Fertility, Gender and War: The "Culture of Contraception" in Zimbabwe 1957-1980

In this dissertation, the author examines the social dynamics which attended the introduction of new means of fertility control, specifically the pill and the Depo-Provera injection, into Shona communities in Zimbabwe during the dying days of white rule. The author argues that issues of meaning construction, power, conflict and resistance are central to any changes in the social organization of fertility control, and that the Zimbabwean case provides examples of such conflicts across several dimensions.