HPE Book 9_2076 Edition

Table 4.18: Population Distribution by Rural-Urban Residence, 2001-2017 AD Place of Residence Distribution of Population in (%) Rural area 2001 2011 2014 2015 2017 Urban area 86.1 55.0 13.9 83.0 72.8 64.9 45.0 17.0 27.2 35.1 Source: CBS, 2014 and Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development, 2015/2017 AD The above table shows that there is increasing trend of urban population. For instance, the urban population was (13.9%) in 2001 AD. This population has been increased to (27.2%) in 2014 AD and (45%) in 2017 AD respectively. In contrary, we can observe decreasing trend of rural population in the country over the same period. For instance, (86.1%) of the total population was living in the rural area in 2001 AD and it was again decreased to 55 percent in the year 2017 AD. It shows that the urbanization process in Nepal has been increasing in fast pace due to the political declaration of many new urban areas in the recent years. Activity You can observe the rapidly increasing trend of population growth in the Terai Region and the Central Development Region. Discuss its causes and consequences in the class. 4.3 Urbanization and its Consequences Urbanization is the process of transformation of rural areas into urban areas. In this process, the rural areas also gradually get changed into semi- urban areas and urban areas as well. There should be the provision of facilities like electricity, road, drinking water, communication, health service, educational facilities and other similar urban facilities in the urban areas. Normally urbanization involves three important characteristics such as urban socio- economic activities, structure and demography. In which socio-economic activities is reflected as a change in fashion, manner of interpersonal dealings and the urban like behavioural pattern over time. The structure refers to the evolution of a particular type of economic structure, i.e. involvement of majority of people in non- agricultural sector. Demography reflects the concentration of the population in few localities or areas. In the Nepalese context, the urban areas are lacking urban facilities and this is more pronounced in the case of newly designated municipalities especially in the mountains. Hence, we can observe a tendency of more concentration of population in few urban areas. With respect to social demography, urban areas are reasonably 101

healthy but poverty prevails and a larger proportion of households in the majority of municipalities, especially in smaller ones, lack coverage of basic service provisions. In laymen’s terms, rural equates with simplicity and urban with complexity. Likewise, rural society directly or indirectly indicates agrarian, subsistence nature and a traditional way of life, whereas urban indicates the opposite i.e., non-agricultural, commercial and so-called modern way of life. Large markets, crowded settlements and the facilities like transportation, communication, health services, education, along with facilities of recreation are accommodated in the urban areas. 4.3.1 Meaning of Urbanization The word Urbanization has been derived from the Latin word ‘Urbal’. The literal meaning of Urbal is a civilized society. Urbanization is closely linked to modernization, industrialization and the sociological process of rationalization. The process of urbanization involves the increase of population in urban places and increase in number of urban units as well. The process of urbanization goes on along with the process of Urban Area industrial development. Urbanization can be defined as the growth in the proportion of total population residing in the urban places. In other words, urbanization is the process of development of urban areas and concentration of population in those urban areas. In vernacular Nepali, urban translates as Shahar and urban people as Shahariya. On the other hand, rural translates as Gaun and rural people as Gaunle. 4.3.2 Classification of Urban Areas At least three sets of criteria are used to define a place as urban worldwide. These include: population size, space and social and economic structure plus functional characteristics. The Local Government Operation Act, 2074 BS has categorized the urban local governments into municipality, sub-metropolitan and metropolitan city on the basis of population size, average annual revenue and minimum urban infrastructure facilities. According to the above mentioned provisions, the following criteria should be fulfilled to get the status of municipality such as: The minimum population for the Mountain, Hill, Inner-Terai, Terai and Kathmandu are 10 thousand, 40 thousand, 50 102

thousand, 75 thousand and 1 Lakh respectively. The minimum last five year average annual revenue for Mountain is 10 million rupees and for Terai and Hill is 30 million rupees. Similarly, electricity, road, foot path, minimum 25 bed community hospital, public parks, bus park with public toilet, supply of drinking water, sanitation service, community hall, banking and financial service, slaughter house, provision of crematory site, play ground, communication, land fill site and other minimum urban facilities. For the next higher order local government called sub-metropolitan city further qualifications are required. For instance, to qualify as a sub-metropolitan city population has to be more than 2 lakhs with last five year average annual revenue of at least 250 million rupees and general infrastructure for national and international sports events, black topped main pitched roads, higher level education and technical educational institutions, at least a hospital with 100 beds, public parks, city hall, etc. Similarly, to get the status of metropolitan city, the population has to be more than 5 lakhs with the last five year annual revenue of at least 1,000 million rupees and infrastructure facilities like bus parks with terminal facility, at least (75%) pitched road out of the total road length within the metropolis, hospital with specialized health service, international exhibition hall, museum, international airport, international standard covered hall, stadium, conference hall, adequate opportunities for higher education in different fields, etc. There are 6 metropolitan cities, 11 sub-metropolitan cities and 276 municipalities in our country. A. Municipality (Nagarpalika) Of the three categories Buddhabhumi Municipality of urban areas such as metropolis, sub-metropolis and municipalities; municipality’s minimum criteria of population size, annual revenue and basic minimum facilities are mentioned in the table given below. At present, there are 276 municipalities in Nepal. The following are the necessary conditions for the designation of municipality: 103

Minimum Population i. Mountain: 10, 000 ii. Hill:40,000 iii. Inner Terai: 50,000 iv. Terai:75,000 v. Kathmandu Valley: 1,00,000 Last Five Years Average At least: Annual Revenue i. Mountain: Rs. 10 million ii. Terai and Hill : Rs. 30 million Electricity, road with foot path, minimum 25 bed community hospital, public park, bus park with public toilet, supply of drinking water, sanitation service, community hall, Infrastructure Facilities banking and financial service, slaughter house, provision of crematory site, play ground, communication service, land fill site and other minimum urban facilities. B. Sub-metropolitan City (Upa-Mahanagarpalika) Sub-metropolitan city is one step higher level urban area with a minimum population size of 2 lakhs along with last five years average annual ITAHARI SUB-METROPOLITAN CITY OFFICE revenue of at least 250 million rupees and infrastructure facilities like covered hall, stadium, black topped in main pitched roads, higher level education and technical educational institutions, at least a hospital with 100 beds, Itahari Sub-metropolitan City public parks, city hall, hotel and resorts for tourists. At present, there are 11 sub- metropolitan cities in our country. The following are the necessary conditions for the designation of sub-metropolitan city: Minimum Population 2,00,000 (Two lakhs) Last Five Years Average At least Rs. 250 million Annual Revenue All facilities of municipality plus general infrastructure for national and international sports events (i.e. national level covered hall and stadium), black topped main Infrastructure Facilities roads, higher level education and technical educational institutions, at least a hospital with 100 beds, public parks, city hall, hotel, motel and resorts for tourists. 104

C. Metropolitan City (Mahanagarpalika) Metropolitan city is the highest order local government unit with a minimum population size of 5,00,000 along with last five years average annual revenue of at least Rs. 1,000 million and bus parks with terminal facility, at least (75%) black topped pitched roads, hospital with specialized health service, international Kathmandu Metropolitan City exhibition hall, museum, international airport, international standard covered hall, stadium, conference hall, at least one established university, etc. At present, there are 6 metropolitan cities in our country. The following are the necessary conditions for the designation of metropolitan status such as: Minimum Population 5,00,000 (Five lakhs) Last Five Years Average At least Rs. 1,000 million Annual Revenue All facilities of sub-metropolitan city plus bus parks with terminal facility, out of the total road length within the metropolis at least (75%) black topped pitched road, at least a general hospital with 100 beds along with a specialized hospital with 500 beds, hospital with Infrastructure Facilities specialized health service, international exhibition hall, museum, international airport, international standard covered hall, stadium, conference hall, adequate opportunities for higher education in different fields, at least one established university, etc. Table 4.19: Distribution of Municipalities by Classification, 2017 AD S.N. Urban Category Urban Units 1 Metropolitan Cities 6 2 Sub-metropolitan Cities 11 3 Municipalities Total Urban Units 276 293 Source: Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development, 2017 AD 105

