Description
Book SynopsisDrawing upon original in-depth interviews with women in Niamey, Niger, Yearning and Refusal unveils the hidden issue of failed fertility in Niger and the ways in which women continue to strive for reproductive control in a country at the heart of the population growth debate.
Trade ReviewIn Yearning and Refusal, Hadiza Moussa presents powerful ethnographic vignettes of the complex subjectivities and agency of women of Niger who confront social marginalization and stigmatization because of marital infertility. The book offers a complex examination of policing by the Nigerien state and society of women's rights to safe abortion and access to safe contraception. Barbara M. Cooper and Alice J. Kang's translation pays tribute to a brilliant scholar whose life was prematurely taken in a car accident in 2013. Yearning and Refusal is truly a masterpiece. * Ousseina D. Alidou, Professor, Rutgers University, and President, African Studies Association *
Table of ContentsEditors' Introduction Barbara M. Cooper and Alice J. Kang Preface for the English Translation Jean-Pierre Olivier de Sardan Acronyms Acknowledgements Introduction Part I. The Problem of Infertility 1. The Infertile Body 2. Managing Infertility 3. Varieties of Infertility 4. The Emotional Weight of Childlessness Part II. Tensions in the Clinic 5. Confronting the Biomedical Sphere Part III. Knowing and Negotiating Contraception 6. Contraception Outside of the Clinic 7. Negotiating Biomedical Contraception 8. The Realities of Abortion Conclusion Bibliography Index
