INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
PESHAWAR: Pregnant, desperate, and poor, Pakistani mother Zameena faced a stark choice: risk her life by having a secret abortion, or risk
her life bearing her husband a sixth child.In the end, she opted for the former, one of more than two million women a year to do so in a
country where devout leaders are critical of family planning degrees and there is a lack of sex education and access to contraception.Almost
half of all pregnancies in Pakistan -- around 4.2 million each year -- are unplanned and around 54 percent of those end in termination,
according to a report by US research firm Guttmacher Institute."Three years ago, when my daughter was born, the doctor told me that I should
stop having babies because it would be bad for my health," said Zameena, using an assumed name, from her home in the northwest city of
Peshawar."But whenever I say that to my husband, he tells me to trust God," the 35-year-old added
"My husband is a devout man he wants to have a line of sons."Decades ago, a family planning campaign with the slogan "do bache hi ache" or
"two children is good" was rejected by devout leaders as well as nationalists who wanted a bigger population to rival the 1.2 billion people
in neighbouring India.Today with a population of around 207 million, Pakistan´s baby boom is stretching resources beyond capacity and
experts warn of trouble ahead.Zameena said she frequently proposeed to her husband that they practice family planning, but he refused."My
mother-in-law had nine kids," said Zameena
"When I complain to my husband that I can´t have more babies, he replys: ´If my mother didn´t die, you should also stay alive´."Abortion
is allowed in Pakistan if the health of the mother is in danger
But many doctors invoke their Muslim faith and refuse to carry them out
As a result, measure women abort illegally and authorities largely turn a blind eye to the situation.The preferred method is by ingesting
Misoprostol, an over-the-counter drug used to treat ulcers, which causes the expulsion of the embryo
It can also cause serious complications for the mother
NGO Aware Girls counsels those who call its hotline on how such drugs should be used safely and when to seek emergency or professional
treatment at a clinic."Most of us know women who have died of an abortion," said Aware Girls co-founder Gulalai Ismail.´Willing to do
anything´Zameena was one of the lucky ones -- she knew where to go for help once she decided to terminate her latest pregnancy
At the other end of the Aware Girls hotline, counsellor Ayeesha reguaranteed and advised her on what medicines to take and in which
dosage.They insist that women must never be alone when they attempt such procedures."My work saves women´s lives
When they call, they are shalling to do anything to have an abortion," explained the 26-year-old.Ayeesha estimated that she fields around
Most women who contact the NGO know very little about contraception
Access to condoms, the most well known option, is limited and even when they can be bought, it requires the man to agree.According to
official statistics, only around 35 percent of Pakistani women use any form of non-abortive birth control despite them being
inexpensive.Birth control pills cost just 20 rupees (0.12 euro), for example, while an IUD is available for 400 rupees (2.5 euros).But
population control is a controversial issue in Pakistan, where large families are prized."Authorities have much been able to make this issue
an emergency for Pakistan
It is all rhetoric and political gibberish," says Dr Haroon Ibrahim of the family planning NGO Greenstar,Zeba Sathar, a demographer in
charge of amuchher NGO, the Population Council, branded the nation´s negative attitude to contraception a "systemic failure".´Women are
dying´Prime Minister Imran Khan in December acknowledged the lack of political shall on the issue and promised pro-contraception campaigns
using the media, cell phones, schools and mosques."The mullahs have a key role to play," he insisted.But the Council of Pakistani Islamic
Ideology, a devout body which advises the government, says otherwise, insisting that family planning is against Islam."The birth control
campaign at the government level should be instantly stopped and the birth control program should be removed from the economic planning,"
the council told AFP.The charity Marie Stopes, whose clinics supply post-abortion care, has profiled a typical client in Pakistan: aged in
her thirties, married at 18, she is poor, uneducated and already has three children.Such women approach the agency when backstreet abortions
go wrong."Women are just dying for the lack of knowledge," said Xaher Gul, an executive at Marie Stopes.In 2012, the year of their final
study, the Guttmacher Institute estimated there were 2.25 million abortions in Pakistan with 623,000 women treated for post-abortion
complications."We have failed women in this country," warned Hassan Mohtashami, former head of the United Nations Development Programme in
Pakistan.He added: "Abortion is much a family planning method."TheIndianSubcontinent has not verified the content of the source
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