Pula: Botswana Journal of African Studies, Vol.14 NO.2 (2000) Family structure, gender and fertility in Botswana

The 1991 census data revealed that about 60 per cent of the women in the childbearing age range (i.e. 15-49 years) had never been married but bore children. The paper therefore attempts to delineate family or household types within which decision-making processes and reproduction take place. The results of the analysis of census and surveys data indicate that the old traditional nuclear and/or extended family structures have been gradually replaced, to a large extent, by what we refer to as 'zero-couple ' or single-parent family or household type which constitutes about 70 per cent of the households in Botswana and 90 per cent of these are headed by females. These households receive much lower average monthly incomes and are the poorest in the country. Nevertheless, the women in these households exercise greater autonomy. The locus of decision-making process with regard to the number of children to have and the use of resources is the woman herself. And this autonomy has played a major role in the on-going fertility transition in the country (Gaisie 1998). However, the absence of male role models in these households does not augur well for socialization of the children, particularly the boys. The problems facing the female-headed households underscore the need to understand the various dynamics of these households through research in order to devise appropriate strategies and interventions