Populution Growth Problem In Pakistan

1. Population explosion one of the most serious problems of Pakistan
2. The population growth rate in Pakistan is one of the highest amongst developing countries
3. Major reasons of growth in population and failure of the population planning in the country
4. Role of religious people and women
5. Poverty as a catalyst in population explosion
6. Changes in the thinking pattern of people combined with government’s initiatives can solve the problem
7. Some success in population control

Pakistan’s population has steadily increased over the years and no amount of family planning activities by any government, has helped curb this problem. One of the main reasons for this is the fact that family planning has never been taken as a mission due to fear of religious and social backlash. The population explosion in Pakistan is one of the most serious issues that need to be addressed in the new millennium. The rate of population growth in the country is one of the highest amongst developing countries. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, it increased from less than 2 per cent in the decade following independence to slightly more than 3 per cent in the 1980s. In 1986, Pakistan’s population Crossed the 10 million mark.

Today, the population of Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, is approximately over 10 miIIion, Lahore with its satellite cities, is also likely to have roughly the same number of people. The total population exceeds an astounding figure of 140 million. Surprisingly, Pakistan was one of the first countries to initiate a population-planning program, way back in the 1950s. The fertility rate, estimated today at about 6.5 children per woman, has however, not declined. This goes to show that despite an early start. Pakistan has not been able to achieve its desired goal. There are several reasons for this increase in population and failure of the population-planning program in the country. Aside from the extremely important social, cultural and religious norms that dictate the family-planning policies of every government, there are also other reasons that have taken Pakistan further and further away from its goal of reducing the population.

Two of the main reasons can be: lack of political commitment and lack of funding. These two have played a key role in mismanagement of the whole program, for had the governments been keen on controlling the population, Pakistan’s family planning program would have overcome all obstacles. Social and cultural factors in this regard often intermingle the religious factor. In Pakistan, it is considered a boon to have I many children as possible, disregarding the problems that might merge when there is only one bread-earner and six or seven mouths to feed. The fact that couples keep producing children one r the other and use no preventive methods to at least time the births of their children, is due to illiteracy, misinterpretation of Islam, of recreational activity and the inferior role of females in Pakistani society.

Governments over the years in Pakistan have been unable implements family planning procedures such as contraceptive pills, condoms and IUD insertion — mainly due to the social and culturaltaboos, not to mention the omnipresent religious factor. A certain factor of society relies on the shoulder of religion as an excuse o remain closed and narrow-minded. Such people feel that it information on taboo subjects such as family planning, sex etc. does no enter the society, people will turn more towards religious and keep away from evils. They do not however, realize that an open-receptive and gives its citizen the right to choose, which is more than what can be said about Pakistan as it today. Women are in the Centre of the whole activity — mainly ‘they are used as machines to keep producing children and then eventually die during childbirth. Women in Pakistan have only minimal rights, and are even more backward than their counterparts in South Asia. They have restricted mobility and are subject to a number of constraints and laws. They are suppressed unconditionally by their fathers, brothers, husbands and sons. They be jailed under the Hudood Ordinance or can be accused of Zima. They can even fall victim to honours killings and no one dares raise his voice in protest. Because of this role of women in Pakistan, it is not surprising I they are never asked whether they want to have seven children not. Also, because of male dominance, the total number of desired by women also increases.Their opinion just does count and this plays in major role in the population exp

Another reason why population planning is not working is because of the desire for the male child. In this patriarchal society, males are considered infinitely superior to females and if there are only daughter in a family, couples keep producing one child after the other until a male is born, even if he is the twelfth or thirteenth child. Also, a woman sees the men in her life as her lifeline and supporters in adversity. if she ever gets divorce or becomes a widow, she wants to at least have a mature son who supports her, thus they preference for the male child. Child labour is another factor, increasing the population day by day and is making it difficult for any population planning program to succeed. In every street and corner of Pakistan, there are tens of children playing all day long instead of receiving an education which they should be doing at such a tender age.

Most of these boys and girls are too poor to afford an education so they either spend their time playing with other or working in shops. They can also be found begging on roads, working in small hookahs, sewing away in carpet industries and working as servants in households. Any sane person can tell that they are being subjected to child labour but nothing much is being done about this phenomenon because they are considered an investment by the low or middle income strata. They, thus, become institutions to their parents.

Consequences of the population explosion will be irreversible if concrete steps are not taken as soon as possible Education is one sector that will suffer terribly. As it is, Pakistan is already so behind in Education that it will probably take a long time for it to catch up with the rest of the world. This also has an affect the society as a whole for if Pakistan remains in a time warp, away from scientific progress and modern thinking, society will degenerate even further.

One other major consequence of increasing population I poverty, which already ails 35 per cent of the people who live be the poverty line. This is bound to increase if more children are born and there are no facilities available for them to nourish and nature in. Despite the evidence which suggests that there has some improvement in the family planning sector (24 per cent married women currently report the use of contraceptives). Pakistan still has a long way to go.

There needs to be not only a change in the thinking pa of the people of Pakistan, which can only be done through education but government initiative also needs to be taken. At present, there are 1,296 Family Welfare Clinics and 218 Reproductive Health service Centres. These, according to The World Bank, make services available to less than a quarter of the population.

The Ministry of Population Welfare admits that only 5 per cent of the rural population is targeted whereas 54 per cent of the urban areas are covered in this population-planning program Attention needs to be given to rural areas where illiteracy and unwariness is greater.

The media also needs to be mobilized fully in helping to control the population. Campaigns, which target the poor, need to be organized, and the concept of sex being taboo should be revised and recast.

The population planning efforts have, thankfully, not all gone to waste. A very high percentage (91 per cent) of married urban women and 71 per cent of married rural women have knowledge about contraceptives. If this campaign is increased and information regarding population planning is disseminated to a larger percentage people, imagine how much the government will be able to accomplish in this field.