26 Two Child Norm –Part II
1. Impact and Consequences of Two Child Norm Law
The conflating of ‘national interest’ with population control has serious negative consequences. The Two Child Norm and Policy and the disincentives built in it specially have serious negative consequences for women and girls and also on birth and survival of girl child, as also illustrated in a number of studies.
Mahila Chenta Manch an organization based in Bhopal MP conducted a study in 2000 in five States – Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh (which included Chattisgarh), Haryana, Orissa, and Rajasthan which had introduced the two child norm in their Panchayat laws. It was for the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and was supported by UNFPA. The study concluded that “the way the norm is conceptualised and currently implemented is not without serious unintended negative consequences”, deserting pregnant wives, concealment of babies, tampering with birth certificates and immunisation records in Anganwadis, increasing prenatal sex determination followed by abortion of female foetuses are other alarming, but not unexpected outcomes of enforcing of the two child ‘norm’. The stories of women are revealing, a women Sarpanch and her husband, a Panchayat member, gave up their third child (a daughter) for adoption, and in another instance, a man denied he was the father, leading to a DNA test being proposed to prove the paternity of the baby.
More than 50% of those disqualified under the provisions of the ‘two child’ norm in the study states were either illiterate or had primary education only. Economically and socially vulnerable sections suffered the most as 75% of those disqualified belonged to SC, ST and backward classes. There were cases of denial of parentage, abortions, infants being abandoned and given up to other family members to beat the two child norm. In one case in Himachal Pradesh the husband gave an affidavit the moment he realized that his wife was pregnant, stating that the woman and child belong to his brother. This is a very complicated issue in areas like Sirmour where polyandry is still practiced.
The law has no structured implementation mechanism and works through the complaint route. Action is initiated if someone complains about the third child. It was seen that this fuelled local power politics at the village level. Women face negative consequences of this law directly as candidates as well as indirectly (as spouse of those disqualified) in the form of desertion, forced abortions, neglect and death of female infant or female child being given up for adoption. The law is therefore rightly described as discriminatory and anti women.
Policies of population control are targeted at women, who have larger number of children for complex reasons – immediate survival, a necessity, due to high infant mortality, lack of access to health service and patriarchal control over sexuality and reproduction. In the absence of state supported social welfare, children are the only security to the poor in illness and old age and are viewed as additional working hands and family support, rather than extra consumers who will drain the family resources.
Bhim Raskar of the Resource and Support Centre for Development, an NGO that oversees various projects in Maharashtra’s villages also, says that those who wish to tame India’s population growth must address the problems that give rise to large families. Weak public services, especially health care, give parents reason to have several children, as an insurance policy against some of them dying. Poor women’s rights and education spur parents to procreate until they have at least one son. Mr. Raskar shakes his head at the idea of imposing a two-child norm from above. “Laws should be the last weapon, but here it is being used as the first weapon. You need to try to understand [a situation], and then change will come.”
SAMA a Resource Group for Women and Health conducted a study in 12 districts of Madhya Pradesh (2003-04) which reflected the ways in which the Two Child Norm acted as a discriminatory method to disempower the marginalised groups of dalits, women and adivasis, apart from disengaging the youth from the political process. Nearly 50% of the disqualified candidates belonged to SC, ST and OBC categories. Women have been rendered more vulnerable and doubly disadvantaged. Increase in violence against women, forced abortions, desertion, abandonment, divorce, alleging infidelity, sex selective abortions, giving up children (especially girls) for adoption, etc., were evident.
Women have no decision making power regarding the number of children. They face the consequences of having an additional child since their husbands holding the office refuse to acknowledge the new born. When the woman herself is the actual office holder, having a third child is used as a tool to usurp her authority and in such cases the mother-in-law or other men replace her.
Intersection of patriarchy, son preference, reluctance for girl child and access to easy technology, despite law lead to sex selection and abortion. These are resorted to for contesting, continuing in the local body. Politics, complaint, influence, official attitude to implementations and under currents of mind set are reflected in these practices.
