[nasional_list] [ppiindia] Is there a need to place birth control under some control?
- From: "Ambon" <sea@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <"Undisclosed-Recipient:;"@freelists.org>
- Date: Tue, 29 Nov 2005 21:10:01 +0100
** Forum Nasional Indonesia PPI India Mailing List **
** Untuk bergabung dg Milis Nasional kunjungi:
** Situs Milis: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia/ **
** Beasiswa dalam negeri dan luar negeri S1 S2 S3 dan post-doctoral
scholarship, kunjungi
http://informasi-beasiswa.blogspot.com
**http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaileditorial.asp?fileid=20051129.E03&irec=2
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]
------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~-->
Help save the life of a child. Support St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
http://us.click.yahoo.com/cRr2eB/lbOLAA/E2hLAA/BRUplB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~->
***************************************************************************
Berdikusi dg Santun & Elegan, dg Semangat Persahabatan. Menuju Indonesia yg
Lebih Baik, in Commonality & Shared Destiny. http://www.ppi-india.org
***************************************************************************
__________________________________________________________________________
Mohon Perhatian:
1. Harap tdk. memposting/reply yg menyinggung SARA (kecuali sbg otokritik)
2. Pesan yg akan direply harap dihapus, kecuali yg akan dikomentari.
3. Reading only, http://dear.to/ppi
4. Satu email perhari: ppiindia-digest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
5. No-email/web only: ppiindia-nomail@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
6. kembali menerima email: ppiindia-normal@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
ppiindia-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
** Forum Nasional Indonesia PPI India Mailing List **
** Untuk bergabung dg Milis Nasional kunjungi:
** Situs Milis: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia/ **
** Beasiswa dalam negeri dan luar negeri S1 S2 S3 dan post-doctoral
scholarship, kunjungi
http://informasi-beasiswa.blogspot.com **
Other related posts:
- » [nasional_list] [ppiindia] Is there a need to place birth control under some control?
