I decided that motherhood is not my "vibe": the construction of reproductive autonomy by Angolan women who chose not to have children or had only one

Angola. Women. Reproductive autonomy. Reproductive Rights. Postcolonial.

This study focuses on the reproductive autonomy in Angola. From a postcolonial perspective, we perform a critical analysis of the concept of reproductive rights, from which the definition of reproductive autonomy comes. Is from the results of this problematic that we investigate the reproductive autonomy construction process in Angola. Through a qualitative research that focuses on ethnography, the thesis analyzes the construction of reproductive autonomy in Angola, by means of the life stories of five Angolan women who chose not to have children, or have only one. For this were explored gender, woman, family and motherhood conceptions in the multiple local cultures, as well as in the ones brought by colonization. We then realize that the central point is the self-perception of being an individual with guaranteed rights, which can make the own choices. This self-view, is built upon the maternal model (and parental) experienced in the home. A perspective in which the categories mother - women - wife are seen as interconnected, but not inseparable. Furthermore, reproductive autonomy is exercised in shared mode between the woman and the maternal family, rather than with her husband, mainly because it represents the continuity of the family, the name and the culture. Pregnancy is not an isolated act and concerns everyone. However, the transformation of the family and social organization has led to a change in reproductive paradigm, giving way to new forms of exercise of reproductive autonomy.