DEFINITIONS, THEORY AND HYPOTHESES

As in our previous chapter, we underline from the start that for abstinence to be a conscious tool of fertility regulation, it cannot stem from circumstances (i.e., such as migration), or from established traditions such as postpartum abstinence. When abstinence is due to these reasons, theorists of contraception talk of "non-exposure to risk". Conceptualizing abstinence as a birth control method (different from mere non-exposure to risk) and measuring it in surveys is therefore not a straightforward task. For example, Curtis & Neitzel (1996) noted that "methods such as prolonged abstinence and prolonged breastfeeding (…) present a problem when they are added as country-specific methods because these practices are frequently used also for purposes other than contraception" (p. 4). In this chapter, like in the previous one, we define abstinence as a method of birth control if it is used by couples who could otherwise (socially and situationally) perfectly have sexual intercourse and who abstain with birth control in mind.

With the increasing availability and acceptance of modern contraceptive methods, why ⁶⁵ would couples in Niger and other low-income countries resort to abstinence as a means of birth control? Eisenstadt’s concept of "multiple modernities" can help shed some light into this matter. Eisenstadt built his perspective in opposition to the dominant

"convergence" theories of the post-World War II era, which claimed that the more societies "modernize", "the more similar they become in their basic, central, institutional aspects, and the less the importance of traditional elements [matter] within them" (Eisenstadt 1977, p. 1). The author sustained that the different entities adopting modern Western features (i.e., within contexts of nation state building, economic development, etc.) end up re-appropriating the concept of modernity. According to the

Contraception is provided for free in Niger since 2012 (Potts et al. 2012).

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author, although most of these societies share similarities with Western nations in terms of "family life, economic and political structures, urbanization, modern education, mass communication, and individualistic orientations" (p.1-2), they also develop in different directions, influenced by their respective cultures, historical experiences, intellectuals, social movements, etc. (Eisenstadt 2000). According to Eisenstadt, modernity (or its multiple possibilities) begins to emerge when the absolute hegemony of a pre-established divine social order starts to decline. With this erosion, personal autonomy begins to play a pivotal role, thus becoming the key element that permits an emancipation from the invariable sacrosanct system (Eisenstadt 1977, 2000, 2007;

Fourie 2012), but in a multiplicity of possible shapes.

Female empowerment fits therefore perfectly into Eisenstadt’s modernity scheme.

According to Malhotra et al. (2002), one of the most encompassing definition of empowerment would come from the social economist Naila Kabeer (1999), who explains it as "[t]he expansion in people's ability to make strategic life choices in a context where this ability was previously denied to them" (p. 437). According to Kabeer there are several dimensions to the gender empowerment process (Kabeer 1999;

Richardson 2018). The first one involves what she calls "indirect measures" or opportunities for autonomy, that namely constitute the resources (such as the socioeconomic status) that will facilitate women’s capacity to make these key decisions;

"direct measures" of autonomy also, which encompass the capacity to identify personal targets and to act upon them. In this sense, wanting to regulate childbearing (and more specifically in a high fertility context), even with traditional methods, can indeed constitute one aspect of the multiple possibilities of modernity.

Moreover, in terms of fertility transitions and family change that occur as societies develop economically, demographers are today increasingly pointing to this type of non-linear pattern. According to Gribaldo and colleagues (2009), a growing number of researchers are questioning the "direct relationship between a decline in birth rates and a change in family values towards more ‘modern’ and secular forms, problematizing a linear and consistent path from ‘traditional’ to ‘modern’ and ‘western’ values." (p. 552).

These authors underline that the concept of modernity is complex, and that "it can take on specific meanings in different contexts" (p. 552). For example, in their work on Southern European families in Australia, Santow & Bracher (1999) noted that these immigrants ended up having smaller (or equivalent) families compared to other citizens in the receiving country, despite maintaining a very traditional system of values averse to contraception. These authors showed that it was common for Sicilians in the 1960s to feel embarrassment for their relatives who had many children, because it implied that they were lazy and unable to control themselves, trading-off immediate pleasures for the long-term well-being of their household. These immigrants reached low family sizes using withdrawal (or fare sacrifice), a method which came with a sense of responsibility and pride, perfectly coherent with the "traditional" values of these households.

