Familial Power Relations, Popularity of Female Sterilization and Fertility Decline in Andhra Pradesh: A Cultural Understanding

Andhra Pradesh is the first state in India, to reach the replacement level fertility in spite of having high infant and child mortality; high illiteracy and other unfavorable factors. This is an effort to assess such endeavors both theoretically and empirically. Results indicate that though current use of contraception has increased from 41 percent in 1992-93 to 68 percent in 2005-06, the contribution of female sterilization alone is 63 percent and almost 83 percent of women with two living children are sterilized. Status of sterilized women is higher than women using other methods of contraception. Women status in family increases with increasing years after sterilization. Findings suggest a positive association between sterilization at early age, lower fertility and women status. To surmount the intra-familial controls on them, the women is responding remarkably to family planning program herself by ending reproductive span to get higher status in the family ladder.