Social context of premarital fertility in rural South-Africa
), Michel Garenne(2),
(1)
(2)
Corresponding Author
Abstract
A qualitative study was conducted in Agincourt, a rural area of South Africa, to document the perceptions and attitudes towards premarital fertility and late marriage among young adults of both sexes. Two focus groups and 35 individual interviews were conducted among 17-30 year olds, randomly selected. Most interviewees perceived premarital fertility as undesirable, and a new phenomenon in a context of major social changes, in particular loss of authority of parents and increasing freedom of the youth. In contrast, late marriage was perceived as positive, by both sexes, primarily for economic reasons. Much stigma was associated with premarital fertility, from friends, institutions and families who occasionally apply mild or severe sanctions. Consequences of premarital fertility were numerous: school abandonment, economic adversity, health risks, stigmatization. In extreme cases, premarital fertility might lead to exclusion and deviant behavior. Premarital fertility was ultimately due to a lack of contraception among young women, and to refusal of abortion for religious reasons, and is associated with the risk of contracting STD’s. (Afr J Reprod Health 2008; 12[2]:98-110)
RÉSUMÉContexte social de la fécondité avant le mariage en Afrique du Sud rurale. Une étude qualitative a été menée à Agincourt en Afrique du Sud, pour documenter les perceptions et les attitudes envers la fécondité avant le mariage et le mariage tardif. Deux interviews au niveau de groupes cible et 35 interviews personnelles ont été recueillies auprès des gens âgés de 17 à 30. La plupart des gens interviewés ont perçu la fécondité avant le mariage comme étant désirée et comme un nouveau phénomène dans un contexte de transformations sociales importantes, surtout la perte de l´autorité des parents et la liberté croissante de la jeunesse. Par contre, ils ont apercu le mariage tardif comme positif, principalement pour des raisons économiques. Beaucoup de stigmate était lié à la fécondité avant le mariage de la part des amis, des institutions et des familles qui de temps en temps appliquent de légères sanctions. Les conséquences de la fécondité avant le mariage étaient nombreuses: l´abandon de l´école, l’adversité économique, les risques de santé, la stigmatisation. Dans des cas extrêmes, la fécondité avant le mariage peut entrainer l´exclusion et le comportement deviant. La fécondité avant le mariage a été finalement causée par un manque de contraception chez les jeunes femmes et à cause du refus de l´avortement pour des raisons religieuses et pour des raisons liées au risque de contracter les MSTs. (Rev Afr Santé Reprod 2008; 12[2]:98-110)
KEY WORDS: Premarital fertility, Age at first marriage, Perception, Attitude, Stigma, Sanction, Qualitative study, Focus group, Shangaan, Agincourt, South Africa
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