Does Wife’s Education Have a Role in Spousal Agreement on Approval of Family Planning? A Comparative Analysis between Two Muslim Majority Sub-Saharan West African Countries

Mian B. Hossain, Morgan State University
Saifuddin Ahmed, Johns Hopkins University

Spousal approval on family planning is critical in contraceptive use dynamics. If a husband does not approve family planning it is difficult for a couple to use family planning even if a wife approves of it. Both contraceptive use rates and women’s education are low in many West-African countries. It is widely believed that women’s education is strongly associated with contraceptive use dynamics. This study examines the role of wives’ education in spousal agreement on approval of family planning in two Muslim majority sub-Saharan West African countries. This study uses matched couples’ data from Demographic Health Surveys conducted in 2005/2006 in Senegal and Niger. Logistic regression models were estimated for examining the relationship between wives’ education and couples’ agreement on approval of family planning. Gross and net effect results suggest that wives with above high school education are significantly 2 times more likely to have spousal agreement on approval of family planning.