Johnson-Hanks (2002) developed a similar argument in her article "On the Modernity of Traditional Contraception: Time and the Social Context of Fertility". She narrated the story of Mrs. Ebene, a woman from the Beti people of Southern Cameroon. Mrs. Ebene has a secondary education and is in a monogamous union, married to a man with a University degree who works for the Government. The woman explained in her interview that she and her husband had decided that three offspring were sufficient, as having a fourth child would take a toll on their finances. However, the couple resolved to limit childbearing through the use of periodic abstinence. Astonished by this finding, Johnson-Hanks (2002) underlined: "She knows of other methods, including the IUD, the oral contraceptive, and Depo-Provera; she knew where to get them; and she knew of their low cost (…) Something seems very wrong here: a woman from the modern, formal sector should be using a modern, formal method" (p. 230). But there is more to fertility regulation than just efficacy and even more than just its financial costs; a symbolic value seems also associated to contraceptive choice. Indeed, women in Cameroon appear to gain a sense of pride by regulating childbearing through will-power and self-control;

they see periodic abstinence as an act of "disciplined modernity" (Johnson-Hanks 2002).

In Niger, where the process of the fertility transition is just starting, voluntary abstinence as birth control — or other traditional contraception such as periodic abstinence or withdrawal — could similarly be an appealing means of fertility regulation. Nouhou noted in his Ph.D. thesis that Nigerien women who resort to modern family planning tend to state that they desire very large families, declarations that could be interpreted as smoke and mirrors: a way to dissimulate modern behavior through an acknowledgment of normative expectations (Nouhou 2016). Abstinence as a means of fertility regulation could be used in the same manner, namely as a way to combine collective values with individual aspirations.

Abstinence as a method of contraception can also have a number of other advantages.

Firstly, sexual inactivity has no side effects, and we know that health concerns and the fear of side effects are the primary stated reason of modern contraceptive non-use in sub-Saharan Africa (Sedgh & Hussain 2014; Sedgh et al. 2016). Secondly, it is cost-free.

Thirdly, if it is used as Careful Love (i.e., reduced sexual frequency whatever the time of the month ), possibly in conjunction with act-related contraceptive methods for the ⁶⁶ occasional sexual relations, it can reduce the risk of pregnancy without excluding intercourse; if the practice of abstinence is taken literally, it is actually the only mechanism with 100% success rate in preventing conception.

Nonetheless, abstinence as a method also entails costs, as can be expected from the benefits and costs of contraception framework (Easterlin 1975) adapted to ⁶⁷ accommodate traditional methods by Rossier and Corker (2017). In particular, that

Careful love is not the same as periodic abstinence, which consists of abstinence during 10 days only

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per month around ovulation time.

This theory depicts contraceptive use as the result of a decision process weighting the various costs and

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benefits of using a contraceptive method against the cost and benefits of having a child.

abstinence may bear substantial psychic costs. For some couples, being sexually inactive might be a source of frustration, which will eventually lead to unexpected slips. Women might put themselves at risk of having an unwanted pregnancy if they solely rely on abstinence with no backup method (i.e., condoms), which could have dramatic consequences if they resort to unsafe abortions (Guillaume 2003; Machiyama & Cleland 2014). Because of such possible outcomes of abstinence, the literature tends to consider non-contracepting sexually inactive women as having an unmet need for contraception (DeGraff & de Silva 1991; Bradley & Casterline 2014). We will discuss the consequences of choosing traditional and less effective means of family planning later in the dissertation.

The goal of this chapter is hence to shed light on a largely "hidden" means of fertility regulation in sub-Saharan Africa, abstinence as birth control, and this in the case of Niger. We would like to examine first whether in Niger, which finds itself at the dawn of its fertility transition, women resort to sexual inactivity as a conscious means of fertility regulation. Second, as observed elsewhere in West and Middle Africa for other traditional methods (Johnson Hanks 2002; Machiyama & Cleland 2014; Rossier and Corker 2017), we would like to determine whether women who consciously use abstinence as a means of fertility regulation have a "modern" profile, in other words, if abstinence as a means of conscious fertility regulation could constitute one face of the multiple possibilities of modernity, allowing couples take the turn towards smaller families.

