Dar es Salaam, TANZANIA
Tanzania’s President, John Magufuli, urged the country’s women to “set
your ovaries free” and bear more children as a way to help boost the economy
into a regional powerhouse, a step critics said would instead worsen inequality
and poverty.
“When you have a big population you
build the economy. That’s why China’s economy is so huge,” he said late on
Tuesday, citing India and Nigeria as other examples of countries that gained
from a demographic dividend.
“I know that those who like to block ovaries
will complain about my remarks. Set your ovaries free, let them block theirs,”
he told a gathering in his home town of Chato.
Since taking office in 2015, Magufuli
has launched an industrialization campaign that has helped buoy economic
growth, which has averaged 6-7% annually in recent years. But he has said a
higher birth rate would achieve faster progress.
Tanzania has sustained relatively
high growth, averaging 6–7 percent a year, over the past decade. At the same
time, the East African nation of 55 million people already has one of the
world’s highest birth rates - around 5 children per woman.
Data from the United Nations population fund
UNFPA shows Tanzania’s population is growing by about 2.7 percent a year while
most public hospitals and schools are overcrowded and many young people lack
jobs.
UNFPA says about a third of married women in
Tanzania use contraceptives, but Magufuli has criticized Western-backed family
planning programmes implemented by the health ministry.
Last year Magufuli said curbing the
birth rate was “for those too lazy to take care of their children”, and the health
ministry barred broadcasting of family planning ads by a U.S.-funded project.
While Tanzania’s poverty rate -
people living on less than $1 a day - has declined to about 26% as of 2016, the
absolute number of poor citizens has not because of the high population growth
rate, according to the World Bank.
President Magufuli waving to some Game Ranger officers on the event |
Opposition leaders in Tanzania have criticized Magufuli’s stance, saying the country’s already rapid population growth is a
time bomb, and disapproving remarks surfaced on social media.
“As a modern woman I can’t believe
this ... especially coming from him (the president),” said one Twitter user.
Others said it was simply bad
economics for Magufuli to urge Tanzanians to have more babies.
“High population growth in Tanzania
means increased levels of poverty and income inequality,” said a rights
activist based in Dar es Salaam who asked not to be named to avoid possible
repercussions from the government’s ongoing review of registration of
non-governmental organisations. “Women’s ovaries should never be used as a tool
for seeking economic prosperity.” -
Reuters
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