4.3.3 Situation of Urbanization in Nepal According to the World Population Data Sheet 2017 AD, (54%) people are living in urban areas in the world. Similarly, the urban population is (35%) in the SAARC countries. In the context of Nepal, nearly (45%) of total population (around 10.8 million) are living in the urban areas in 2017 AD. In the span of six decades since 1950s, urban population has increased from 2.38 Lakhs to 10.8 million while the number of designated urban places has increased from 10 to 293 urban units. In the context of Nepal, new addition of urban places have substantially influenced urban population growth rate. In 1952/54 AD there were 10 municipalities. This number has been increased to 293 designated urban units accommodating 10.8 million population. The level and trend of urbanization of Nepal since 1952/54 onwards is presented in the following table: Table 4.20: Situation of Urbanization in Nepal, 1952/54 - 2017 AD Census Year Urban units Urban Population (%) 1952/54 10 2.9 1961 16 3.6 1971 16 4.0 1981 23 6.4 1991 33 9.2 2001 58 13.9 2011 58 17.1 2014 190 27.2 2015 217 35.1 2017 293 45.0 Source: CBS, 2014 and Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development, 2015/2017 AD The above table revels that the urbanization process is slow and steady from 1950’s till 2011 AD. Then afterwards urbanization tempo is faster in comparison to the past years. For instance, urban population in 2011 AD reached (17.1%). At the end of 2014 AD with the declaration of new municipalities, the urban population was increased to (27.2%). In 2015 AD, the urban units reached 217 and the urban population increased to (35.1%). The recent declaration made by the Government of Nepal to 293 urban areas (i.e. 6 metropolises, 11 sub-metropolises and 276 municipalities) as local government again added (9.8 %) more population in the urban population in the year 2017 AD. This is also one more step in achieving the government’s ambition to upgrade the nation’s status from a least developed country to a developing country by 106

the year 2022 AD. In 1952/54 AD, there were 10 urban places and 6 more urban units were added in 1961 AD. Likewise in 1991 AD there were 33 municipalities and the urban units reached 58 in 2001 AD. Furthermore, in 2015 AD, the total number of urban units reached 217. Moreover, 293 urban local government units have been established by the political declaration in 2017 AD. Among them, there are 6 metropolitan cities (i.e. Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Pokhara Lekhnath, Bharatpur, Biratnagar and Birgunj), 11 sub-metropolitan cities (i.e. Dhangadhi, Ghorai, Tulsipur, Nepalgunj, Butwal, Hetauda, Janakpur, Jitpur Simara, Kalaiya, Dharan and Itahari) and 276 municipalities. Activity Get divided into different groups and discuss the trend of urbanization in Nepal under the guidance of your subject teacher. 4.3.4 Urbanization by Ecological and Development Regions Urbanization is entirely related with population concentration in urban areas. Urbanization process is faster in Terai and valley in comparison to hills and mountains. The distribution pattern of urban units by ecological and development region is illustrated in the table given below: Table 4.21: Distribution of Urban Areas by Ecological and Development Regions, 2015 AD Ecological Development Region Total Region EDR CDR WDR MWDR FWDR 8 Mountain 3 2 52 Hill 11 201 5 70 Terai 23 7 130 37 14 17 5 14 Nepal 19 15 6 35 32 12 Source: CBS, 2015 AD The above table shows the distribution of 130 urban areas by ecological and development regions. There is unequal distribution of urban areas in terms of both ecological regions and development regions. The degree of inequality is too much higher with respect to ecological regions than development regions. Ecologically, 70 urban units (54%) were located in the Terai Region. Similarly, 52 were in Hills (40%) and only 8 urban units were observed in Mountain region (6%). With respect to Development Regions, the Eastern Development Region ranked first with 37 municipalities (28.5%) and followed by the Central Development Region with 35 municipalities (27%). There were 32 municipalities in Western Development Region 107

(24%) while Far-west and Mid-western Development Regions were having their shares with (9% and 11%) respectively. 4.3.5 Impact of Urbanization on Population and Environment Urbanization process is triggered by industrialization and modernization. The place where industrialization expands; business and commercial activities increases eventually. There is expansion of the infrastructures like transportation, communication, electricity, road, etc in the urbanization process. In this context, the migration of people increase in those areas because they move into those places for various opportunities like education, health service, employment and so on. The urbanization process accelerates because of these activities. Unplanned urbanization and settlements are the conditions resulted by lack of effective urban planning which results into adverse effects on health, sanitation, security, housing and other aspects of life. In this situation, the urbanization process increases the concentration of population in the urban areas and consequently results into both positive and negative impact on population and environmental aspects. Some of the positive and negative impact of urbanization on population and environmental aspects are mentioned in the points that are given below: A. Impact of Urbanization on Population 1. Positive Impact of Planned Urbanization on Population Urbanization increase access to health and education. Increase access and possibility of employment opportunity. Helps in the improvement in the living standard of the people. Helps to transform or change in the occupation or profession. Increases the alternative means of entertainment opportunities. Motivates people for small size family. Helps to improve status of female. People get opportunity to develop their inherent strength and quality. Increases people’s access to information and communication. Increases the awareness level of the people. 2. Negative Impact of Unplanned Urbanization on Population Urbanization increases crowdedness and population density. 108

It causes adverse impact on human health due to environmental pollution resulted by more crowded population. Causes scarcity of food, housing and drinking water. Increases pressure on school and health institutions so that it may deprive people from quality education and health services. There will be increment in antisocial activities which may deteriorate peace and security in the society. Increase in criminal activities and consequently it increases threats to property and life of the people. People may not get adequate access to road, transportation, drainage or sewage system, electricity and other urban facilities. Throat cut unhealthy competition increases in the employment sector. The chance of discrimination in the name of race, religion and class may increase. Prevalence rate of communicable diseases may increase because of polluted environment. B. Impact of Urbanization on Environment 1. Positive Impact of Planned Urbanization on Environment Increase the awareness level on the need, importance and conservation measures of environment and its components. It motivates people for the conservation of environment and ecology. Managed or planned urbanization gives focus on balance between population and environmental resources. 2. Negative Impact of Unplanned Urbanization on Environment Urbanization causes environmental pollution (water, land, air and sound pollution). Improper management of solid waste causes environmental pollution. It may increase the rate of deforestation. It may deteriorate the strength and scope of natural resources. Atmosphere gets polluted due to emission of harmful gases like carbon dioxide, chlorofluro carbon, nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide, methane, carbon monoxide, etc. It may increase negative interaction of man with the environment. It may deteriorate the balance between different components of ecosystem. 109

C. Measures to Control the Impact of Unplanned Urbanization The effects of unplanned urbanization can be mitigated through the process of planned urbanization. Some measures to reduce the effects of unmanaged urbanization are mentioned as follows: 1. Development of Rural Areas To combat the challenge of unmanaged urbanization, the rural areas need to be developed with the provision of basic facilities like; drinking water, health service, transport, communication, electricity, education, etc. Provision of these facilities in rural areas helps to check the uncontrolled rural to urban migration. 2. Opportunity of Employment Trades, industries, construction works in rural areas create employment opportunities to the people and raise their living standard. It encourages the village people to live in their own place and consequently controls unmanaged urbanization. 3. Balanced Development A balanced development is mandatory for the control of unmanaged urbanization. It helps for the sharing of equal benefits and sustainable utilization of means and resources of all parts of the country. It helps to control the unplanned urbanization. 4. Development of Dormitory Towns The semi-urban areas or small towns outside the big cities are known as dormitory towns. Focusing on the country’s geographical location, small satellite cities near by the big cities have to be developed in the rural Activity Organize a group discussion program in the class on the topic ‘Positive and negative impact of urbanization on social, economic and environmental aspects and their management measures’ under the guidance of your subject teacher. 110

Summary M The size of population is always changing in response to fertility, mortality and migration. M In 1952/54 AD, the census was conducted using internationally acceptable definition and methodology. However, due to the time reference problem in the census of 1952/54 AD, the census of 1961 AD is accepted as the first scientific census of Nepal in terms of international standard and comparison. M The main reasons of the increase of population from 1941 AD onwards are significant decline in mortality rate with persistent high fertility rate, return of Army personnels from the World War I and II, the spread of pandemic disease (influenza), return of many people to the home country from other countries after the establishment of democracy as well as immigration in large number from neighbouring countries, especially from Indian sub-continent. M Population composition can be defined as the distribution of population according to caste, religion, sex, language, occupation. M During the 1971 AD census year, 20 different languages were recorded as mother tongues. Similarly, 18 languages in 1981 AD, 32 in 1991 AD, 92 in 2001 AD and this figures has been drastically increased to 123 languages spoken by the people as mother tongue in the 11th national population census 2011 AD. M The spatial arrangement of population according to the geographical structure, political and administrative division is called population distribution. M The population of Nepal is not evenly distributed due to the diversity in topography, means and resources, climate, unequal distribution of facilities, services and their accessibility. For instance, we observe high density of population in those areas with adequate provision of employment, education, health services, transportation, electricity services and other facilities in comparison to those places with inadequate facilities and opportunities. M To qualify as Sub-metropolitan, 2 lakhs along with last five years average annual revenue of at least 250 million rupees and infrastructure facilities like covered hall, stadium, black topped in main pitched roads, higher level education and technical educational institutions, at least a hospital with 100 beds, public parks, city hall, hotel and resorts for tourists. M To qualify as a Metropolitan, 5 lakhs along with last five years average annual revenue of at least Rs. 1,000 million and bus parks with terminal facility, at least (75%) black topped pitched roads, hospital with specialized health service, international exhibition hall, museum, international airport, international standard covered hall, stadium, conference hall, at least one established university, etc. 111

Exercise A. Very short answer questions. 1. Mention any two reasons of population decline from 1911 AD until 1930 AD in Nepal. 2. Define Sex Ratio. 3. What is population distribution? 4. Mention the minimum average annual revenue and population of a sub metropolitan city? 6. Mention any two minimum criteria of urban infrastructure facilities for a municipality. 7. What was the urban population percent of Nepal in the census year 2015 AD? 8. Mention any two adverse impact of uncontrolled migration on social aspects. 9. Write two differences between push and pull factors of migration. 10. Mention any two importance of population composition by age and sex. B. Short answer questions. 1. Explain the trend of population size and growth rate of Nepal. 2. Explain the situation of population composition of Nepal by educational status from 1991 AD to 2011 AD. 3. What is population density? Examine the population density of Nepal by Ecological Regions. 4. Critically examine the trend of urbanization in Nepal. 5. Show the positive and negative impact of urbanization on environment. 6. Analyze the current urbanization pattern of Nepal by rural urban area. 7. What is Population Pyramid? Construct a population pyramid of Nepal with the help of age-sex composition data of census year 2011 AD. C. Write differences: 1. Population composition and population distribution 2. Municipality and sub-metropolitan city 3. Sub-metropolitan and metropolitan city D. Write short notes on: 1. Size of population 2. Population pyramid 3. Metropolitan City 112

