'Ulema' endorse declaration allowing use of reversible family planning methods

Islamabad
Eminent ‘ulema’ from across the country Wednesday endorsed a declaration allowing the use of all reversible family planning methods that can help families to better plan the timing and spacing of their pregnancies in a bid to avoid maternal deaths and improve the overall health of families.
Speaking at a high-level meeting organised by the Population Council in collaboration with UNFPA, 'ulema' unanimously offered their support in promoting the provision of birth spacing services, thereby creating a healthy and prosperous society. This meeting was the second in the series organised by the Population Council to seek a wider consensus and commitment of the 'ulema' in improving the health indicators of the country.
The religious leaders and heads of religious institutions affirmed that Islam declares the preservation and maintenance of human life as an unalienable right of all individuals and families and supports all measures, means and approaches (that are in conformity to the Islamic teachings) for ensuring the attainment of this basic right.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State for Health Saira Afzal said religious leaders can play a major role in helping the government to improve the health status of the people. “By using the platform of the mosque, religious leaders can highlight the importance of several health issues, especially these related to young girls and women such as neglect of girls in the area of education, health care and employment,” Saira stated. She added that the voice of the 'ulema' carries value as people trust them. They should, hence guide people about adopting practices that help in improving the wellbeing of families as prescribed in our religion.
Sarah Masale, deputy representative of UNFPA, appreciated the efforts of the Population Council in assembling a galaxy of eminent religious leaders of the country. She said the UNFPA is globally engaging with faith-based organizations and religious leaders to seek their support in influencing peoples’ behaviours and inculcating within them, a sense of responsible parenthood. “Religious leaders too are service providers as they are meeting the social needs of the people,” she added.
Earlier in her welcome remarks, Population Council Country Director Dr. Zeba A. Sathar highlighted the enduring importance of religion and religious scholars in rapidly changing conditions. She cited the examples of various Muslim countries that achieved remarkable success in improving their health indicators by involving religious leaders in health promotion activities. She said that empirical evidence collated to the Population Council shows that men in Pakistan are now keen to improve the health and wellbeing of their families and want to plan their families according to resources available to them so as to improve the living standard of the family. However, a matter of concern was the high unmet need for adopting family planning methods due to lack of access to services.
More importantly, Dr. Zeba pointed out, there is a lack of clarity in the minds of certain segments of the population regarding the permissibility of using family planning methods in Islam. She appreciated the fact that prominent Ulema had gathered in Islamabad during the holy month of Ramazan to commit their support to a national cause. “Scientific evidence clearly shows that birth spacing is the most effective way to dramatically reduce maternal and infant mortality,” she added.
Eminent 'ulema' and 'mashaikh' spoke on the occasion and extensively quoted from the Holy Quran and sayings of the Prophet (PBUH), endorsing the concept of birth spacing and the use of all methods that can help parents to better plan the timing and spacing of pregnancies with the eventual aim of achieving better health outcomes for the entire family.
Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad, grand 'imam' of the Badshahi Mosque, Lahore, said that the death of 14,000 mothers due to pregnancy-related causes was indeed a tragedy as these lives could have been saved if they did not have to endure the strain of repeated pregnancies. He said that according to the teaching of Islam, one life saved was akin to saving entire humanity.
The Ulema clearly offered all-out support to the government and relevant departments in helping to provide accurate information on the permissibility of adopting all measures that can help in insuring the wellbeing of the family and society as a whole.