Did you know? A woman dies every two minutes due to pregnancy or childbirth – United Nations Report. In Pakistan, there are 186 infant deaths per 100,000 live births. The ratio is nearly 26% higher in rural areas as compared to urban areas. On World Population Day, we address the social taboos that mark our maternal deaths.
It was just in last week’s episode of Zard Patton Ka Bunn that Meenu’s brothers school her on interacting with the population planning representatives in the area, warning that self-respecting villagers steer clear of the “shameful couple” who propagate family planning and population control, and that young, unmarried girls should stay away from such dark and corrupting influences.
“Unheard Of” Conversations?
Earlier in the narrative, Meenu had requested her prospective rishta that she doesn’t want to have children and what would he do if he discovered she was, in fact, infertile? Oh dear, this was a conversation that was, but of course, frowned upon by locals as well as her own college mates and one that left her isolated from villagers and classmates who view family planning as a major taboo topic – certainly not to be discussed by young, unmarried girls.
Which is why, it was certainly the need of the hour for a project like Zard Patton Ka Bunn to break into the Pakistani drama landscape – probably the best way to get the message “out there”, better than the village mosque loudspeaker or a tedious report on population planning. ZPKB is a message-driven drama no doubt, but at the same time, the makers insert humorous ways of storytelling on a topic that is anything but. Such is the need of the hour in nations like Pakistan where men remarry if they have no children from the first marriage, where family planning representatives and lady health workers are often persecuted or considered immoral, because, well, having children (and more of them) is considered Allah’s will and blessings?
On World Population Day, it is imperative to touch base with the narrative and extrapolate the takeaways – critical messaging from the story. Why? Because Pakistan still battles high maternal mortality rates, mothers have inadequate access to healthcare and any conversation about population control is met with raised eyebrows, a frown and… often, a disapproving shake of the head.
Here are the taboos that have prevented Pakistani women and mothers from participating actively in the workforce and towards economic progress, although they make up nearly 50% of the population and also, risking their lives to give birth to children who in turn, might not receive the best healthcare in a country challenged on resources and driven by misinformation and lack of proper awareness.
1. Young Unmarried Women Do Not Talk About Family Planning
As Meenu is berated for hobnobbing with the village couple who propagate family planning – official representatives of a population planning scheme, she is also labelled as morally corrupt or outspoken by addressing the topic at all.
Addressing family planning is considered a taboo in a country where one woman on average gives birth to over 3 children in her life. It would be a good idea to start with normalizing the topic and making it a conversation so that women have more control over an experience that they and their bodies have to undergo, wholly by themselves.
Which brings us to the second topic.
2. Population Control Workers Are Mistrusted
Pakistan has a history of mistrust when we speak about population planning. From banning contraceptive adverts on television and radio, to battling the misinformation around them, Pakistan shares a complicated relationship with the people who try to implement any form of population control over a suspecting population. Family planning conversations are frowned upon as no-go topics in society and population control workers are often seen as untrustworthy tools of a foreign plan to curb the population in our cities for whatever devious plan or conspiracy hatched under cover.
3. Religious Taboos Surrounding Family Planning
Yes it’s complicated.
Pakistanis have been raised on a diet of social and religious taboos and one of them, is that family planning is a no-go area in the larger scheme of religious dos and don’ts. Since few clerics have publicly educated the masses on practicing Islamically acceptable modes of family planning, or the significance of maintaining a gap between children, the population, by and large, consider children, all children, as a blessing from God – the more the merrier.
Case in point: The following paper outlines that the Quran in fact, does not prohibit birth control, nor does it forbid a husband or wife to space pregnancies or limit their number. Thus, the great majority of Islamic jurists believe that family planning is permissible in Islam. Islam’s stance on Family Planning
4. Lack of Awareness Or Information
Couples are often not aware of family planning information or methods of birth control because they have no access to the information from a professional source, fathers and in-laws often do not engage with healthcare professionals on the dos and don’ts of healthy pregnancies and women, the mothers who should participate in the decision making process, are often left out of the equation to make a choice.
Not just that, but most couples are not aware that they must space out the birth of their children in order to protect the mother’s health as well as tend to the new-born who needs his mother’s full attention. Also, when breast feeding while pregnant, mothers might experience decreased milk supply in the 4th or 5th months of pregnancy, sometimes even earlier, which makes it hard to nourish the child that is already born.
5. Lack of Healthcare Options
Due to absence of sufficient healthcare options in Pakistan (The standard requirement in developed countries is 5 doctors for every 1500 people, whereas in Pakistan we have only one for every 1500). ZPKB educates drama viewers on the ground realities of healthcare facilities in Pakistan. Which translates directly to maternal health, maternal mortality, as well as infant mortality. When children die in childbirth, mothers are pressurized into having more.
When mothers die in childbirth, the children left behind have just lost their mother, a human being we all agree, capable of providing critical infant care and ensuring the well-being of her offspring.
The Solution?
In order to avoid complications in a country overwhelmed with many, it is imperative to provide mothers with skilled care and safety during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postnatal period. Yet, in Pakistan, women, on average, give birth to 3 or 4 children. Every child deserves physical, mental, emotional care. And every mother needs access to primary healthcare in order to raise these children. Of the 8 billion people occupying the planet, and rising, Pakistan has over 240 million inhabitants presently. It is the 5th most populated country in the world with 312 people occupying per square kilometre.
Did You Know?
Pakistani musician and UN ambassador for Population Management in Pakistan Shehzad Roy has been advocating for a program that supports an online reproductive health course for all prospective married couples in Pakistan. Today, he might be a step closer to making this dream a reality.
18,984 children r born in Pakistan every day! As an ambassador of Family Planning & Population,I salute Chairperson Nadra Mr Tariq Malik for supporting #NCMNH‘s Reproductive Health online course & advocating with us to make it compulsory for all couples who wish to get married
To round it up, population control is a key factor to drive better quality of living, improved infant and maternal health markers and eventually lead to a more prosperous economy. We hope Meenu and Dr. Nofil’s journey will show this burgeoning 200 million plus population just that.
What a contraception advert couldn’t do, perhaps, a drama can, in 30 minute episodes every Sunday! Join in the conversation and drop us a comment below!
Zard Patton Ka Bunn is penned by the talented duo of Mustafa Afridi & Saife Hasan. The project is produced under Momina Duraid Production & Kashf Foundation. The cast includes Sajal Ali, Hamza Sohail, Rehan Sheikh, Samiya Mumtaz, Ali Tahir, Adnan Shah Tipu, Saad Azhar, Syed Tanveer Hussain, Chaudhary Muhammad Usman, Mubashir Mehmood, Adeel Afzal, Najma Bibi, Zaryab Haider & others.
