A step in the right direction

Over in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, where the plight of women has gone from abysmal under the Taliban to even worse under the parliament of drug lords, war lords and assorted medieval throwbacks, mullahs are now being educated on birth control.

Yes you heard me right - birth control.  The Pill might come in mighty handy when your husband is legally raping you.

It was a seminar on birth control, a likely subject for a nation whose fertility rate of 6 children per woman is the highest in Asia. But the audience was unusual: 10 Islamic religious leaders from this city and its suburbs, wearing turbans and sipping tea.

The IR of A has the world's second worst maternal mortality rate, up to 8% in some areas according to the linked article.  I know a lot of people don't like to admit or acknowledge this in any way, but pregnancy and childbirth can be dangerous.  

The mullahs were reluctant participants. Truth be told, they were paid to show up. But surprisingly, they seemed to emerge from the session invigorated.

“This was a useful and friendly discussion,” said Mullah Amruddin, a tall man in a dramatic turban. “If you have too many children and you can’t control them, that’s bad for Islam.”

Of course, not everyone in the IR of A is receptive to birth control, and Afghan women who work for Marie Stopes have been accused of being foreign spies or worse - Christian missionaries working to reduce to Muslim population.  One woman, Aziza, was accused of being a paid operative of the Americans and run out of a town.  But many women are interested, even using birth control in secret.

One woman was so happy to have birth control pills that she hugged and kissed Aziza, ripped open a package and swallowed a pill with a gulp of water.

“She said she didn’t want to wait until evening,” Aziza said, laughing at the memory. The total number of the woman’s children: 17. Three dead, 14 living.

When women can control the size and spacing of their families, it is an important step to them controlling their destiny.   Now, if we would just stop blowing everything up and killing civilians they might really be able to improve their lives.