BANNU: Three men who have fathered nearly 100 children among them are playing their part in the best way for Pakistan’s increasing population, which is being counted for the first time in 19 years.
But in a country like Pakistan where experts warn the overflowing population is gouging into hard-won economic gains and social services, the three patriarchs are unconcerned. They believe Allah will provide.
According to the World Bank and government figures Pakistan has the highest birth rate in South Asia at around three children per women and the census is expected to show that growth remains high.
“God has created the entire universe and all human beings, so why should I stop the natural process of a baby’s birth?” asks Gulzar Khan, a father of 36, citing one of the strongest influences in the region: the belief that Islam prevents family planning.
Tribal hostility is another factor in the northwest, where the 57-year-old lives in the city of Bannu with his third wife, who is pregnant. “We wanted to be stronger,” the 57-year-old tells AFP, surrounded by 23 of his children — so many, they don’t need friends to play a full cricket match they have each other.
The concept of having more than one wife is legal but rare in Pakistan, and families like Khan’s are not the norm, though the beliefs he holds are widespread.
The last census, held in 1998, showed Pakistan had a population of up to 135 million. Estimates propose that the new census — carried out this year, with the beginning results expected by the end of July — will put the figure closer to 200 million.
The economy is growing faster than it has in a decade, and last month Islamabad hiked its development budget by 40 per cent. But observers have warned the population boom is negating any progress, using up valuable resources in a young country where jobs are scarce and nearly 60 million people live below the poverty line.
“It definitely is a problem because it is affecting health outcomes adversely and also eating into development gains,” says Zeba A Sathar, country director for the UN population council. Sathar predicted the census would show growth has slowed due to lower fertility rates, though she added it would remain among the highest rates in the region.
“There has to be a clear enunciation of need to slow growth as a positive policy lever,” she said. “And then next a good, effective health system that provides information and services of quality.”
Khan’s brother, Mastan Khan Wazir — one of his 15 siblings — also has three wives. So far, Wazir has only 22 children but, like his brother, he says his grand children are too many to count.
The 70-year-old, with his bushy moustaches and bejeweled fingers, is a celebrity for the people of North Waziristan tribal district, where his blinged out jeep — done in the style of Pakistan’s famous “jingles trucks”, with Pashto music pouring from the stereo — is a familiar sight.
&ldquo God has promised that he will provide food and resources but people have weak faith,” he tells AFP.
In the southwestern city of Quetta in Balochistan province, Jan Mohammed — the father of 38 children — agrees with Khan, despite having previously called on the government to provide resources for his family.
Jan spoke with AFP in 2016 to voice his desire for a fourth wife as he wants to continue his mission of having 100 children. No women have yet agreed but he says he is not giving up.
“The more Muslims grow, the more their enemies will fear them… Muslims should go for more and more children,” he said.
Denied their husbands’ permission to speak, none of the three men’s wives could give their views on family planning in Islam. But there is already ‘plentiful’ awareness in Pakistan about the need for birth spacing, or allowing a woman’s body to rest for at least 18 months between pregnancies, Sathar said.
“The need is for clear information about the methods available, how they work, their possible side effects and where to get them. That is missing,” she added.
Giving women the right to take decisions could help alot, argues Aisha Sarwari, a feminist activist who has previously written on population and women’s rights.
&ldquo Access to birth control for women can be a game changer,” she told AFP. “Ultimately the impact is that there are more resources to go around … Empowered women have fewer children, and this creates a mindset that leads to prosperity within families that is likely to be emulated across communities.”
Khan, at least, admitted there could be some benefits to slowing down.
For one thing, tribal enmity in the northwest has decreased in recent years, he said. “Now, with the grace of God, the situation has changed — war and fighting is finished — so, now, a decrease in the population would not be bad.”
It would also free him up for other leisure activities, he says, adding wistfully: “If one had fewer children, one would have more time to make love with his wives.”
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