E. Long answer questions. 1. Examine the urbanization trend of Nepal in different census years. 2. Classify the local governments as municipality, sub-metropolis and metropolis with the help of minimum population, average annual revenue and infrastructural requirements. 3. Analyse the population distribution of Nepal by ecological regions and its implication on the socio-economic development of the country. Project Work Conduct an educational and occupational survey of your community by collecting data from 10 sample households with the help of the following questionnaire form: Household No: Educational and Occupational Status Name of family Educational Status Employment Status members Age Sex Illiterate Literate Unemployed Employed (Edu. level) (Occupation) 1. .................. 2. .................. 3. .................. 4. .................. 5. .................. 6. .................. 7. .................. 8. .................. a. Analyse the age-sex composition of your sample population by constructing population pyramid. b. Analyse the education composition of that sample population. c. Analyse the occupational composition of that population. d. Find the sex ratio of that population. 113

Unit FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION AND QUALITY OF LIFE 5 Learning Objective After completing this unit, students will be able to: • Introduce and tell the importance of Family Life Education. • Introduce and tell the importance of family. • Explain different stages of family. • Tell the characteristics of nuclear and joint family. • Describe family needs, roles of parents and parental responsibilities. • Define and classify marriage and tell the advantages of marriage at appropriate age. • Define ageing and describe the problems of ageing and caring of elderly people. 5.1 Introduction to Family Life Education A man gradually from the mother’s womb develops into neonate, infant, child, adolescent, youth, adult and old stage. The education which teaches about these different stages of life, what essential things are required in these different phases of life, how to manage those requirements and how to attain quality of life in the family by making individuals capable, healthy and responsible is called Family Life Education. Family Life Education is an educational process of teaching family related issues. It is an essential education which leads young people towards the overall development process in their life. The individuals who get such education can have better access to physical, social, emotional, intellectual and spiritual development for healthy and quality of life. The person who is acquainted with Family Life Education can develop capacity for the adjustment in the family, society and the changing situation. Family Life Education provides information to the young people about physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual changes that take place during the adolescence period and also teaches ideas to cope with those changes. It also teaches people about human sexuality, reproduction, sexual orientation, consequences of irresponsible sexual behavior, STIs and so on. Furthermore, Family Life Education explains about the importance of small family for productive and happy family. It motivates family members to develop the sense of co-operation and togetherness between each other. It helps to create better 114

understanding among the family members for harmonious family life. It focuses on healthy family functioning within family systems and primarily provides emphasis over communication skills, decision-making skills, positive self-esteem, and healthy interpersonal relationship. It also teaches societal issues including family issues like parenting, sexuality, gender role and more in the context of family. In addition, it also provides knowledge and skill to address the societal problems such as substance abuse, domestic violence, unemployment, family debt, child abuse, changing roles of men and women and marriage practices etc. Infancy Death Babyhood Different Stages of Early Childhood Old age Human Life Adulthood Late Childhood Adolescence Fig:5.1 Human Life Cycle According to UNESCO, Family Life Education can be termed as “An educational programme designed to assist young people in their physical, social, emotional and moral development as they prepare for adulthood, marriage, parenthood, ageing as well as their social relationship in the socio-cultural context of the family and society”. Children should be provided with Family Life Education at proper time so that they will be aware of their physical, mental, social and spiritual changes. The whole family can be benefitted from the family life education perceived by their growing children. A. Importance of Family Life Education Family Life Education plays a vital role in bringing prosperity in family life. Due to its multi- dimensional nature it influences every aspect of family life. Importance of Family Life Education are mentioned in the following points: e Family Life Education helps young people to deal with physical, emotional, intellectual and social changes in human life. e It helps to develop knowledge on family, family functions and family needs. 115

e It develops concept, values and skills essential for adulthood, adolescence period, marriage, parenthood and planning for future. e It enables the young people to solve their family problems together. e It encourages young people in family planning for quality of life. e It motivates individuals to establish good rapport among the family members, seniors and friends. e It makes them able to communicate effectively with others and decide about family life and personal relationship in a responsible way. e It helps to protect and promote the health of mother and child. e It creates favourable environment for the proper management of population. e It helps children in their socialization process and communication skills. e It enables parents and newly married couple to impart their responsibilities in effective way. B. Different Stages of Family Life Cycle A family is formed by individuals. At the same time, different families form the society. After marriage, a person is under the family bond. In fact, marriage paves the foundation for a new family. A single life creates the feeling of loneliness and helplessness. People do marriage to lead a conjugal life so that they can support each other in need, can make a new family and get legal and social consent to become parents. There are various stages in the family life cycle. These stages are studied under the scope of family life cycle. Founding Stage Retirement Stage Expanding Stage Different Stages of Family Life Cycle Launching Stage Child Education Stage Fig:5.2 Family Life Cycle 1. Founding Stage It is the first stage of family life cycle. In this stage, the two individuals of opposite sexes from two different family get married to each other. They are from different 116

family environment. Their personality, interest, norms, values, life style and priorities may not match to each other. In some condition, the language they speak and religion they follow also may not match together. In this situation, there must be mutual understanding between husband and wife. Moreover, they should support each other and should pay respect to feeling for others. It is better to marry with the person with the similar status in terms of education, economic and other socio-cultural aspects. This stage lasts until the birth of the first child. 2. Expanding Stage In this stage, the couples make planning for the family in mutual understanding. They need to discuss about the age of first pregnancy, birth spacing and source of income generation for the family. They need to take good care of the baby. At the same time, they need to perform good parenthood towards their children. Children should be explained and trained about self-discipline, high morale, honesty, respect to elders, self-dependency, hard work and other socio-cultural and spiritual values. There should be equal involvement of husband and wife for the rearing of their children. 3. Child Education Stage This is the longest stage of family life cycle. This is the stage of providing proper education to the children so as to make them able citizen. In this stage, children need to be given education. Parents need to provide all necessary facilities and adequate education as much as possible. While taking decision for the facilities for higher education, the feeling and interest of the children should be put in priority. This stage ends when all of the children complete their education. 4. Launching Stage In this stage, children have completed their education and can live an independent life with necessary skills and trainings. Hence, they are now in the vocational phase of life. In this stage, children are already engaged in their respective occupation or profession. They are capable of living marital life since they are able to make earnings to live conjugal life. Now, children begin conjugal life. In the family, son and daughter-in-law represent new ideas and modern values. On the other hand, parents represent old ideas and traditional norms and values. Sometimes, misunderstanding may arise between the old and new ideas and values. In this situation, both parties should develop mutual understanding so that family members can enjoy their day to day life happily. To make the family life prosperous, children should pay respect to their parents and elder family members. They need to fulfill their responsibilities towards the parents. In the same way, parents also 117

need to show right direction to their children by establishing coordination between old norms and values with the new values and ideas. This phase of family life is completed when all of the children get married, earn for livelihood and enter into the vocational phase life. 5. Retirement Stage It is the last stage of family life cycle. In other word, it is also known as old age of parents. In this stage, generally parents are alone again. Their children are already in the new family. However, they are living together in the same family too. Old parents need special care since they are physically, mentally and socially in weaker position. So, more respect, honor and emotional and economic support and care need to be provided to them by their children in this phase of life. They can play a great contribution for the development and prosperity of the family. They take care of their home, rear their grand-children and motivate children in the difficulty and crisis. The elderly people also should make their life enjoyable and fruitful by doing adjustment with the bit of changing of time and circumstance. They should engage themselves in reading newspapers, listening to stories, bhajans, spiritual thinking, etc. C. Introduction to Family Family is the most important primary social institution which is formed by a married couple and their children. It is the smallest unit of society. Family is formed by two or more persons related by blood, marriage or adoption and living together. Family is the group of individuals in which we find ourselves. Family is a group of two or more persons closely related by blood, marriage or adoption and residing together as grandparents, parents, children, uncles, aunts, and cousins under the same roof and sharing the same kitchen. Family can be termed as a group of individuals living together under the same roof, sharing the same kitchen and related by blood, marriage or adoption. It is a kinship group which provides room, not only for the rearing of children but also for the satisfaction of the basic human needs of its members. The family may therefore can be defined as: Family is a group of persons united by ties of marriage, blood and adoption, constituting a single household interacting and intercommunicating with each other in their respective social roles as husband, wife, father, mother, son, daughter, brother and sister creating a common culture. We can conclude that family is the smallest kinship group. It usually begins when the partners marry. It changes when the sons and daughter marry and it ends when one of the partners dies. It is generally guarded by social customs and legal procedures 118

as well as social rights and responsibilities. Nepalese families have their own unique characteristics. The typical feature of Nepalese family is to accept family hierarchy and to support the chain of command in the family. D. Importance of Family Family is a must for every individual. Life without family is unworthy and incomplete. The existence of family is observed in all societies in any forms. The importance of family are given below: e Family members get love, affection, security and support through the family. e Family plays a vital role for the transformation and regulation of social, cultural, spirituals and moral norms and values. e It is the foundation of the society. e It legalizes and regulates the sexual relationship. e It helps to continue generation. e It helps to keep the family members in control of the social norms and values. e Required labour force or human resource for the development of the society and nation is obtained from the family. e It transfers knowledge, skills, experiences and culture of the new generation. e It maintains social, emotional, spiritual and economic securities to the family members. e At the time of sickness, casualty and crisis family members help each other. E. Types of Family Almost all of the world’s population live in a family. The forms and structure of the family varies from one society to another and one social class to another in the same society. In the process of development of family different forms or types of families came to existence. Now, we can discuss about nuclear and joint family. a. Nuclear Family This type of family is the smallest unit of society. This type of family is formed by a husband, wife and their unmarried children. It consists of the members of one or two generations. Usually, the size of nuclear family is small but it may be large also due to many sons and daughters. In this type of family, parents need to Nuclear family manage all sorts of expenditure and other required things of the family. It is easy to fulfill family needs, aspirations and desires of family members in the nuclear family. It is possible to acquire quality life in this type of family. 119