In light of the literature, our hypotheses are the following:

Hypothesis N°1

Our first hypothesis is that, nowadays, abstinence is likely to be one among other means of fertility regulation in Niger, a country at the very first stages of its fertility transition.

Indeed, sexual inactivity is a tool that is available for every couple that desires to regulate fertility and, in this context of changing (and often contradictory) aspirations towards reproduction, this method’s advantages (and the air of morality it can carry with it) may outweigh its disadvantages.

Hypothesis N°2

Our second hypothesis is that women belonging to couples engaging in this conjugal lifestyle (i.e., abstinence as a means of birth control) are likely to gain a certain level of autonomy within their household and in society in general and that they and their partner are to enjoy a number of socioeconomic advantages. Indeed, abstinence as a method needs the cooperation of both partners; moreover controlling one’s fertility in a highly pro-natalist country requires a distinct set of resources and motivations.

To test our hypotheses, we will use a data set collected in Niger in 2014 which has specifically prompted respondents on the use of abstinence as a mode of birth control.

This study from Camber Collective (CC) (formerly Hope Consulting) thus contains unique questions which allow us to understand the place of voluntary sexual inactivity in the contraceptive landscape in Niger. However, as this data is not nationally representative (Dalglish et al. 2018), we will first perform a careful assessment of the quality of the data, by comparing the relative frequencies of key demographic and socioeconomic variables in the CC and DHS surveys. To investigate abstinence as a means of fertility regulation in Niger, we first need to ascertain that women who declared abstinence as a method are not in reality using periodic abstinence; merely following the postpartum abstinence tradition; nor unwillingly sexually inactive (i.e., non-cohabitation).

To test our second hypothesis (i.e., assess whether abstinence as a means of family planning can be considered a "modern" behavior), we will look at various dimensions of empowerment in relation to contraceptive use, and specifically at gender empowerment, since we focus on women. Indeed, Eisenstadt (2000) noted that at the very core of modernity lies the capacity to make autonomous decisions, challenging the pre-established order of things. Following Kabeer’s gender empowerment framework (Kabeer 1999; Richardson 2018) we will thus first test the extent to which women who are using abstinence as a means of fertility regulation have the resources to take empowered decisions (i.e., are not in a situation of social and economic disadvantage).

Then, we will evaluate how direct measures of agency are related to abstinence as a method. As stated earlier, enjoying autonomy involves the capacity to set personal goals and take decisions to act upon them. So direct measures of autonomy would involve measuring women’s capacity to take decisions within their household and to negotiate effectively with their partner. Indeed, abstinence as a means of fertility regulation cannot be carried out if couples do not agree on their fertility intentions, and on not having sex.

In sum, to test this second hypothesis, we will first look at the socioeconomic profile of different contraceptive users, before examining the link between contraceptive use by methods and direct measures of autonomy. To do so, we will compare the levels of decision-making power between the users of different types of contraception.

To summarize, the Camber Collective data offers a unique opportunity to test whether abstinence is used as a contraceptive method in Niger today, and to check whether the women who use abstinence as birth control method do stand out in terms of their profile.

As already mentioned, representative data from the DHS will be key to situate the CC results, whose sample is not fully representative at the national level. The research will determine whether quantitative data can back up the existing evidence on the use of abstinence as a birth control method in sub-Saharan Africa, which is purely qualitative to date (Bledsoe et al. 1998; Gastineau et al. 2016; Staveteig 2016). If women who use abstinence as a means of fertility regulation in Niger are indeed more empowered than others, as we assume, the results will open a discussion on the potential benefits and

draw-backs of this contraceptive choice and on the interest to measure abstinence as a method in the future, and on the possible ways to do it.

5.3 DATA & METHODS: CAMBER COLLECTIVE SURVEY ABOUT