Drawing on Connell’s relational theory of gender, the authors of this study conducted focus group discussion and interviews with Fertit women in South Sudan concerning their ability to control their reproductive lives. Women reported little choice over the childbearing demands of their husbands and families, intersecting with poverty and insecurity that leave men few sources of pride and achievement other than fatherhood. The authors conclude that as long as economic and social opportunities for women remain restricted, and as long as insecurity and uncertainty remain, many women will have little choice but to resort to having many children to safeguard their fragile present and future.