Merits of Nuclear Family Demerits of Nuclear Family • Less possibility of quarrel, disputes • Lack of security and misunderstanding • Difficulty at the time of casualty, • Easy to fulfill family needs conflict, etc. • Feeling is intense • Lack of supervision of children • Effective communication and • Lack of love, affection and emotional decision making relation toward others • Easy to acquire quality of life • Children are deprived of learning and • Free in taking decision understanding socio-cultural norms and values • Difficult to up bring children for those couple if both are engaged in job. b. Joint Family Joint or extended family is formed by more than one unit of nuclear families. Joint family is formed by the members of more than two generations. It consists of grandparents, parents, brothers, sisters, sister-in laws, grandson, granddaughters, uncles, aunties etc. Usually, the size of joint family is large. Hence, family needs are more in joint family compared to the nuclear family. Hence, priority of expenditure should be made according to the sources of income to make balance between them. This situation helps to guarantee family welfare. In Nepal, joint family is more in practice compared to nuclear family. However, at present, people are motivated for having nuclear family due to modernization and urbanization. Merits of Joint Family Demerits of Joint Family • There is social, emotional and spiritual • Less privacy security • Possibility of low quality of life • Easy supervision to children • Easy for socialization of children • High chances of clash and conflict • Easy solution to the problems of • Difficult to fulfil family needs adolescents • Low quality of life • Feelings are less intense • Development of ability for social • Division of food and other materials adjustment to many members • Access to emergency support from other members is possible • Easy to run business and farming 120

Activity Divide the class into two groups and conduct a debate program on advantages and disadvantages of nuclear and joint family in the presence of your subject teacher. F. Needs of Family There are various needs of the family. Those needs should be fulfilled for a happy and prosperous family life. As there is proportionate relationship between the size of the family and family needs, family size affects the needs of family. The basic needs like food, water, air, clothing, shelter, education and health services are essential for every family. At the same time; additional needs like love, affection, freedom, honour and the sense of self-actualization and other individual or felt needs are also equally essential for prosperous and quality of life. As the size of the family increases, there is increase in the family needs also. Hence, there is essence of small family for the attainment of quality of life in the family. A great psychologist Maslow has classified family needs into two groups such as: Basic needs: Food, water, air, clothing, sex, health, education, security etc. Additional needs: Love, affection, respect, freedom, belongingness, self- development, self-actualization, etc. Self - Additional needs Actualization Self-Confidence, Basic needs Self-Content etc. Ego needs: Self-respect, Honour, Freedom, Self-Esteem ,etc. Belonging needs: Love, Affection, Attachment, Belongingness, etc. Safety needs: Security, Shelter, Clothes, Education, Health service etc. Physiological needs: Food, Water, Air, Sex, Sleep etc. Fig:5.3 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Family Needs 121

According to Maslow, there is a set of hierarchy of needs such as physiological needs, safety needs, belonging needs, esteem needs and self-actualization needs. He opined that when urgent needs like the need for food, water, shelter, sleep and safety are satisfied, less urgent needs take priority. According to his philosophy the bottom level primary needs are physiological needs which consists food, water, air, sleep and sex. They are also called survival needs since they are essential for our survival. According to him, the safety needs like clothing, education, shelter, health service etc. are assumed to be second layer basic needs. On the other hand, belonging needs like love, affection, possession and esteem or ego needs like freedom, respect, honour are the additional needs. They are also called psycho-social or felt needs. At the apex level, there are the self-actualization needs. Self-actualization needs can be maintained after the fulfillment of the lower level additional and basic needs. The above mentioned needs have to be fulfilled for prosperous and productive family life. a. Basic Needs The needs which are urgent for the survival of the individual are known as basic needs. These basic needs are directly associated with the survival of family members. Human survival is not possible if their basic needs are not fulfilled. The UNESCO has mentioned six fundamental needs for the children. These needs are explained here as the general basic needs of family: i. Food Food is the most important need of a family. No one can survive without food. There should be sufficient food for all individuals. There is a wrong belief that expensive food is good and nutritious. Hence, priority should be given to locally available low cost nutritious food. We should always focus our concern on balanced diet for healthy life of family. ii. Housing Housing or shelter is another important need of the family. We need house to live in and protect ourselves from rain, sun, wind, cold and unfavourable weather and circumstances. We feel secure inside the house. It must be clean, well-ventilated and properly managed. iii. Clothing We need clothes to protect our body from heat, water and cold. We also wear clothes to cover our body. Clothes protect our body from external environment. We need to wear clean and comfortable clothes according to the seasons. For instance, we should wear warm clothes during the winter seasons and light clothes in summer seasons. 122

iv. Health It is needless to say that it is a human right to possess a good and sound health. But most of the people have been deprived of health services. Sound health determines the strength and productivity of the family members. We can have a healthy life through health knowledge from formal and non-formal education programs. Moreover, health services should be accessible and affordable to make the service within the reach to the grass root people. v. Education Education is also one of the important family needs. It teaches life skills for productive and prosperous life. Educated people have better health care facilities and better access to resources. It provides opportunity for progress. It provides foundation for quality of life. vi. Security Students in the learning process Peace and security are mandatory for family welfare. Security prevents family members from conflicts, tensions and unexpected problems. Individuals cannot enjoy their life without peace and security. So, security can be accepted as an important component of prosperity and stability of family. b. Additional Needs Abraham Maslow has classified additional needs into three categories such as belonging needs, ego needs (esteem needs) and self-actualization need. The needs like love, affection, possession etc comes under the belonging needs. At the same time, the needs like honour, respect, freedom, dignity etc are belonged to esteem needs. These needs are also known as psychosocial needs or felt needs. Similarly, the needs like self-confidence and self-content comes, under the apex needs also known as self-actualization needs. 5.2 Responsibilities of Parents and Guardians towards their Family Introduction Generally speaking, responsibilities of parents encompass a wide range of parental roles, duties, obligations and activities to make their children healthy, productive and responsible members of the society. By nature, parents are more accountable and sensitive towards their children. Parents are responsible to provide appropriate education, good health service, appropriate environment to grow and socialization process of children. 123

A. Parental Responsibilities towards their Children Parents’ roles and responsibilities make difference in the attainment of quality of life in the family. If parents perform their responsibilities properly, family can have a better life. In this light, some important responsibilities of parents are mentioned below: 1. Management of Income Sources Saving Food Income plays a vital role to acquire quality of Entertainment life in the family. Hence, parents have to expand the sources of income to fulfill the basic needs Shelter Education of the family. If there is good source of income, Clothing family saving is possible which can be used at the time of casualty. Moreover, family income can be used for education, business and other income generating activities. 2. Provision of Education Proper Management of Income Parents are totally responsible to provide education to their children. Education expands horizon of the children and make them independent and accountable citizens in the future. It also makes them self-reliant. 3. Fulfillment of Children’s Needs Parents have to fulfill their children’s Parents Educating their Children needs. They have to protect them from hunger, insecurity, disease and respect the child rights. Along with the basic needs their children’s additional needs also have to be fulfilled adequately. 4. Limiting the Number of Children Size of the family determines the quality Happy Children life of the family. Hence, parents have to limit the number of children for prosperity and productive family life. The couples can use effective family planning services for spacing and controlling births. It is also one of the important responsibilities of parents for the proper management of family. 124

