning ser vices in this population. This study focuses on how these processes are aff ected by household organization and women's status, and on their implicatio ns or population policies and programs. Considerations for the implications of these results for understanding the fertility transition of a highly di verse African population under severe stress are presented. Although househ old extension and polygamy characterize one-third of the women sampled, the y do not affect the women's contraceptive behavior. Women's literacy and au tonomy ave, by far, the mast significant forces in the movement toward lowe r fertility in the region.