Rachapaetayakom, Jawalaksana
Description
In Thailand, approximately 4 per cent of the population are Thai
Muslims. More than three-fifths of the Thai Muslims are concentrated
in the southernmost provinces namely Pattani, Narathiwat, Yala, Satun
and some adjacent districts to Songkhla province. This population
sub-group is distinct from the Thai Buddhists, in both the general
level of socio-economic development and particular cultural
circumstances. To date, little detailed information has been avilable
on their sociodemographic...[Show more] characteristics.
This study attempts to assess patterns of nuptiality, fertility
levels and differences, fertility control activities and
socio-economic factors in Southern Thai Muslim society. Since most of
the Thai Muslims are living in the South, it is expected that this
study will provide a clear picture about fertility and nuptiality of
this population sub-group in Thailand as a whole, and will assist
government efforts in planning strategies for development of the
region and its people.
Two main sources of data used in this study were the unpublished
1970 Census data, and the Southern Thai Muslims Survey (STMS). The
STMS was conducted during April-May 1976 and covered 2082 households
in 20 urban blocks and 82 villages of the Southern Thai Muslim area.
The findings from the study indicated that the Southern Thai
Muslims married young and their marriage were often unstable. Because
of the shortage of males in some marriageble ages, a 'marriage
squeeze' was a serious problem, and the husband-wife age differential was large. Divorce and remarriage were common and men were more
likely to divorce their wives and remarry than to take more than one
wife at a time. The majority of men and women in the study area had a
negative attitude toward polygyny.
Fertility of the study population was at a moderate level. There
were fertility differentials according to socio-economic status,
residence and religion. As previous studies have found, Southern Thai
Muslims had lower fertility than the Thai Buddhists, however this
study still revealed that the differences were small, and found mainly
among the older women. Possible underreporting of fertility could
also have led to low fertility estimates.
Marital disruption was found to be the most important factor
limiting fertility potential, followed by fecundity impairment.
Within the limitations of data, this study still found that prolonged
breastfeeding was likely to be another important explanatory variable
affecting low fertility. It is likely that contraceptive practice,
particulary traditional methods, was underreported by the couples.
Couples in the study area had a very low percentage of current
contraceptive practice. Abortion was well known but is still a secret
birth control method.
Education was the most influential factor affecting nuptiality
and fertility differentials among the Southern Thai Muslims. It had a
negative relationship with fertility among younger women but a
positive or mixed relationship among older women. The Southern Thai Muslim women were more liberal than men in
their attitudes towards the position of women but they still perceived
men as dominant. Although Southern Thai Muslim women had a higher
position in term of education and employment than women in other
Muslim societies, their position was still lower than that of Thai
Buddhist women.
Direct observation, field notes and discussions with the local
leaders, respondents and villagers were very useful in this study.
Since some limitations prevented the study from proving the impact of
some intermediate variables on fertility, further reserch with
reliable information and a large enough sample size to investigate
each of the intermediate variables are needed.
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