5. Proper Birth Spacing It is customary to say that parents are responsible for birth spacing. It is ideal to maintain 4/5 years gap between the babies for better health of mothers and babies. It is good to keep birth spacing from economic and demographic perspective also. It helps to limit population growth rate and undue pressure on resources. 6. Socialization of Children Socialization of children is another important responsibilities of parents. The children’s social behaviour is determined by what they have learned from the family. In this matter parents can play a vital role in the process of socializing their children. Parents should support their children to adjust in group, to maintain discipline, to follow socio-cultural norms and values. It is the invaluable assets of the successful human life. 7. Health Care of the Family Members There is a saying that if education gone something is gone but if health is gone everything is gone. So, parents should provide overall care for their children like balance diet, comfortable clothes, safe drinking water, healthy environment, entertainment, quality education and health services. Apart from this, children should be given all the required vaccines Service from health institution in time. It helps to make their family happy and healthy. 8. Management of Healthy Family Relation Another most important responsibility of parents is to establish healthy family relationship between each other. To maintain healthy and stable family relationship, there should be mutual understanding, co-operation, trust and emotional attachment between the family members. Parents should play key role to establish healthy and stable relationship between the members with their fullest capacity. Activity Organize a talk program on roles and responsibilities of parents with the local leaders, social activists and members of parents organization under the guidance of your subject teacher. B. Role of Parents Parents are solely responsible for the physical, mental, social and emotional development of their children. In this context, the role of parents is very crucial for 125

the socialization of children. Hence, it is necessary to have knowledge about the role of parents. The roles of parents in a family are mentioned as follows: 1. Policy Makers Parents are the heads of the family. So, they have to make good rules and regulations for the family members especially for the children. Parents have to explain the need and importance of family rules for happy and prosperous family life. Good rules and regulations provide proper guidance to the children and also help them to become responsible citizen. 2. Exemplars It is another important role to be performed by parents for prosperous family life. For this, they have to set good examples for honesty, punctuality, hard work, patience, dedication and co-operation. Hence, they can easily motivate their children and other family members to follow the norms and values of the family. 3. Educators In fact, parents are the first and foremost intimate educators for children. Children learn several important things including life skills from their parents before going to school. To make the children fit in the society, parents need to teach and guide them social, cultural and spiritual norms and values. As a result, the children can have responsible and fruitful life. 4. Inspirers Parents are after all the source of inspiration for their children. Parents must play the roles of inspirers, encouragers and motivators. They should give adequate time to their children and they should motivate their children for creative and constructive work. It helps to subside hesitation and inferior psychology of their children. 5. Friends (Pals) Parents should prove themselves that they are always nearest and dearest parents to their children. Their participation in sports, cultural programs and entertainment and recreational activities with children develop good attachment and sense of belongingness to them. Hence, parents should listen to the voice of their children and share happiness and sorrow with them.. Activity Get two pieces of paper. Write ‘roles’ and ‘parents’ on each piece of paper, paste those papers at two different places on the black / white board. Then discuss various roles of parents for the quality of life of the family under the supervision of your subject teacher. 126

Summary M Family life education is an educational process, which assists young people in their physical, social, emotional, intellectual, and moral development as they prepare for adulthood, marriage, parenthood and ageing for healthy and quality of life in the family. Regulation and control of sexual behaviour of the family members come under the sexual control function of the family. M The different stages of family life such as founding stage, expanding stage, child education stage, launching stage and retirement stage are the scope of Family Life Education. M To teach the family members about social norms, values, and social responsibilities come under the socialization function of the parents. M To transfer love, affection, attachment, etc come under the emotional function of the family. M To teach children about life skill, moral, discipline and honesty are considered as the educational function of the parents. M The family consists of the family members of one or two generations (husband, wife and their unmarried children) is called nuclear family. M The family consists of the family members of more than two generations (grandparents, parents, uncle, aunts, grand children) is called joint family. M The urgent needs for the survival of the family members like biological and safety needs are called basic needs of the family. M The needs like honour, self- respect, appreciation, freedom, identity, dignity are considered, as ego or esteem needs. M The higher level needs like, self-actualization and self-content are considered, as apex needs. M Marriage is a union of persons of opposite sex admitting a man and a woman as husband and wife, sanctioned and recognized by the civil, religious and law of each country. M Monogamy is a form of marriage in which one man is married to one woman at a time. M A form of marriage in which a man is married with more than one woman in the same time is called polygamy. M Polyandry is a type of marriage where a woman is married with more than one man in the same time. M Ageing is a natural process of growing old and weaker with the distinct physical, psychological, and social changes with the passing of time. M Planning of family refers to the planning for limiting the size of the family, maternal and child welfare, socialization of children, balance in family income and expenditure, proper parenthood and so on. 127

Exercise A. Very short answer questions. 1. What is Family Life Education? 2. Mention any two functions of family. 3. Mention any two ego needs of family. 4. Write any two merits of nuclear family. 5. Define additional family needs. 6. List any two roles of parents. 7. Write any two responsibilities of parents. 8. Mention any four stages of family life cycle. B. Short answer questions. 1. Clarify the rationale of Family Life Education in our social context. 2. Enlist the components of basic needs and explain any two of them. 3. Why is Family Life Education essential for quality of life? Give reasons. 4. What type of family do you prefer? Explain with justification. 5. What is joint family? Mention the merits and demerits of joint family. 6. Explain the roles of parents in brief. 7. What do you mean by responsibilities of parents? Clarify with suitable examples. 8. Mention any five primary responsibilities of parents. 9. Why should parents be exemplars while they expect good deeds from their children? 10. How does responsible parenthood makes difference in socialization of the children? Explain with justification. C. Write short notes on: 1. Maslow’s hierarchy of family needs 2. Size of family 3. Psycho-social needs 4. Parents as inspirers 5. Parents as policy makers 6. Management of healthy family relationship D. Write differences: 1. Parental roles and responsibilities 2. Roles of parents as policy makers and pals 3. Responsibilities and participation 4. Basic needs and additional needs 5. Nuclear family and joint family E. Long answer questions. 1. Discuss the different stages of family with the help of a diagram. 2. How would you apply different roles and responsibilities in the family on behalf of the children if you were parents? 128

5.3 Marriage A. Introduction to Marriage Marriage is such an institution which brings male and female together through physical and psychological attachment. Marriage is universal and socially recognized institution established by the human society to control and regulate the sex life of humans. It allows stable relationship Marriage custom in Nepal in which a man and a woman are socially permitted to have children employing the right to sexual relation. In fact, it is the union of male and female which is the gateway to enter into a family life as well as to kinship bond. According to E.S. Bogardus, “Marriage is a social institution admitting men and women to family life that is to living in the intimate personal relationship of husband and wife for the purpose of begetting and rearing children”. From the above definition, it is clear that marriage is a universal social institution. It is found in almost all the societies in one or the other forms. According to UN definition, “ Marriage is a legal union of persons of opposite sex, the legality of which may be established by civil, religious or other means recognized by the law of each country”. Purpose of Marriage Marriage is a unique social institution of human life. Its primary purpose is to procreate and continue human life. Moreover, the secondary purpose of marriage is to uphold the social order. Some of the purposes of marriage are mentioned in the following points: e To satisfy and regulate sexual life in the family e To form the family and extend kinship e To provide continuity to the generation e To maintain social security with the net of kinship e To care of children and prepare them for socialization B. Types of Marriage Marriage has various types in different societies. The major types of marriage are given below: 1. On the Basis of Number of Spouses a Monogamy In this type of marriage, one man is married to one woman at a time. This is the form of modern marriage system. 129

Types of Marriage On the basis of number of On the basis of marriage On the basis of social spouses arrangement system Monogamy Arrange Marriage Supari Bibaha Polygamy Legal Marriage Magi Bibaha Polyandry Love Marriage Chori Bibaha Levirate Marriage Bidhawa Bibaha Jari Bibaha Gandarva Bibaha Bel Bibaha Fig:5.4 Types of Marriage b. Polygamy In this type of marriage, one man is married with more than one woman in the same time. Polygamy further can be classified as sororal and non-sororal polygamy. In which, sororal polygamy is that type of polygamy where all the wives belong to the same parents. Similarly, non-sororal polygamy means that type of marriage in which the wives are from the different families. c. Polyandry It is a type of marriage where a woman is married with more than one man at the same time. This type of marriage is practiced among the Tibetans and Tribal communities of Africa, India and some communities of Mountain region of Nepal. Polygamy Polyandry • Polygamy is a type of marriage in • Polyandry is a type of marriage in which a which a man gets married with woman gets married with more than one more than one woman in a time man in a time • In this type of marriage, usually • In this type of marriage, usually wife is husband is the head of the family the head of the family • There are two types of polygamy • There are two types of polyandry such such as sororate (wives are as fraternal (husbands are brothers) and sisters) and non-sororate ( wives non-fraternal (husbands do not belong to are not sisters) polygamy the same family) polyandry • The family property is divided • The family property is not divided • This type of marriage is found in • This type of marriage is found in tribal the modern society communities of Africa and India 130

2. On the Basis of Marriage Arrangement a. Arrange Marriage This type of marriage is arranged by the guardians of the boy and girl. In this type of marriage, the bride and bridegroom may be unknown to each other before marriage. b. Love Marriage The marriage performed by the boy and girl without the consent of their guardians is called love marriage. This type of marriage is common at present. Difference Between Arrange Marriage and Love Marriage Arrange Marriage Love Marriage • The marriage arranged by the • The marriage where there is no guardians or parents on behalf of their consent of the parents or guardians children is called arrange marriage. is called love marriage. • There is direct and indirect • There is no involvement of guardians involvement of guardians in this type in this type of marriage. of marriage. • In the context of Nepal, the legal age • In the case of love marriage, the of arrange marriage is 18 years for minimum age for both male and both male and female. female is 20 years. • The old generation people prefer • The young generation people give arrange marriage. preference to love marriage. • In this type of marriage, the boy and • In this type of marriage, the boy and girl may not know each other before girl fall in love before marriage. marriage. • Generally, we can observe this type • We can observe this type of of marriage in the traditional rural marriage in the modern urban society. society. c. Legal Marriage Marriage between the grown up boy and girl (after reaching minimum legal age at marriage) performed at the court is called court marriage. In this type of marriage, one witness from both sides must be present at the court. Activity Conduct a small case study on “Role of socio-economic implication on age at marriage” in your locality and present your findings in the class under the supervision of your subject teacher. 131

