We, the active participants in the dynamics of the world, are living in a century of population explosion, where the time bomb of rising population, putting the entire world’s future in jeopardy, is ticking relentlessly towards its threshold level. Our sheer indifference towards the issue, which is an issue in itself, has only made the situation worse. And, Pakistan, notwithstanding its standing as the 5th most populous nation on the planet, still does not seem to have population control measures on its radar.
According to the seventh national census, Pakistan is a home to241.5 million souls. Besides, Pakistan has the highest population growth rate among SAARC countries at 2.8%. Interestingly, young people make a major chunk of Pakistan’s population. According to United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Pakistan, 64% of the country’s total population is below30 years of age. It makes Pakistan one of the youngest countries in the world, if not the youngest one. This huge youth bulge means Pakistan’s population will continue to grow steeply for a long time to come. And if present trends continue, by mid of the ongoing century, according to the World Bank projections, Pakistan may have as many as 338 million people.
Indubitably, youth has a critical impact on a country. If government invests in its youth through education, employment and other opportunities, and utilizes and engages them properly, the the youth can serve as a catalyst for the development and prosperity of the country. More youth means larger young workforce, which brings additional earnings, which, in turn, could be a boost to a sagging economy. However, on the other hand, if not handled properly and not provided with meaningful engagement in society, the country may face disastrous consequences. Neglected and unemployed youth is more prone to destructive tendencies, and thus can disturb the law and order situation, rule of law, natural environment, and so on.
Due to one or another reason, Pakistan has not, regretfully, taken benefit from its youth bulge. A huge youth population is still uneducated, unskilled, marginalized and is alienated by, and frustrated with, the state’s policies. And, Owing to the lack of resources Pakistan has, such a youth could be a burden on an already fragile economy. Moreover, overpopulation has had effects not only on country’s economy and resources but also on its law and order situation, employment, environment and climate change, flora and fauna, and natural habitats.
However, population control measures in Pakistan have not been considered as necessary as they should be. According to the WHO, Pakistan, a rapidly-growing country with high fertility rate, has lower rate of access to birth-control devices than the regional average. Here, considered a taboo, advertisements regarding family planning and use of contraceptives have been banned on public media. Moreover, a discussion about family planning always invites a barrage of criticism from the conservative and religious circles who think that population control is something programmed by anti-Islam forces that want to keep Muslim population in control.
The conservatives take modern family planning as a Western ploy which transgresses Islam. They say one should reproduce as many babies as possible to increase the Muslim Ummah, which ought to be the duty of every faithful. And, if someone tells them about lack of resources for proper upbringing of a child, they say Allah will provide the resources and no one will die of starvation. However, they should not ignore the fact that Allah has given us intellectual faculties using which one should cut one’s coat according to one’s cloth, and that Quran has also instructed that children must not be deprived of proper upbringing. In verse 233 of Surah Al-Baqarah (2:233) it has been ordained: “Mothers shall breastfeed their children for two whole years, for those who wish to complete the term”.
Contrary to this, however, duration between two consecutive pregnancies in most cases is less than two years—37% of births still occur within 24 months of the last birth—depriving the children of their 2 years complete breastfeeding, as the new pregnancy interferes with the breastfeeding and health of an already nursing child. Unsurprisingly, according to the government’s latest data, 33.3% of all children under 5 are underweight. This trend deprives not only children of proper care but also mothers of their rights. Their youth passes in rearing the children, and they hardly have any free time to ask for their legitimate rights. Their health, too, is compromised. According to the government data, malnutrition is widespread among the Pakistani mothers.
It would be unfair, however, to blame the masses wholly for abhorring family planning; our medical fraternity and the government, too, have not taken the matter seriously. The Healthcare providers do not consider an exploding population an issue, let alone accepting the responsibility of offering counselling and providing family planning to the general masses. On their part, successive governments have failed to take any concrete actions for population control. In our parliament, even discussion on population control is something weird, let alone legislating on the same.
Population control is, thus, a serious task to be completed by both the people and the government. A devoted nation through collective efforts can keep in check the rapid increase in population. Take, for instance, the example of China’s ‘One Child Policy’ (1980-2016), which led to the decline in China’s overall rate of natural population increase. To cap it all, the population bomb, though seriously neglected since long, is ticking. Still having time, we should take preemptive steps to defuse it before it explodes.
—The writer is currently serving as a lecturer in KP government.
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views expressed are writer’s own.
