TITLE:
Socio-Cultural Practices and Fertility Behavior among Banyankole Families in Sheema Municipality, South Western Uganda
AUTHORS:
Juliet Mujuni Kwabaho, Norman Mukasa, Viola Nilah Nyakato
KEYWORDS:
Culture, Family, Fertility Tradition, Banyankole, Uganda
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.11 No.12,
December
22,
2023
ABSTRACT: The study on social cultural practices and fertility
behaviour among Banyankole families was carried
out in Sheema Municipality, Sheema District, Uganda. The purpose of the
study was to examine the reproductive related cultural practices prevalent
among the Banyankole, determine the fertility motivators, examine the socio
cultural influence on fertility bahaviour and determine the linkages between
the socio-cultural practices and fertility behaviour among women and men living
in Sheema Municipality. Participants were women and men aged 18 and above
living in Sheema Municipality who identified themselves as belonging to the Banyankole ethnic group of Uganda.
This paper presents cultural aspects shaping fertility experiences in the area
especially enshrined within gender norms and conservative traditionalism of
rites and rituals, superstition, perceived mortality risks, extended family
system, and foster parenting. The article
situates fertility behaviours within the emerging cultural transformational
environment with increased education, urbanization and advanced technology. The
Study concludes that socio-cultural practices have strong influence on
proximate determinants of fertility and thus the resultant fertility behavioral
outcomes.