3. On the basis of Social System Since Nepal is a multicultural and multi-ethnic country, different types of marriage practises are found to be prevalent based on different traditions, customs and cultures. Some of them are mentioned below: a. Supari Bibaha In this type of marriage, there is confirmation of marriage by offering supari from the boy’s party to the girl’s party. b. Magi Bibaha Marriage performed by asking for the hands of the girl from the boys party with humble request is called Maghi Bibaha. It is common in rural areas. c. Chori Bibaha Marriage performed by taking away a girl without the consent of her guardian is called Chori Bibaha. It is common among the indigenous communities. d. Levirate Marriage It is a type of marriage in which brother in-law needs to get married to sister in-law after the death of his elder brother. It was common in some ethnic groups. e. Bidhawa Bibaha The remarriage of a widow to a next person after the death of her husband is called widow marriage or Bidhawa bibaha. f. Jari Bibaha Marriage performed by paying fine from the side of the adulterer to the first husband for taking away his wife is called Jari bibaha. g. Gandarva Bibaha It is a type of marriage settled by performing extraordinary talents in festivals, dance, fair by singing, dancing, acting etc. h. Bel Bibaha In this type of marriage, very young and unmarried girl is married to the fruit called Bel before menarche. It is practised among the Newari community. It is believed that when the girl is married to Bel, she will never be widow in her life. 4. Age at Marriage Marriage is a universal need of human life. However, the practice of marriage age is not good in the context of Nepal. Marriage should be done at that age which is acceptable by law and health. Age at marriage has direct relation with fertility level. It means if people get married in early age it results into rapid growth of population. On the other hand, marriage at appropriate age helps to control the rapid growth of 132

population. According to the marriage law of Nepal, legal age of marriage for male and female is 18 years with the consent of their guardians and 20 years without the consent of their guardians. Having pregnancy right after early marriage may cause adverse impact on the health of baby and mother. The reproductive organs are not well developed the women of early age. From reproductive health, social and economic perspective, an ideal age of marriage for female is after reaching 20 to 25 years and for male is after completing 25 years. They are physically mentally and socio-economically matured in this age. It is better to get married after reaching maturity by age, education, skill and income sources. a. Disadvantages of Early Marriage Reproductive health problems High fertility rate Low quality of life High possibility of conflict, misunderstanding, and fights Economic problems Less opportunity for education Couple may not perform crucial parental role High chance of infant and maternal death Poor health of mother and child Accelerates population growth rate Problem in pregnancy and delivery b. Advantages of Appropriate Age at Marriage Encourages opportunity for education required for self-reliance Low fertility rate Small family size Good health of mother and child Happy family life Proper birth spacing Greater possibilities to work in social and economic sectors Mutual understanding between the husband and wife Good reproductive health of the mother Easy to balance family income and expenditure 5.4 Planning of Family Planning of family is an important aspect of Family Life Education. Family welfare and planning of family is a cross-cutting sides of a coin. Family welfare is possible only through proper planning of family. Moreover, proper planning of family is essential for prosperous and productive family life. Hence, limiting the family size, maternal and child welfare, socialization of the children, balance in family income 133

and expenditure, proper parenthood should be the primary concerns in planning of family. Apart from this, planning of family should build up foundation for the future of the youths by guiding them in the following concerns: e In which occupation to be involved? e What is the ideal age for marriage? e What is the appropriate age for child bearing? e How many children to bear? e What is the proper birth spacing? e Which contraception is appropriate for birth spacing? e What is the appropriate size of family? e How to maintain balance between income and expenditure of the family? e How to fulfill family needs? e How to attain quality of life in the family? A. Involvement of Women in Planning of Family It is no doubt that the role of women is crucial in planning of family. Needless to say, women who occupy more than 50 percent of the total population are active and efficient members of the family. Hence, without their meaningful participation quality of life in a family is beyond imagination. In this situation women can play active role to motivate people for family welfare; importance of small family, advantages of marriage at appropriate age, proper birth spacing etc. In addition to this, they can motivate people for the use of contraceptive devices, immunization programs, child nutrition, environmental sanitation etc. Similarly; they can themselves be involved in these activities for family welfare and quality of life. They are the resource persons in our society for common people. Hence, they can play key role to bring changes in our society and consequently, it helps to acquire prosperous family life. The following measures can be exercised to increase women participation in planning of family: Mass awareness campaign must be carried out to educate the people about the need, importance and role of women in planning of family. The tendency of involving women in planning of family should start from the family. Opportunities should be given to the women in family welfare education, training and support program. There should be participation of women in all aspects of development activities. Women should not be limited merely in household chore but should be given decisive role too. 134

Women participation should be guaranteed in all sorts of decision making and activities of the family. Educated and capable women should aware other about the issues associated to the importance and need of small family, family welfare, marriage at appropriate age, first pregnancy at appropriate age, proper birth spacing, etc. They should be informed about the role of women for responsible parenthood and improvement of educational, economical and health stats of the family. The women in the rural area should be motivated for the use of contraceptives, and mother and child health care. Educated women should support the common women in different aspects of family planning. The involvement of women should be made mandatory in all sorts of social programmes. Women should be motivated to play active role in the income generating activities. Women involvement in social transformation should be promoted. Women should get right in that level so that they can spend their income independently. Activity Visit any five organizations of your community and observe the situation of women involvement. After that prepare a report by making the list of works performed by women in those organizations and present it in the class. B. Planning of Family for Future Planning of family in advance before entering into the family life with necessary prerequisite knowledge and skill is called planning of family for future. Family life education teaches us about planning for future. It helps to prepare an appropriate plan of family. Today’s youths are the responsible parents for tomorrow. To bear the responsibilities towards the family for future, it is better to prepare a plan at present. Therefore, all necessary informations about the family life can be obtained through the study of Family Life Education. It plays important role for the future planning of family by changing the reproductive behaviour of youth. The advantages of planning of family for the future are mentioned in the points that are given below: It helps to determine size of family. It helps to determine appropriate age of conception. It helps in the selection and use of temporary contraceptives. 135

It helps to mobilize the economic resources. It helps in the protection and care of mother and child in a proper way. It helps to improve living standard of family. It helps to maintain mutual relation between the family members. Activity Conduct a group interaction programmes in the class about planning of family for future. Now, address the following questions on the basis of the conclusion drawn by the discussion: a. Which level of education? b. Which occupation? c. Marriage at which age? d. How long birth spacing? e. How many children? 5.5 Ageing and Social Security There is tremendous change in science and technology with the passing of time. The mortality rate of people has been decreasing gradually due to improvement in quality of health service and facilities, life style, education and consciousness towards sanitation and hygiene. The life expectancy of the people is increasing day by day. In this context, increase in life expectancy means to increase the size of old population. With reference to the developed countries, people enter into the old age after crossing the threshold age; 65 years whereas in the case of Nepal and other many developing countries, people are formally recognized as old as they cross the age of 60 years. The elderly people need security in the old age. In this stage of life, they need social, economic and emotional security. To the elderly people; the government should provide adequate old age allowance and free health services. In addition, there should be provision of elderly homes with good facilities to the senior citizens in adequate number in different places in the country. Moreover, there should be free transportation facility along with libraries and elderly health clubs in different places. Government also should provide regular free health checkup to them. These facilities and care may provide social security to them. A. Introduction to Ageing and Old Age Ageing is a continuous process of life which ends after death. It is a natural process of life which is observed in all the living beings. Human beings including other animals get older due to the natural process called ageing. According to the Oxford Dictionary, ‘ageing is the process of growing old physically and mentally’. Ageing can 136

be defined as a process of growing old with distinct physical, psychological and social changes with the passing of time. When people get older they become Senior citizens mentally, physically and socio-economically weaker. As a result, they cannot perform the same level of work as earlier. At the same time they suffer from various kinds of diseases like arthritis, hypertension, diabetes, etc. There are various stages in human life. Old age is the last stage of human life. In the global context, it is said that people reach the old age after 65 year. In the context of Nepal the age after 60 year is considered as the old age. The people above the old age are called old or elderly people. B. Causes of Ageing e Diminished immunity power e Increase in mental tension e Poor nutrition e Frequent attack of disease e Decreased physical strength e Prolong illness e Degeneration of cells and tissues C. Signs of Ageing 1. Physical Changes Taste buds become less sensitive Loss of hearing Poor eyesight Gradual loss of touch sensation Problem in digestion Wrinkles on the face and other parts of body Weakness and tiredness Difficulty in body movement High devotion to religious and spiritual activities Loss of sexual potency Loss of appetite/Anorexia 137

