WP-04-06

Family Planning Policy and Development Discourse in Trinidad & Tobago:
A Case Study in Nationalism and Women’s Equality

Dorothy E. Roberts

Abstract

This working paper examines the influence of development discourse on family planning policy in Trinidad and Tobago in the first decade of the nation’s independence and inves-tigates questions concerning nationalism and women’s equality. The government’s adoption of family planning as an official program was based on the asserted need to control population growth for the sake of the nationalist development project. The state’s family planning program enlisted women as the principal agents of the nationalist project by encouraging them to reduce their fertility for the sake of economic progress. But while women were included as active participants, their interest in political and social equality
was neglected in the program’s philosophy and aims. After examining the negative conse-quences of this development strategy, Roberts concludes that the national program seriously constrained—but did not preclude—the creation of a new nationalist discourse grounded in women’s equality and social justice.

Dorothy E. Roberts, Law and Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University

---

Click on the working paper title at the top of this page to download a free pdf of the paper.* If You Need to Order a Hard Copy: Hard copies of IPR working papers cost $5.00 each (international orders are $10 each). We only accept checks drawn on U.S. bank and payable in U.S. funds. Checks or money orders should be made payable to Northwestern University and sent to the following address: Publications Department - WP Orders Institute for Policy Research 2040 Sheridan Rd., Evanston, IL 60208-4100. For information, call 847-491-8712 or email ipr@northwestern.edu. Please note that we do not accept credit cards. *Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 (or higher) is needed to read the Acrobat pdf. If you need to install Acrobat Reader, click the button below. Once the file has downloaded onto your desktop, run it to install the reader on your hard drive.