'In my country, Uganda, like in most of Sub-Saharan Africa, pressures for young girls and women to be childbearers persist. An average woman has about five children. My mom had 10. It's mostly the only choice we are given growing up, finding a man, giving him many children, and doing whatever he wants. I wish they could tell us that we can choose:

• few children

• to be childfree 

• to marry later

• late childbirth

• education

• contraception

• employment

 

Informed choice matters. 

 

I like the I=PAT equation. The impact on our environment is affected by population growth, affluence or consumption, and technology. Sadly, many don’t talk about P. Not talking about it is an injustice to us who bear the brunt of frequent childbearing/rearing with low or no power of autonomy.

 

Not talking about P, they forget that our unprecedented numbers exert pressure on finite resources, contributing to biodiversity loss. While per capita consumption is not a massive issue because most of us live hand to mouth, what happens if we get lifted out of poverty? The A will find large families, and no, you will not limit anyone's consumption.'