In a working paper an economist S. Arukrits from Boston College and Abhisek Chakravarty of the University of Essex in their study looked at seven States, namely, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan & Himachal Pradesh where such laws were in effect between 1992 and 2005. Using data from various rounds of NFHS and District Level Household Survey (DLHS), these researchers found that there was a marked decline in the number of women in the general population reporting third births exactly one year after the new policy was announced. The first year was a ‘grace’ period in all of the state laws. The decline was relative to the State’s own history of the decline in fertility as well as other States which did not enact the law. The research also shows that the enactment of these laws led to the worsening of sex ratio in these States. This was particularly true for upper caste families whose first child was a daughter. The norm for politicians did not affect a change in the overall population. The effect is not so much from a role model effect via people emulating local leaders but more from people’s desire to remain eligible for future elections themselves. The decline in fertility begins immediately after the grace period ends. A role model effect would take some time to become visible. There is also evidence that men were divorcing their wives to remain eligible for elections and that such laws were putting the third children at a disadvantage. (The Hindu Sept. 7, 2014 – Rukmini S : 2-child norm for local bodies hurts sex ratio).
There is one view that the two-child norm seeks to reward, rather than force, family planning and that it is a far cry from China’s one-child policy or India’s own past but critics say and justifiably so that the main outcome of its application is to exclude the poorest Indians—who tend to have more children—from all sorts of welfare schemes. Leena Uppal, of the National Coalition Against 2CN and Coercive Population Policies, adds that, in a country where many parents see having fewer children as having fewer chances to produce a son, discouraging larger families simply encourages female foeticide.
An empirical study of the perceptions and views of the policy makers, programme implementers and disqualified elected representatives in four States recorded the arguments given by some respondents that adoption of the two child norm by elected representatives in Panchayats should have a “demonstration” effect on the community. The paper however concluded that “evidence suggests that even at the village level caste, class and gender politics dominate and those who belong to the backward communities do not offer any role model to members of higher castes or their own kith and kin”. The Two Child Norm is clearly anti women and anti weaker segments as is clear from profiles and numbers of those disqualified in Panchayats on the ground of violation of the Two Child Norm. (Leela Visaria, Akash Acharya, Francis Raj – Two Child Norm, victimising the vulnerable? (EPW January 7, 2006).
2. What has been the Impact of the Two Child Norm Policy on Society?
The scale of disqualifications in Panchayats where the two-child norm is applicable, is noted to be huge.
Panchayat representatives hailing from socially disadvantaged groups (SC, ST and OBC, mainly women) who are negatively impacted by the two child norm are noted to be disproportionately higher in number.
Enforcement of the two-child norm on Panchayat representatives has been identified as a factor leading to increased discrimination against the girl child and worsening the already declining child sex-ratio in India.
It is claimed that there are direct linkages between negative outcomes for women and the two-child norm including forced abortions, desertions and disowning of the third child, etc.
Concerns of corruption and caste politics because of the two-child norm have been raised. This norm has created complexities and confusions. As for example, in some cases whether twins should be considered as two children or as a single unit, is left to the subjective interpretation of the state.
3. Emerging Issues and Challenges
We see the emerging issues and challenges in what the exploratory study of Mahila Chetna Manch (MCM) in five States showed. For instance the assumption in introducing the two child norm was that this norm would check the high population growth rate which, in turn, would lead to improved development indicators and a better quality of life for the citizens of India. It was incorporated in the Panchayat related laws in different States with the assumption that Panchayat leaders with two children would serve as role models for the rest of the community.
The background characteristics of the five States which MCM studied show that the Two Child Norm as a condition for Panchayat posts cannot be necessary for development and population stabilisation. In gender related data four States emerge with concerns regarding the status of women either due to the high literacy gap between men and women or even the more disquieting fact of declining child sex ratio. Given these circumstances the risk of the already precarious status of women being adversely affected through the application of the coercive law of the norm is high.
An examination of the background information relating to population, development and women’s status in the five study States of MCM study indicates that the application of the norm has the potential to harm the status of women or is unnecessary in all the five States even if it is assumed that such a norm enforced by law can be effective in influencing fertility decisions.
The two child norm has an adverse impact on the status of women. Women face double-edged challenge – decision making on reproduction has not been in women’s hand and yet they suffer directly (as candidates) or indirectly (as spouse of those disqualified) the consequences of implementation of the norm. A number of disquieting trends were visible in the practices used to meet the conditionalities of the law without changes in the decision about the family size and without moving away from the strong son preference.
