Religious leaders raise reproductive health awareness in Pakistan

Karachi – Local Muslim leaders in four provinces of Pakistan are showing greater receptiveness to sexual and reproductive health and rights issues following a three year DFID-funded project by Marie Stopes Society in Pakistan to raise awareness of SRHR issues among these leaders.

"Big families require a lot of money and resources to survive,” said one Muslim cleric in a Friday session. “It is often very difficult for a poor man to support a big family. That’s why the rate of suicide is increasing. Suicide is HARAM (forbidden) in our religion. So I recommend you plan your family according to your resources.”

Awareness sessions targeting young couples and covering issues such as family planning, HIV/AIDS, pregnancy and SRHR have also been met with a positive response although the restricted mobility of young married girls in particular has made continued attendance difficult for some. Strategies are in place to tackle this obstacle.

Although not part of the original project, female sex workers based in the red light area of Mirpurkhas were also identified as a particularly high risk group when it came to SRHR. This community has proved very responsive to sessions on HIV/AIDS, STIs and birth spacing methods and as a result members from this community took part in a comprehensive training of trainers course in September 2007.

Given the taboos and cultural restrictions associated with any interaction with sex workers, this initiative has demonstrated the confidence and commitment of the project team in addressing the needs of marginalised groups without jeopardising their relationship with the wider community.

MSI's programme in Pakistan