An Untamed Elephant: Over Population
Overpopulation is one of the prevalent issues in the world especially in the developing countries, including Pakistan which due to lack of resources, constrained economic means and overgrowing human resource have been ranked the sixth populous country in the world, according to UN Officials. More than half the population consists of youth who face major issues such as unemployment, rise in terrorism, lack of education, gender discrimination, inadequate basic facilities and the struggle between religious orthodoxy and secular principles.
Pakistan was one of the first Asian countries to start population control programs in collaboration with International Organizations. Despite that increase in population has been seen in both rural and urban parts of the country; though the usage of population control techniques and schemes is comparatively low in rural areas. It was in Ayub Khan’s regime the issue of overpopulation was brought into context which led to the formation of the National Board of Family Planning, as a policy advising body for the Federal Government. Steps taken by Khan faced strong protest from religious clerics and parties which also led to the dismissal of his government, eventually. Regimes after Khan did continue with Family Planning Schemes but each government brought in new campaigns, wasting precious resources and efforts taken.
Three important factors which have helped in solidifying the menace of overpopulation in Pakistan are: orthodoxy cultural values, religious dogmas and economical constraints. Religious dogmas in Pakistan cannot be challenged or talked because they thrive more in the mind than in practices. The fact that God is the provider for all living beings and kids are gifts from God therefore most couples do not consider protection or having fewer kids as an option.
Rise of unemployment is another reason why families from the lower class prefer having more children as they help their parents in running the households, later. The economic burden is shared by the kids (both male and female child) as they start working from a very small age. The female child bears an additional load after puberty as they are sold in marriages; early marriages also result is having more kids compared to late marriages therefore in the low per-capita income families the birth rate is higher than middle class and upper class families.
Since majority of the people in Pakistan live by Patriarchal System so the opinion of women when it comes to family planning is not even considered. Though she is the one who gives birth to children yet the decision is not hers rather of her husband and his family. Most of the people are staunch believers that God is the one who provides with children despite that in many cases women are blamed for giving birth to female child, when the family clearly stated that they wanted a male child. The reason why families prefer a male child over a female child is because ultimately he would be the bread earner for the family and would extend family’s name. However, when it comes to sort fights which are mostly started by the men of the family, a female child is used as a savior for the family.
More than practices, the mind-set of the people needs to be changed and in order to do that each member from the community need to contribute. The government needs to come up with target-oriented family planning policies, which should be implemented at all levels. Pakistan’s family planning programs need strong and consistent leadership, a sustained energy to expand access to services and adequate resources. Expanding easy access to rural areas, focus on eliminating gender disparities and creating awareness amongst the masses are few steps which can help in controlling the population.
