So the other day I came across, yet again, mention of the idea that educating women would reduce over-population. (Right. They’re the problem.) I find that questionable.
If education makes the difference, then why aren’t we educating the men as well? And if the men are already educated, then clearly education isn’t the solution: they’re still impregnating/reproducing. (Perhaps advocates of such a solution are imagining that an educated woman is going to tell her uneducated husband or other would-be-impregnator to not stick his penis in her vagina, and the man will say ‘Okay’ and go do something else.)
I suggest that if we want to reduce over-population, we need to get rid of sexism. In a sexist society, men are valued more than women, so people want to have at least one son, so they keep reproducing until their goal is met. No sexism, no pressure to produce male babies, less reproduction.
In a sexist society, women have little control over their bodies, so contraception and abortion are often not easily available. No sexism, no mandatory pregnancy, less reproduction.
In a sexist society, men feel entitled to use women sexually without their consent. No sexism, no rape, less reproduction.
