In Crowded Camps, Rohingya Refugees Embrace Family Planning
Sumaira FH Published December 02, 2022 | 09:10 AM
Kutupalong, Bangladesh, Dec 2 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 2nd Dec, 2022 ) :Rohingya cleric Abdur Rashid still believes children are divine gifts, but life in a Bangladeshi refugee camp with six little mouths to feed has left him and his wife unwilling to accept another heavenly blessing.
Earlier this year, his wife Nosmin asked doctors to fit her with a contraceptive implant, a decision that cultural norms among the persecuted and largely Muslim minority would have rendered unthinkable a few years ago.
But since fleeing a military crackdown in Myanmar five years ago, life in the overcrowded refugee settlements of their reluctant hosts has prompted the couple and many other families to limit the size of their households.
Roughly two-thirds of Rohingya couples are now using some form of birth control -- up from virtually none five years ago, according to figures from the UN refugee agency.
"Children are blessings from God and he's the one who arranges necessities for them -- but we have been stuck in this squalid camp for years now," Rashid told AFP.
"I prefer not to bring in any more life in the face of this hardship." islam takes no uniform view of birth control -- a practice endorsed by some Muslim communities and abhorred by others.
A few short years ago, many Rohingya believed birth control was against the tenets of their faith.
That taboo has withered, with Rashid among hundreds of religious leaders within the refugee community delivering sermons in mosques in support of contraceptive use.
He and others have volunteered for a dedicated public health campaign that aid workers and Bangladeshi authorities say has brought a sweeping change in attitudes towards family planning.
Around 190,000 family planning visits were made in the first six months of the year from among the million or so Rohingya refugees living in the Bangladesh camps, including many women seeking abortions.
"Eventually, I may want one more baby. But not right now," said mother-of-two Noorjahan Begum, 25.
Begum spoke to AFP after walking through the day to her nearest clinic, carrying her six-month-old son, to ask doctors to terminate her latest pregnancy.
Dependent on humanitarian aid to survive, Begum said she lacked the resources to adequately feed and shelter another baby.
"God willing, I will take permanent birth control measures after my third child," she added.
Family planning has a fraught history for the Rohingya, about 750,000 of whom fled their homes in Myanmar five years ago after a crackdown by security forces now subject to a UN genocide investigation.
Before that exodus, the Rohingya were subject to decades of discriminatory policies by Myanmar authorities who considered them illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, despite their long-established presence.
Myanmar's government denied them citizenship and prevented them from moving freely in an effort to confine the population to a remote corner of the country.
It also attempted to forbid Rohingya women from having more than two children and made a written pledge to that effect a condition of issuing marriage licences to Rohingya couples.
- 'Make their lives harder' - Since 2017, Bangladesh has struggled to support its immense refugee population, for whom the prospects of a wholesale return to Myanmar or resettlement elsewhere are vanishingly remote.
Efforts to ease overcrowding in the camps have seen thousands of refugees moved to a flood-prone island -- a policy criticised by rights groups, which said many had been relocated against their will.
Bangladesh has also been unnerved by resentment and protests from those living close to the camps, where refugees outnumber the local population two-to-one.
Yet public health experts say the most enthusiastic backers of the family planning campaign have been the refugees themselves.
"When they came here, almost every Rohingya we met had never heard of condoms or birth control pills," local family planning office chief Pintu Kanti Bhattacharjee told AFP.
"Now they welcome it. They understand too many children can make their lives harder."
Related Topics
Recent Stories
IGP chairs follow-up vedio link meeting at CPO
Football: Spanish La Liga results
Football: Spanish La Liga table
Martin wins crash-filled sprint at Spanish MotoGP
PTDC organizes webinar to promote medical tourism
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif
Govt striving to provide equal education opportunities for all: Provincial Minis ..
US diplomats take part in cricketing activity at Kinnaird College ground
Young maid burnt to death
Commissioner holds meeting on new roti/naan rates, dengue
Russia hits Ukrainian energy sites in 'massive' attack
Series of blessings on bureaucracy in KP continue
More Stories From Miscellaneous
-
Sanam Marvi captivates audience with mesmerizing performance
2 hours ago -
Modern Education Techniques: A pathway to achieve economic development
1 day ago -
Kite Flying: From cultural festival to deadly sport
1 day ago -
PDMA predicts gusty wind, rain with thunder, hails
4 days ago -
Iranian president Raisi given guard of honour at PM House
5 days ago -
Intellectuals, writers accolades Naseer Mirza on his literary contribution
6 days ago
-
Bahawalpur Adabi Sangat hosts memorable mushaira
6 days ago -
Cattle farming vital to alleviate poverty in rural areas
6 days ago -
Pakistan: A land of tourism, archeological wonders
6 days ago -
Transforming education sector: from job hunters to job creators
8 days ago -
Amjad Bobby remembered on 19th death anniversary for timeless contributions to music
12 days ago -
Legendary actor Nadeem’s 26 films released on Eid-ul-Fitr days in 50 years
13 days ago