[nasional_list] [ppiindia] Is there a need to place birth control under some control?

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Is there a need to place birth control under some control? 
Joyeeta Dutta Ray, Jakarta

Indonesia has attempted to control its population growth through some novel 
methods. The latest more mainstream idea is condom dispensing machines. While 
it is a step to applaud, it also made me wonder. Would the effort really help 
resolve the issue or just create new ones?

Imagine a youth with raging hormones sprinting across the lush green fields of 
Java, kite in hand, and bumping headlong into a condom-dispensing machine. What 
would it lure him to do? Stop him having babies or start him having sex? 

The efforts of the government reminded me of the numerous campaigns adopted by 
my own country, India. The goal has been the same -- to control a population 
multiplying by the minute. The roads are, interestingly, different. 

In the late 1970s, birth control advertisements were splashed all over the 
billboards of our country. "We are two, let's have two", screamed captions 
above black and white, deliriously grinning stick figures of four-member 
families. Well and good, except that one couldn't help but observe that nowhere 
did the graphics show two children of the same sex. The family was always 
perfectly balanced with a son and a daughter. 

People looked up, read the words and went home to have more babies. Until the 
family resembled the one on the billboard, perfectly balanced with sons and 
daughters -- never mind that the number of children exceeded the ones displayed 
-- people tried their luck. The government threw up its hands in resignation. 

In the 1980s, the Hindi Bollywood film industry indirectly championed the 
happiness of a small family. Bollywood films screened noble parents opting for 
not more than two kids. There were several versions of this fact. 

Twins separated at birth, poor but heroic older brothers with villainous 
siblings romancing the only, lonely daughter of city slickers. Triplets, 
quadruplets and families of more than two were strictly ignored, unless they 
were shown suffering in the depths of poverty, gloom and doom. Girls hailing 
from small families were pampered and pretty. Men, educated and successful. 

It worked somewhat. The smart, middle-class people got the point, went home and 
stopped multiplying mindlessly. The poor and uneducated grossly missed the 
point and went home to try their luck on romancing only, lonely daughters of 
city slickers. Eve teasing and rape registered an alarming increase. By the 
1990s, the population of India passed the 900 million mark. The government was 
at its wit's end. 

The advertising industry then decided to take matters into their cuff-linked 
hands. After extensive market research, they identified the root of the 
problem. It was not just a desire for male children or a perfectly balanced 
family with sons and daughters or the widespread rape and molestation that 
existed in society but, to get down to basics, a simple lack of protection. Men 
preferred pleasure to condoms and disregarded them. 

Stick figures of parents with two children on billboards were erased and 
replaced by real-life photos of sultry, unmarried, 20-somethings in the throes 
of passion, flaunting condoms of all textures, colors and flavors. The laws of 
theKamasutra were for the world to see. 

The masses finally sat up and took notice. Sales of condoms skyrocketed. 
Accidents -- resulting from distracted drivers concentrating on billboards 
rather than roads -- escalated alongside. Unfortunately, accidents from 
malfunctioning condoms were also reported, usually too late. In the year 2000, 
the population of India crossed the one billion mark. 

"Catch them young. Educate them from the grass roots!" was the verdict. The 
deed was done. Grade five kids were taught the importance of sex education and 
the difficulties stemming from large families. 

Today, children are wiser, bolder and date younger. The population continues to 
grow at an alarming rate. The government remains puzzled. 

Where have we gone wrong? Are we genetically just more fertile than the rest of 
the world? 

Controlling the population of a country of millions is truly a daunting task. 
In countries where democracy is the call of the day, it is twice as difficult. 
Orders cannot be imposed. Only requests made. In 1977, the Congress government 
under prime minister Indira Gandhi attempted to enforce strict family planning 
measures including the promotion of vasectomies. It was a grave mistake. That 
year, the opposition party won by a landslide victory. The birth rate remained 
untoppled. 

While the government needs to be applauded for all attempts it makes, it is 
also important to identify the root of the issue and take things from there. 

In male-dominated societies such as India and Indonesia, some of the ruling 
issues are the desire to have a male child to carry on the family name and to 
produce several children so that they may support their aging parents later. 
Therein lies the problem. 

The government needs to realize that while condoms can offer some relief, they 
only address part of the problem. Before condoms are distributed, the 
inequality between the sexes needs to be addressed. Only when men start 
respecting women will couples be happy with the sex of their babies and stop 
yearning for more. If the family is small, it spells better education for the 
child and consequently, better work prospects in the long run. 

Women have come into their own today. They earn for the family, manage the 
house, give birth and raise kids, care for aging family members, and most 
importantly, do everything without thrashing anyone in the process. It's time 
society recognized the powers of the gentler sex. 

A condom dispenser is well and good. How about pill-vending machine or condoms 
for women next? 

The writer is a freelance writer. 


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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