2. Mental Changes Decrease in memory power Decrease in decision making capacity and creativity Increase in spiritual activities Decrease in problem solving capacity Dissatisfaction towards the performance of young generation increase 3. Social Changes Unable to make active participation in social activities Feeling of loneliness increases Affection and attachment towards the small children increases Expectation of love, affection, respect and honour from the family and society increases Interest of sharing feelings with the same age people increases Loss of social status 4. Emotional Changes Anger comes soon Less interest in everything Recalling of old memories 5. Economic Changes Dependent life Retirement from job/occupation Decrease in income source Inadequate source of income. D. Problems of Ageing or Old Age People suffer from various problems in the old age. They are physically and mentally weaker. Similarly, they suffer from many diseases like diabetes, respiratory disease, hypertension, urination problem, eye disease etc. They also suffer from psycho-social and economic problems. They feel alone in this period. Old age is not a problem in itself but lack of proper care and support to them have become greater problem at present. Due to the rapid growth of old age population; it has become a great challenge to the nation. Since ageing is accepted as a challenge, it has become one important area of Family Life Education. In the context of Nepal, the demarcation line of old age is 60 years. This age group population is considered as economically inactive or dependent population. Some ageing problems are mentioned below: e Unable to carry on occupation/profession 138

e Eyes, ears, urethra and other organs become weaker e Loss of physical and mental strength e Loss of immunity power e Loneliness e Dependent life e Frequent attack of diseases related to heart, lungs, kidney, etc. Status of Ageing Population in Nepal and SAARC Region When people enter into the age of sixty and above they are considered as old aged people. In the context of Nepal and some other developing countries, this age group population is also called economically inactive or dependent population. The share of old population in our country is gradually increasing since the first census until now. It is clearly depicted by the following table. Table 5.1: The Status of Old Aged Population in Nepal, 1961 - 2011 AD Census Year 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011 60 & above (%) 5.19 5.62 5.17 5.84 6.5 8.13 Source: CBS, 2014 AD The above table shows that there is gradual increase in old age population in Nepal. According to the table, the share of old age population was 5.19 percent in total population of the country in 1961 AD. In fifty years back, the old age population is found to be 8.13 percent in 2011 AD. The data shows that due to the rapidly increasing trend of elderly population, elderly population problem will be alarming in the near future in Nepal. In our country, old age population is increased by the increment in average life of the population. The status of average life in different census year is given in the following table: Table 5.2: Average Life of Nepal in Different Census Years, 1961 - 2011 AD Census Year (AD) 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011 Average Life (year) 31 37 45 54.4 60.8 67.2 Source : CBS, 2014 AD The above table shows that there is gradual increase in average life of the Nepalese people. According to the table given, the average life of the Nepali people in 1961 A.D. was just 31 years, and it increased to 37 years in 1971 AD. Similarly, the life expectancy at birth of Nepal in the census year 1981, 1991 and 2001 are recorded 45, 54.5 and 60.8 years. Furthermore, the average life expectancy of the Nepalese people surprisingly increased to 68 years in 2011 AD. It reveals that the country is gradually moving ahead towards the development process. To make 139

comparative study of average life of Nepalese people, it is better to compare with the neighboring countries. So, let’s study the following table: Table 5.3: Average Life of SAARC Countries, 2015 AD Countries 2015 AD Both Sexes Srilanka 74 Maldives Male Female 74 India 71 77 68 Bhutan 73 75 68 Pakistan 66 69 67 Bangladesh 68 69 71 Nepal 66 67 67 Afghanistan 70 71 61 66 69 60 62 Source: PRB, The World Population Data Sheet, 2015 AD E. Caring of Old People Old people are the creator of society. They have created family. Social, cultural and spiritual norms, values and experiences are transferred to the new generation by them. Old age is not a problem in itself if proper care and support is provided to the elderly people. For the welfare of the elderly people, we have to provide emotional, social, economic and other invaluable support Caring of senior citizen and care to them. Furthermore, we should make them free from pain, tension and disease. Some important points about elderly care are mentioned below: e They should be provided with easily digestible balanced diet e Facility of regular health examination and treatment should be provided e Special attention should be provided to their personal hygiene e Long journey should be avoided e It is better to do light exercise and yoga e We should respect and honour them e There should be provision of libraries, reading rooms, parks and clubs for their entertainment e There should be well managed elderly homes for them e There must be provision of free health services to them 140

e There must be provision of adequate old age allowance or pension to them e Family members should give adequate time to them e After retirement, they should be given due respect through appreciation letter, medal, pension, allowance, etc. Activity Visit a senior citizen of your locality. Prepare a case study on his/her life. F. Importance of Elderly People (Senior Citizens) Elderly people are bases of life. They are our source of knowledge, information and inspiration. The elderly people can give guideline to the young generation from their experiences. Hence, they are so much precious to the young generation. The importance of elderly people are mentioned in the following points: e They can guide young generation to work effectively with their experiences. e They have knowledge and experience of the past, we can study it as history. e They can be mobilized in creative and productive work so that they can involve in development of the nation. e They can transfer knowledge, skill and experiences related to socio-cultural norms, values, beliefs and ritual to the young generation. e They are our guardians and life providers so they have a great contribution to make us capable and dedicated person to the nation. e In a family, small children get proper care, good suggestion and support from them. 5.5.1 Social Security Social security is a programme based on humanitarian welfare. It focuses on social justice. Similarly, it gives priority in social support and common benefit. Social security basically works in the field of livelihood and welfare of the those people who are fundamentally weaker, marginalized and vulnerable. Social security is primarily focussed in the protection and strengthening the life of the marginalized and weaker people in the society. The following activities come under the social security: Income distribution to the poor and marginalized group Protection to the people with security threat due to lack of livelihood Change in social condition in relation to respectful life of the deprived of marginalized and small population communities The concept of social security for the first time in the world was introduced in UK in 16th century. This concept gradually expanded to USA, Canada and some other countries in the 17th century. At present, the provisions of social security have been implemented in many countries including Nepal. Indeed, social security is 141

an important part of humanitarian security and protection. It helps to mitigate future risk of an individual by assuring security during the time of need of help and support. The social security programme helps to manage good provision of income sources to the individual, family or community in the risk. A. Guiding Principles of Social Security e Reduction of poverty and risk e Promotion of social justice and inclusiveness e Optimum utilization of resources e Guarantee of basic or essential services e Measurement of quality in the supply of services e Increase in social harmony and solidarity e Helping to live a respectful life B. Social Security related Programmes in Nepal 1. Social Security of staff and workers Job security, facility of health service, dearness allowance, pension, gratuity, unemployment allowance, etc are considered as the social security of the staff and worker. Such kinds of security provisions are available in Nepal. 2. Social Security Grant The government of Nepal has been conducting senior citizen, widowed and disable treatment programme since 2052 BS. In the beginning, the social security allowance for senior citizens after the age of 70 years was started with worth Rs. 100. Now this worth has been increased to Rs. 2,000 (two thousand rupees) from the fiscal year 2073/74 BS. 3. Food Support Programme This programme is conducted especially in the food shortage areas. For instance, Food for Work, School Nutrition Programme and Day Meal Programme are some examples of Food Support Programme available in Nepal. 4. Protection Programme Elderly homes, orphanages, protection of minority groups/communities, shelter for refugees, etc come under this programme. 5. Direct Social Security Programme Senior Citizen Treatment Facility, Free treatment to senior citizen are the example of Direct Social Security Programme. Activity Interact with elderly people and find out the problems he/she is facing. Then, discuss in the class for their solution under the supervision of your subject teacher. 142

Summary M According to E.S. Bogardus, “Marriage is a social institution admitting men and women to family life that is to living in the intimate personal relationship of husband and wife for the purpose of begetting and rearing children”. M Monogamy marriage is a form of marriage in which one man is married to one woman at a time. M Polygamy marriage is a form of marriage in which one man is married with more than one woman in the same time. M Polyandry marriage is a form of marriage in which a woman is married with more than one man in the same time. M Arrange marriage is arranged by the guardians of the boy and girl. In this type of marriage, the bride and bridegroom may be unknown to each other before marriage. M The marriage performed by the boy and girl without the consent of their guardians is called love marriage. M Marriage between the grown up boy and girl (after reaching minimum legal age at marriage) performed at the court is called court marriage. M According to the marriage law of Nepal, legal age of marriage for male and female is 18 years with the consent of their guardians and 20 years without the consent of their guardians. M From reproductive health, social and economic perspective, an ideal age of marriage for female is after reaching 20-25 years and for male is after completing 25 years. They are physically mentally and socio-economically matured in this age. M Family welfare is possible only through proper planning of family. Moreover, proper planning of family is essential for prosperous and productive family life. Hence, limiting the family size, maternal and child welfare, socialization of the children, balance in family income and expenditure, proper parenthood should be the primary concerns in planning of family. M Planning of family in advance before entering into the family life with necessary prerequisites is called planning of family for future. M When people enter into the age of sixty and above they are considered as old aged people. M Ageing can be defined as a process of growing old with distinct physical, psychological and social changes with the passing of time. M Social security is a programme based on humanitarian welfare. It focuses on social justice. Similarly, it gives priority in social support and common benefit. Social security basically works in the field of livelihood and welfare of the those people who are fundamentally weaker, marginalized and vulnerable. 143