The experience shows the potential of using the two child norm to harass opponents. There was also an indication that the norm could be circumvented and evaded through manipulations which are easier for those with political or financial clout. The process of complaints, inquiry and disqualification is a continuing process encroaching upon the resources of the competent authorities and also distracting the aggrieved persons from more productive development work.
The application of the two child norm can adversely affect both the democratic rights and reproductive choices of individuals. There is, however, an overwhelming public opinion, especially among the key actors like policy makers and programme implementers, doctors and lawyers, that the norm is necessary to reduce the family size and population growth rate and give the desired impetus to development.
The law was introduced with the expectations that the Panchayat representatives by following the norm would be able to set an example for others to follow. Field based qualitative studies found no corroborative evidences to this effect. On the other hand, there were enough evidences to suggest that the unintended outcomes were far more serious.
What becomes very clear is that the two child norm gets selectively applied to persons depending upon their socio-economic vulnerability, political rivalries, perceived importance of the post occupied and as a tool to discourage potentially promising candidates.
These negative consequences were, on the one hand, without attaining any of the intended outcomes of the two child norm. On the other, the two child norm is seen to be having a dampening effect on those lower in the caste and class hierarchy, particularly women, in terms of discouraging them from participating in grass roots level institutions of governance.
4. Do we really need this Norm?
According to NFHS-3 (2005-06), most Indian states including some high fertility north India states have reached replacement level of desired/ wanted fertility rate. Thus, most people in India do not wish to have more than two children, but the population is growing due to momentum effect and unwanted fertility. It is believed that fertility is influenced by variety of factors like education, media, economic changes, urbanisation, infant and maternal mortality rate, etc (Visaria and Visaria 2003). By now, there is a much wider consensus on the need to avoid authoritarian intervention in intimate and personal matters like reproductive behavior (Sen 1995). India’s National Population Policy, 2000 advocates ‘small family norm’ without prescribing any number. The ideal ‘small family norm is supposed to be set voluntarily by each couple, considering all pros and cons in the context of the circumstances facing them. The State is responsible for creating favourable conditions towards such a choice, and not to prescribe or impose a norm of one, two or three. There is, of course, some apparent inconsistency or ambivalence in government policy referring to some promotional measures which prescribe two-child conditionality. Such distortions in laws and policies or programmes need to be set right.
Justifying a coercive one or two-child norm policy on a perceived benefit of a better quality of life or greater share of resources in a smaller family is too naive, simplistic, mechanistic and smacks of an authoritarian, elitist and neomalthusian mind set. An informed and voluntary choice for a one or a two-child family is a reproductive choice and a right. Such a decision is right-based. Choice of a family size is dependent on many factors like infant and child mortality, son preference, income opportunities, educational level, access to health care, family planning products and services, etc. Better quality of life and sharing of resources intra or inter family is dependent more on the structure and pattern of consumption, income, ownership and access, as well as equity.
One or two-child norm as a policy prescription by government is not at all in the national interest. It distorts and subverts democracy, fundamental rights and is disempowering, particularly of women, the poor and the marginalised. It exasperates and accentuates skewed sex-ratio at birth, as China’s one-child policy has shown during the last 30 years.
Family planning has to be empowering, co-operative and not ‘authoritarian’ and should be implemented with a rights-based, gender-sensitive and holistic manner, integrated within ‘reproductive health’ and comprehensive primary health care.
There is a need to understand the population issue in proper perspective of ‘rights’ and ‘gender sensitivity’.
Our case studies show the experiences of Panchayat representatives, the practices adopted to circumvent the law and the anxiety and frustration of the affected persons who are caught in the complexity of the new law and the manipulations of their political opponents. Instances of sex selection tests, abortion of female foetus and completion of the pregnancy where the foetus was rightly or wrongly identified as male show the continuing prevalence of strong son preference and the potential of this law to further worsening of the adverse child sex ratio.
The assumption was that this norm would check the high population growth rate which, in turn, would lead to improved development indicators and a better quality of life for the citizens of India. It was incorporated in the Panchayat related laws in different states with the assumption that Panchayat leaders with two children would serve as role models for the rest of the community.
