Fertility control in the context of the family and society in Pakistan
type: CreativeWork
description: This study has examined the functioning of the family planning programme, reasons for the low contraceptive prevalence and sustained high fertility levels in Pakistan. The examination of the status of women in Pakistan has revealed that women have a low level of education (14 per cent) and their participation in the gainful employment (3 per cent) is also very low. Most of them marry early (mean age 17.4 years) and rarely use contraception (current use 9 per cent), factors which lead to high fertility. The blend of both Hindu customs and Islamic values has affected the position of women in Pakistani family and society. However, more important have been religious injunctions that have restricted women from participating in educational, economic, political and social activities, including family planning. Several religious scholars in Pakistan have advocated that a truly Islamic society must be based on complete segregation of the sexes and subordination of women to men. Considerable pressure is exerted by these scholars and local preachers for political decisions limiting an active role for women in the family and society, with motherhood being considered to be the main role for women in Pakistan. Since 1965, a family planning programme has been implemented through variety of strategies. However lack of political support and, in particular, religious resistance are important factors hindering family planning implementation. None of the religious leaders or scholars in Pakistan have ever openly supported the view that family planning is religiously acceptable, and some scholars have always opposed family planning in the country on religious grounds. A multi-sectoral approach to family planning was adopted in 1980 with the family welfare centre (FWC) as the key institution for providing family planning services to a population of around 25,000 in rural and 65,000 in urban areas. The implementation of the new strategy has revealed certain short-comings, such as inadequa…
abstract: This study has examined the functioning of the family planning programme, reasons for the low contraceptive prevalence and sustained high fertility levels in Pakistan. The examination of the status of women in Pakistan has revealed that women have a low level of education (14 per cent) and their participation in the gainful employment (3 per cent) is also very low. Most of them marry early (mean age 17.4 years) and rarely use contraception (current use 9 per cent), factors which lead to high fertility. The blend of both Hindu customs and Islamic values has affected the position of women in Pakistani family and society. However, more important have been religious injunctions that have restricted women from participating in educational, economic, political and social activities, including family planning. Several religious scholars in Pakistan have advocated that a truly Islamic society must be based on complete segregation of the sexes and subordination of women to men. Considerable pressure is exerted by these scholars and local preachers for political decisions limiting an active role for women in the family and society, with motherhood being considered to be the main role for women in Pakistan. Since 1965, a family planning programme has been implemented through variety of strategies. However lack of political support and, in particular, religious resistance are important factors hindering family planning implementation. None of the religious leaders or scholars in Pakistan have ever openly supported the view that family planning is religiously acceptable, and some scholars have always opposed family planning in the country on religious grounds. A multi-sectoral approach to family planning was adopted in 1980 with the family welfare centre (FWC) as the key institution for providing family planning services to a population of around 25,000 in rural and 65,000 in urban areas. The implementation of the new strategy has revealed certain short-comings, such as inadequa…
author: Hakim, Abdul
language: en
date published: 1992
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:07:11Z
provider: Australian Catholic University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Australian Catholic University

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/1885/116916