WHAT IS THEIR CRIME?

Last night, whiles listening to News Hour on BBC, a story from Japan caught my attention and kept me thinking. It was a story about the link between women, fertility rate, population growth and pets (dogs). According to the report, Japan is experiencing a low fertility rate. This development is having a major effect on population growth rate. Couples, especially the wives, are unwilling to have children and have turned their pets (dogs) into kids.

The report described Japan as the ‘pet capital of the world’ since there is more dogs than children, more nurseries for dogs than there is for children and more canteens for dogs than children. Couples interviewed expressed their desire to have children but are being denied that prospect because the ‘corporate culture’ in that country is intolerable towards pregnant women or those with children.

According to one woman, who is training as a doctor, here boss told here that having babies will jeopardize her career, so she should not have children. The report further stated that about 60% of women get kick out of work after becoming pregnant or giving birth.

A 2008 Population demographic survey on Japan indicated that a quarter of her population will be 65 years by 2015 and this is precarious for its economy. Fertility rate, i.e. on the number of children women could have rose to 1.37 in 2008, up from 0.03 points from the previous year. However, it is still less than the estimated 2.07 needed to maintain a population. This means that. Japan has the lowest fertility rate in the developed world.

It appears this ‘corporate culture’ which forbids women from having children, the joy of marriage, is happening here in Ghana. Some companies are said to demand pregnancy test before employing women job applicants. Others warn you not to get pregnant for a number of years. In a recent article in one of the dailies, the writer questioned the constitutionality of this non-utterable ‘law’ that seeks to ‘put on ice’ the legitimate rights of women to have birth. What I gleaned from the write-up is this: some companies insist their women employees do not get pregnant during the first three years of employment or else you get fired.

My question is: Why this ‘law’? Who made it? And to what end? The answer is obvious: Men.  We live in a patriarchal world where men are ‘gods’ and women ‘slaves’. So most, if not all, of these laws are made to advance this ‘masochism’ and push women a bit away from the same good men enjoy.

The biological clock of women, unlike men, corrodes faster. According to medical experts, some women enter the menopausal realm from 30 years. Assuming a woman gets a job at age 27 and has to stay off child bearing for 3 years (meaning 30 years) and unfortunately her menopausal symptoms arise at that point, what happens?

Aside this, every person has a plan for his/her life. Some may decide to have children earlier so that they may have enough time for whatever they are involved in when their kids are a bit matured. Others will delay child bearing and achieve a certain target or goals before beginning a family. Whatever it is, it is the right of the women to decide which option fit her and not some corporate rule.

One interesting fact we need to appreciate is that women are life givers and the population will be extinct if they decide to sacrifice their mandate of ensuring the continuation of life on the altar of some stupid, derogatory, obnoxious ‘follow-or-die’ command.

A decline in fertility rate will have a devastating effect on population growth as well as the economic situation of that country since majority of the population will be within the ‘aged’ bracket (60 years and above) and a shrinking number in the ‘youthful’ class. That means the small productive or working populace will have to work extra hard to care for the ‘aged’.

Another issue is that, when these couples become pensioners, who will look after them since children are a source of social security for non-working parents.

I believe this phenomenon of forcible ‘freezing’ the right of women to have children or get pregnant for a particular period or to attain a certain ambition must occupy the minds of Human Rights and Women’ Rights advocates and the relevant government agencies to this ‘code’ which fleeces women of their freedom.

And to women themselves, stand up and fight against this creeping injustice for one of the greatest joy in the world is having a good family life not a good working life.