Prince William’s overpopulation comments will make women unpopular

As I was looking for a reaction to the second speech to the British throne gave at an awards ceremony on Monday where did he say: “The growing pressure on Africa’s wildlife and wild spaces, due to human populations, poses a major challenge for conservationists,” I casually remarked closely. just like you put it four years ago.

Prince reported as said in 2017 at a gala dinner for the same charity, The Tusk Trust. “Africa’s rapidly growing human population is predicted to more than double by 2050 – a staggering three-and-a-half million people per month. It’s no wonder this increase causes Wildlife and habitats are under enormous pressure.”

Then, as now, people were quick to point out two things: the first was the hypocrisy of the Duke of Cambridge. This is a man who has determined his family size, travels frequently by plane, and lives a lavish lifestyle (read: has a high carbon footprint) in one of the worlds 15 countries that consume the most energy. (Please note, energy consumption is a limited measure of the UK’s environmental impact as the UK imports most of its goods. Someone else – China – is counting the energy used to build produce those goods.)

But there is much that is not right with what Prince William said: identifying population growth as the problem, logically presenting population control as the solution. This automatically turns the uterus into legitimate sites for climate policy. In other words, women’s rights to contraception and education have been weaponized: they are no longer tools to help women access better choice, but instead, this goal of gender equality is stolen. to impose the agenda of others.

Imagine for a minute that we accept that population growth – especially population growth in Africa – leads to greater pressure on wildlife, an argument Prince William has made. Belief is undeniable. How should this be resolved? One-child policy as a condition for development assistance? How will the impact of that decrease in population be measured? Who will say it will go far enough to minimize environmental damage? How about not?

It is clear that all that panic about population growth in Black, Brown and Indigenous parts of the world is reinforced by racial and class prejudice. It should be clear that what every woman needs is the freedom to choose for herself if, when and how many children to have. If, after years of talking about conservation, Prince William doesn’t think his interest in Africa’s wildlife can bring about stigmatizing African women, perhaps now is the time. he should do so.

Story of the week

Women behave badly: Kanno Sugako

Kanno Sugako (1881 – 1911) was one of Japan’s first female journalists and prominent feminists, best known for her writings that explored the myriad of oppressions faced by women in a modern society modernization.

She often condemns society’s praise of “feminine virtues” such as virginity: “Where does all these perverted men have the right to insist on chastity? fathers, husbands? good!” But Sugako also opposes prostitution, referring to geishas at first as “morally corrupt individuals” and then as “depraved women”.

“For us women, the most urgent task is to develop our own self-awareness … educated and socially savvy women to some degree must be resentful and angry about it. her identity,” she wrote.

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