The background characteristics of the five states show that the two child norm as a condition for Panchayats posts cannot be necessary for development and population stabilisation.
In gender related data four states emerge with concerns regarding the status of women either due to the high literacy gap between men and women or even the more disquieting fact of declining child sex ratio. Given these circumstances the risk of the already precarious status of women being adversely affected through the application of the coercive law of the norm is high.
An examination of the background information relating to population, development and women’s status indicate that the application of the norm has the potential to harm the status of women or is unnecessary in all the five states even if it is assumed that such a norm enforced by law can be effective in influencing fertility decisions.
The two child norm has an adverse impact on the status of women. Women face double edged challenge – decision making on reproduction has not been in women’s hands and yet they suffer directly (as candidates) or indirectly (as spouse of those disqualified) the consequences of implementation of the norm.
A number of disquieting trends were visible in the practices used to meet the conditionalities of the law without changes in the decision about the family size and without moving away from the strong son preference.
Overall a large proportion (76 percent) of the disqualified representatives were practising contraception (53 percent permanent methods and 23 percent others). This had little to do with their preference of family size. The desire for a small family existed independent of this law, but when it was a choice between leadership position and family size, especially if it pertained to a son, the desire for a child won in many cases.
The examination of state level data from Haryana showed that nearly three-fourths of all disqualifications were because of the two child norm.
Studies of Panchayats and women’s presence and experience in the Panchayats have shown a large entry of the poor, even illiterate and younger women.
The 73rd Amendment is aimed at providing women and Dalits and younger persons an opportunity to participate in politics and governance. There was evidence of women getting discouraged in view of long drawn-out court cases, inquiries and mental trauma resulting from the dilemma between continuing in the post and a simultaneous desire and family pressure for a son or a larger family.
The experience shows the potential of using the two child norm to harass opponents. There was also an indication that the norm could be circumvented and evaded through manipulations which are easier for those with political or financial clout. The process of complains, inquiry and disqualification is a continuing process encroaching upon the resources of the competent authorities and also distracting the aggrieved persons from more productive development work.
The three states of Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, which recorded relatively high rates of population growth during 1971-91, drafted their population policies in the late 1990swith the assistance of Futures Group International before theNPP2000 was approved by the National Development Council. They set goals to lower fertility to replacement level or to nearly half the prevailing level in the shortest span of 10 to 15 years. In order to do so, these states, along with Haryana and Orissa, passed laws to prospectively debar from holding office those elected representatives to Panchayati raj institutions (PRI) or local self government bodies, who do not adopt the two-child norm. It was realised that given the small number of elected representatives, imposing such a norm on them was most unlikely to bring a reduction in the fertility level of the state as a whole. However, the justification for this was sought in the underlying rationale that community members would perceive the elected representatives as “role models”. It has been argued that if an elected “representative accepts and advocates small family norm, it would have great impact on others and they are more likely to follow this norm”.
Would adoption of a two-child norm by a handful of elected representatives at the lowest level restrict “explosion” even by demonstration for others to follow? Some have indeed argued that elected members are perceived as role models and any practice accepted by them is likely to be followed by other members of the community. However, the limited evidence that we have collected indicates that even at the village level, caste and class and also gender politics dominate. In the power game, those who belong to the backward communities offer no role model either to the members of the higher castes or to those who are their own kith and kin. We saw no evidence at all of any one even mentioning that the elected members are their role models for practicing the small family norm [Bisaria et.al 2006].
There is an urgent need to understand how population grows and stabilises. Since the 1970s, there has been a slow but steady decline in the total fertility rate in India, or the average number of children a woman has in her lifetime, from around six to almost half the number or three. This clearly indicates that a transition from a high fertility (and mortality) regime to low fertility is very much underway. However, the decline is recent and the history of high fertility has resulted in a young population or age structure that would lead to population growth for several decades to come. There is a built-in growth momentum due to the young age structure of the population.
