India's birth rate falls, population shrinks: Why are women refusing to become mothers, what do social studies and experts say?

In the film 'Deewar', Shashi Kapoor calls Amitabh's car, bungalow and bank balance worthless and says, “I have a mother.” Similarly a mother also has boundless love, goodwill and devotion for her children. It is said that being a mother is the most beautiful feeling in the world. Robert Browning has said that motherhood is where all love begins and ends. But what if the woman is deprived of this pleasure? Some women cannot become mothers due to health reasons and some due to their own free will. So are these women inferior? 'Selfish and imperfect' by socially conservative standards. Are these things true? With India's birth rate falling rapidly, you may be wondering why we are suddenly talking about the choice to become a mother or not to become a mother today. Indeed, the birth rate in our country has declined in the last few years. According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in 2019-21, the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) in India has declined from 2.2 children per woman to 2.0 children per woman. This figure is lower than the replacement rate of 2.1. In fact, the replacement rate is the birth rate at which the balance of births and deaths is maintained and the population remains stable. If a country's birth rate falls below the replacement rate, its population begins to decline. This is the reason why in the last few years, questions are being raised about the low birth rate in countries around the world including India. Women who decide not to become mothers are being put under suspicion. The Conservative section is also advocating stricter legislation on abortion. As if the entire responsibility of raising the family to increase the lineage is only women's. Today in the 'Relationship' column we will talk about motherhood and women who have not been able to become mothers or who have decided not to become mothers. Some people in our society say that a woman is called a woman when she becomes a mother. Does this mean that a woman who cannot be a mother is not a woman at all? Professor of Sociology at the University of Maine, USA. Amy Blackstone is also one of the women who decided not to have children. After this he had to listen to many taunts. Dr. Amy has also written a book on this – 'Childfree by Choice'. When Dr. When Amy tells people that she doesn't have children and doesn't want to, people look at her with a certain disbelief, pity, or condemnation. But she is not the only woman to make such a decision when it comes to children. Today, the number of people who do not want to have children is increasing very rapidly all over the world. This includes both men and women. He is openly admitting this and talking about it. Yet this choice, and its personal and cultural implications, are still often misunderstood. Here's what Delhi-based sociology research scholar Shivangi Patel has to say about this, see the graphic below- Renowned journalist and author Ruby Warrington, former feature editor of the Sunday Times, UK, has written a book – 'Women Without Kids: The Revolutionary Rise of an Unsung Sisterhood.' Ruby asks if being a childless woman really becomes a legacy in itself? In this book, Ruby explores larger social and cultural questions surrounding motherhood through her personal story and journey. He writes that there is no official place in our society for a girl who does not want to be a mother. She is marginalized. Instead of describing childless women as sad, self-absorbed, she writes, what if we boldly looked at them and accepted them as such. Is a woman incomplete without a mother? In our society, women have always been pressured to become mothers. He has to tell the society that he is perfect, there is no flaw in him. In India a woman is expected to be a mother, but not because she wants to be a mother. But because, motherhood is included in its duties. As a mother, taking care of husband and wife, children and home are all intertwined. But this is what makes her a good woman. She doesn't believe so, society says so. A mother or even a single woman is included in the community outside her family only if she is seen as a 'holy woman'. Change is difficult, but not impossible. Overall, society tends to follow its old traditions and patterns. He finds it very difficult to accept any kind of change. But the truth is also that change is the ultimate truth of creation. Everything is part of constant change. Just as stagnant water in a place deteriorates, so a society that refuses to change and refuses to change itself with time also gradually perishes. The transition of women from traditional to modern roles is also part of the same continuous change. Today, if women say no to motherhood, the biggest reason is that they have now tasted financial independence. She is no longer dependent on men and family for two meals a day and a roof over her head. Now she is earning her own money, paying her own bills, building a roof over her head and making every small decision related to her life. Women are not against motherhood. She simply says that motherhood should not be a wall in the way of their career, freedom and equality. Motherhood should not be the responsibility of women alone. Family and society should also have equal participation in this. The pace of change is slow, but it is happening. The pace of society accepting this change is also slow, but it is also happening. So one should never give up hope.

Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).