Some people believe that pressuring women to have more children is a way to solve the problem of low birth rates in Eastern Europe. Governments offer financial incentives or even try to limit women's right to decide about their own bodies.
However, there is no evidence that such measures achieve a permanent increase in the birth rate. Instead, restricting women's rights risks undoing decades of progress towards gender equality and can have dire consequences such as:
- Damaged life: When women's choices are limited, their well-being is diminished and potential stifled. Unwanted pregnancy can stop education and career. Lack of bodily autonomy can trap women in cycles of poverty and dependency, which are often accompanied by domestic violence. When women are in control of their bodies and have access to contraception, they can then plan a family and choose to have children at the right time in their lives.
- Economic damage: Countries struggling with population decline cannot afford to exclude half their population. To build a resilient economy and society, they need the full contribution of their citizens. Empowering women and girls makes economic sense: it boosts productivity, innovation and overall well-being.
In 1994, at the International Conference on Population and Development, held in Cairo, the international community made a historic commitment to respect the sexual and reproductive rights of all people. Today, 30 years later, the UNFPA State of the World Population report shows that great progress has been made, but also highlights the deep inequalities that still exist.
The question of discrimination
The data is striking. One out of four women, in the countries for which we have data, does not have basic bodily autonomy, that is, she does not have the right to decide about her own health care, contraception and whether and when she will have sex. More than two out of three women in Eastern and Southeastern Europe have experienced some form of gender-based violence, often by a partner or someone else in the family. Millions of women want to use modern contraceptives, but do not have access to the supplies, information, or services needed for family planning.
Discrimination is most severe for women who are already faced with various, often overlapping, disadvantages that put them at a disadvantage. For example, in Albania, a 2017 survey showed that 74 percent of Roma women reported serious difficulties in accessing health care services, in contrast to only 35 percent of ethnic Albanian women. While access to health care services has improved over the past decade for both categories, progress has been much slower for the most disadvantaged.
These differences represent individual tragedies, but they also cause wider damage. When women are denied basic health care, their families and communities suffer. When structural barriers or social stigma prevent women from realizing their potential, the entire economy loses.
A fundamental right
Countries facing demographic change need progressive policies that invest in women and girls. This means ensuring universal access to education, quality health care, economic opportunities and protection from gender-based violence. It also means respecting the fundamental right of women to have control over their own bodies and to make decisions about their lives.
The path to healthy, prosperous societies does not lead through control over the female body. It lies in removing the barriers that prevent women and girls from advancing - for their own good and for the good of their community and country.
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