Exercise A. Very short answer questions. 1. Define the term marriage. 2. What is polyandry? 3. Write the meaning of legal marriage. 4. Write any two disadvantages of early marriage. 5. List down any two advantages of appropriate age at marriage. 6. What is planning of family? 7. What is social security? 8. When does old age begin? 9. Write any two problems of old age. B. Short answer questions. 1. “Marriage is a social institution where a man and woman lives as husband and wife”. Elaborate with justification. 2. Write down the advantages of appropriate age at marriage. 3. Explain the concept of social security and mention its guiding principles. 4. What type of marriage do you prefer? Why? 5. Analyse the social security related programmes in Nepal. 6. How does polygamy hinder the social development process? Give reason. 7. Explain in brief about family planning for prosperous family life. 8. What are the reasons of increasing trend of life expectancy at birth in Nepal? Explain with examples. 9. Mention the various problems faced by the elderly people in your community. 10. What can you do for the caring of old people from your side? Give your opinion. 11. Critically examine the situation of life expectancy at birth in the SAARC countries. C. Write short notes on: 1. Marriage on the basis of marriage arrangement 2. Age at marriage 3. Women participation in planning of family 144

4. Planning for future 5. Caring of old people D. Write differences: 1. Polygamy and polyandry 2. Jari bibaha and Bidhawa bibaha 3. Love marriage and court marriage 4. Signs of ageing and problems of ageing E. Long answer questions. 1. Explain the types of marriage on the basis of social system and number of spouses. 2. What is ageing? Illustrate the causes, signs and symptoms and management measures of elderly people. Project Work Visit any twenty households of your community and collect the information about marriage from the married couples and prepare a report by filling the following table: Household. No: Number of couples Number of couples Number of couples Number of couples who got married who got married who got married who got early with the consent after the legal age marriage without their of guardians at marriage guardian’s consent 145

Unit NATURAL RESOURCES AND BIODIVERSITY 6 Learning Objective After completing this unit, students will be able to: • Introduce natural resources. • Tell the need and importance of the natural resources. • Classify the natural resources according to their characteristics. • Describe the different types of forests of Nepal. • Describe the use and distribution of the minerals in Nepal. • Differentiate between absolute and relative conservation of the natural resources. • Describe the impact of human activities on natural resources. • Tell the need for caring of the Earth. • Explain the principles of the World Conservation Strategy. • Justify the Earth as living planet. • Explain carrying capacity of the Earth. • Describe the programs for the care of the Earth. • Analyze the relationship between man and the Earth. 6.1 Concept of Natural Resources 6.1.1 Introduction to Natural Resources The resources that are available in nature are called natural resources. These resources are the important components in our life. Natural resources include air, water, soil, minerals, forest, wildlife, microbes, climate, etc. They are the invaluable gifts of the nature. In other words, all the things that exist in the nature and cannot be created by human efforts are called natural resources. All the living beings including humans are dependent on natural resources for the fulfillment of their basic requirement and survival. In the same way, we get various kinds of foodstuffs like rice, maize, millet, vegetables, fruits, sea foods, fresh air, water and other various life supporting natural resources for our survival, reproduction, growth, development and life cycles. Activity Prepare a list of natural resources that you can find in your surrounding and discuss their need and importance in the class. 146

6.1.2 Classification of Natural Resources Natural resources are classified as perpetual, renewable and nonrenewable, which are as follows: Classification of Natural Resources Perpetual Renewable Non- renewable Solar Energy Fertile Soil Fossil Fuel Wind Energy Plants & Animals Metallic Mineral Tides Fresh Air e.g. Gold, Copper, Iron etc. Flowing Water Fresh Water Non- metallic Mineral e.g. Magenesite, limestone , etc. Fig: 6.1: Classification of Natural Resources A. Perpetual Natural Resources The resources which never deplete despite their continuous use are called perpetual resources. They are also called unlimited resources. The best examples of perpetual resources are solar energy, wind, tides, flowing water, etc. The perpetual natural resources can be transferred into energy. To produce Windmill: A source of alternative energy electricity with the help of following water and sunlight is the example of it. B. Renewable Natural Resources The resources which can be regenerated and may be self-renewed at a certain duration of time are called renewable resources. Animals, plants, fresh air, fertile soil are best examples of renewable resources. The resources like plants and animals can naturally reproduce themselves. Similarly, fresh air, fertile soil, fresh water can be obtained through their regeneration process. Like nonrenewable resources the renewable resources also may be exhausted or depleted if they are over exploited. Hence, people should realize that rational use of renewable natural resources allow them for regeneration and restoration process. C. Nonrenewable Natural Resources The resources that cannot be regenerated once they are exhausted or finished are called nonrenewable natural resources. They are in fixed deposit in the Earth. Fossil fuel, natural gas, metallic minerals and nonmetallic minerals are the examples of nonrenewable natural resources. They are in limited quantity in the Earth. After their continuous use their deposits may be empty. Once they get finished, it is 147

impossible to get them again. We have to seek for the alternative resources to conserve these precious natural resources. Difference between Renewable and Nonrenewable Natural Resources Renewable Natural Resources Nonrenewable Natural Resources • The natural resources, which can be • The natural resources, which regenerated and renewed, are called cannot be regenerated and get renewable natural resources. exhausted after overuse are called nonrenewable natural resources. • Animals, plants, fresh air, fertile soil, • Fossil fuel, natural gas, metallic and fresh water are the examples of minerals, and nonmetallic minerals renewable natural resources. are the examples of nonrenewable natural resources. • Like nonrenewable resources, these • Once they get finished, it is types of resources also may be impossible to get them back again. exhausted or depleted if they are over exploited. • We can manage these resources • We should use alternative resources through proper conservation of them. for their conservation. 6.1.3 Importance of Natural Resources All forms of natural resources like air, water, plants, animals, forest, minerals have their own importance. Some of the importance are given below: A. Source of Fresh Air and Water Air and water are essential for the survival of all living beings. These essential things are obtained from the natural environment. Polluted air and water are harmful to the living beings. Hence, it is our prime duty to balance ecological process for the maintenance of quality of the air and water in our surrounding. B. Habitat The natural resources like land, forest, pond, sea, rivers, grassland are the shelter for various living beings. Human beings also use land to build house, garden, agricultural farm, road, park, industries, etc. Similarly, forest provide shelter to innumerable animals like tiger, elephant, bear, rabbit, zebra, rhino, deer, lion, birds, butterflies, insects etc. At the same time, rivers, ponds, wet land are the habitat of innumerable aquatic animals. C. Source of Foodstuffs All of the living beings get their food from the natural resources. Animals get their food from the plants, small animals and insects, etc. Similarly, human beings get 148

their food products like food grains, vegetables, fruits, egg, meat, milk products etc from the natural resources. We can conclude that natural resources are the basic food sources of living beings. D. Natural Beauty Natural resources promote the beauty of the nation. The natural resources like Mt. Everest and other high mountains, waterfalls, beautiful lakes, rivers, gorges, beautiful national parks, beautiful animals, birds and butterflies have promoted natural beauty of our nation. Similarly, beautiful landscape, agricultural farms as well as diversed forests and grassland also have added natural beauty in our country. E. Tourism Development The beauty of nature is an asset of the nation that can promote the development of tourism industry of the country. Natural resources like mountains, rivers, landscapes, animals, birds, waterfalls, gorges, wetlands, forests etc give attraction to foreign as well as local tourists in our country. It promotes employment opportunities in the country. F. Economic Development Natural resources are essential for the development of agriculture, commerce, industry and social development process of the nation. We get forest products, minerals, animal products etc as raw materials for industries and other economic activities form the natural resources. Proper utilization of natural resources support the economic development of the country. Hence, natural resources are the formation of economic development of the nation. G. Mental Peace People love nature. They feel happy to roam in the natural sceneries. They can have peaceful environment in the nature. Fresh natural environment during work, exercise and meditation provides benefits to the people. All these things really increase the importance of natural resources. Activity Classify the natural resources found in your locality into perpetual, renewable and nonrenewable resources. Write a report showing interaction between those resources and human beings. 6.2 Types and Status of Natural Resources There is variation in types and status of natural resources. They carry great importance in the environment including human life. Air, water, land, forests, 149

wildlife and minerals are the examples of important natural resources. We will discuss about their status in the following section. 6.2.1 Natural Resources A. Air The gaseous mixture of the troposphere is commonly called air. It is the mixture of gases which is colorless, odorless and tasteless. It is found above the Earth in the atmosphere. Air is needed by living organisms to breathe or in the respiration process. It is a homogeneous mixture of gases and has a constant composition as given in the table. Table 6.1: Composition of Atmospheric Air by Volume Gases (%) by Volume Nitrogen 78.09 Oxygen 20.95 Carbon dioxide 0.03 0.93 Argon 0.004 Other inert gases Source: P.D. Sharma, Ecology and Environment, 2007 AD In addition to the gases mentioned in the above table, air consists dust particles, smoke, water vapor, etc. Among them, carbon dioxide is the heaviest gas but nitrogen and hydrogen are the light gases. Unmanaged urbanization, unplanned industrialization, deforestation and use of old vehicles are major causes of air pollution. These factors unfortunately are degrading the quality of air. Functions of Air It is essential for respiration Cloud is dispersed and its course gets changed with the help of air It can also be used as the source of energy Carbon dioxide is utilized by the plants during photosynthesis process It helps to separate unwanted things from the food grains B. Water Water resources is also one of the most essential natural resources for the living beings. Water is a compound made up of one part oxygen and two parts hydrogen. On the total surface of the Earth, about 71% is covered with water as great oceans. About 97% of the Earth’s water is available in the oceans. Less than 3% of the world’s water is occupied by the fresh water, of this 3% more than three quarters is frozen ice in the poles and high mountains. Only one percent of the world’s total 150