The imposition of the two-child norm impinges on basic human rights. It affects adversely precisely those sections of society –women, members of scheduled castes and tribes, marginalised and the poor – who need to assert their right to political participation. They are the ones who contest elections to PRIs. The NHRC Declaration (2003) noted that “ …the propagation of a two child norm and coercion or manipulation of individual fertility decisions through the use of incentives and disincentives violate the principle of voluntary informed choice and the human rights of the people, particularly the rights of the child”. Thus, the imposition is also not just.
The imposition of a two-child norm in reality becomes anti-women in more than one way. With the passing of the 73rdconstitutional amendment, 33 percent of all Panchayat seats are reserved for women. Having fought for this representation in the political process at the local level for several decades, the two-child norm disqualifies those elected women members who give birth to a third or higher order child after a certain stipulated period. Women are affected because even those who are elected to local bodies have little or no say in when they marry and whether, when or how many children they have [Hariharan 2003]. In addition, women are also adversely affected because the elected husbands, in order to retain their seats, can resort to measures such as abandoning the wife, denying having fathered the child, deserting the pregnant wife, asking the wife to undergo an abortion (especially if the foetus is of a girl).If the wo man is the elected representative and becomes pregnant with a male foetus, then her position can be sacrificed in favour of a son; her having to step down is of little consequence to the family since she would produce a male heir. All these practices are anti-woman and therefore the imposition of the norm should also be examined from the perspective of how it would impact women.
There is need for a wider debate on the rationale of the two child norm. The issues need to be debated in the context of grass roots reality, the equity oriented focus of the Indian Constitution and the adverse and demeaning practices for women resulting from the implementation of this norm.
There is need to withdraw/impose a moratorium on the two child norm law. This norm imposed by a law must be withdrawn in the interest of women and weaker sections, their participation in grass roots institutions and in view of the negative implications for women and girl children seen in the experiences of those affected by this law. There is also no evidence that it has the impact on fertility decisions assumed in introducing it.
As articulated in the ICDP Programme of Action, in the long run informed choice will work and not incentives and disincentives. Over the past century, many governments have experimented with schemes including specific incentives and disincentives, in order to lower the rate of fertility. Most such schemes have had only marginal impact on fertility and, in some cases, have been counter-productive. The principle of informed free choice is essential to the long-term success of the family planning programmes. Any form of coercion has no part to play. – ICPD Programme of Action (POA 7.12), 1994.
The Cairo Declaration on population and development seeks a human-centred approach to population issues with a special emphasis on the reproductive health of women.
5. A National Coalition Against Two Child Norm and Coercive Population Policies
The civil society has geared up to address the challenge. The Coalition has been formed in 2011 as an outcome of concerns around population control and related coercion and for promoting policies that empower people to exercise their reproductive rights and choices. It is aimed at strengthening of civil society partnership to voice people’s concerns collectively. It is a non party group consisting of individuals and organizations who believe in human/rights particularly reproductive and civil rights of all individuals and are willing to take action to address and redress violation of these rights. It was established to tackle the growing fears, myths and misconceptions around population growth. The need for a coalition with the aim to monitor and respond to the policy environment, was realised. in view of the sheer scale of political and civil rights violations due to the two-child norm clause in some state Panchayat acts/ development schemes or the deaths and failures due to poor quality sterilisations. The media reporting around the seven billionth baby in India at that time had revived the fear that ‘population is a problem’, which set into action some of the organisations in Delhi and other states to regroup in order to revisit and review the implications of population control policies like the two child norm.
The National Coalition Against Two-Child Norm and Coercive Population Policies has been formed as an outcome of concerns around population control and related coercion and for promoting policies that empower people to exercise their reproductive rights and choices. Goal of the coalition is to raise awareness among different stakeholders about the coercive nature of different population control policies like the Two-Child Norm and to advocate for the removal of such policies at the State and Central levels.
The Coalition seeks to educate and share information among different stakeholders on issues related to population and development, build awareness and consensus among different stakeholders about the principles of reproductive rights, collect and share evidence and materials related to reproductive rights and coercive population policies, advocate with different policy stakeholders at the national and state level to conduct and/or collaborate with documentation and research exercises and monitor the policy environment at the national and in state levels.
The challenge of moving away from the mindset of target oriented, coercively persuasive practices continues. There is special need to explore and educate about the special gender implications of such practices and laws.