UNAIR NEWS– The term, ‘childfree’, is trending on social media lately. Childfree is defined as the decision of a person or a couple who chooses not to have children. For the people of Indonesia, the decision is considered surprising, so it leads to some pros and cons.
In this regard, Universitas Airlangga’s (UNAIR) professor of Sociology, Prof. Bagong Suryanto, M. Si., explained that the social status and existence of women in the past was seen from how many children they could bear. However, this view is changing with times. According to him, women’s success is now no longer measured from the domestic sphere, but based on the public sector, such as careers, achievements, and other new indicators.
“So, if a woman announces that she does not want to have children, that is a new development. It’s legal to do so. It’s just that at a certain point later, I’m sure the longing to have children will emerge,” explained Prof Bagong.
The choice to have children or not, according to Prof. Bagong, is personal freedom. However, the lecturer born in Nganjuk said that the childfree phenomenon is not only the decision of women but also the decision of the couple as a family.
Abroad, childfree is not a new phenomenon. However, the phenomenon raises a lot of debates that tend to be a negative stigma in Indonesia. The difference in response, according to Prof. Bagong, is due to the differences in society in respecting rights. The foreign community is very respectful toward private rights and individual autonomy. Meanwhile, in Indonesia, people are considered to respect group rights more.
“I believe childfree is the attitude of a small number of women. As a personal right, it’s okay for them to choose that, and the community does not need to take it seriously,” said Prof. Bagong.
Reasons of childfree
When asked about the reasons behind a couple becoming childfree, the lecturer in the Child Sociology course said that there are two main possibilities. The first reason is age. It could be, someone chooses not to have children because he/she is still young. At the elementary level, he continued that women can also delay having children by getting married at a mature age.
Meanwhile, the second reason is the desire to pursue a career. On the way to career success, Prof. Bagong said that many women think that the presence of a child is an obstacle in itself.
“If you say that the reason for becoming childfree is because there are still many children who are neglected or do not want to increase the earth’s population, I think that it is a rationalization and not the real reason,” concluded Prof. Bagong.
Author: Nikmatus Sholikhah
Editor: Feri Fenoria
