President John Magufuli urged Tanzania’s women to “set your
ovaries free” and bear more children as a way to help boost the economy
into a regional powerhouse, a step critics said would instead worsen
inequality and poverty.
“When you have a big population
you build the economy. That’s why China’s economy is so huge,” he said
late on Tuesday, citing India and Nigeria as other examples of countries
that gained from a demographic dividend.
“I know that
those who like to block ovaries will complain about my remarks. Set your
ovaries free, let them block theirs,” he told a gathering in his home
town of Chato.
Since taking office in 2015, Magufuli
has launched an industrialization campaign that has helped buoy economic
growth, which has averaged 6-7 per cent annually in recent years. But
he has said a higher birth rate would achieve faster progress.
Tanzania has sustained relatively high growth, averaging 6–7 per cent a year, over the past decade.
At
the same time, the East African nation of 55 million people already has
one of the world’s highest birth rates — around 5 children per woman.
Population growth
Data from
the UN population fund UNFPA shows Tanzania’s population is growing by
about 2.7 per cent a year while most public hospitals and schools are
overcrowded and many young people lack jobs.
UNFPA says
about a third of married women in Tanzania use contraceptives, but
Magufuli has criticized Western-backed family planning programs
implemented by the health ministry.
Last year Magufuli
said curbing the birth rate was “for those too lazy to take care of
their children”, and the health ministry barred broadcasting of family
planning ads by a US-funded project.
While Tanzania’s
poverty rate - people living on less than $1 a day - has declined to
about 26 per cent as of 2016, the absolute number of poor citizens has
not because of the high population growth rate, according to the World
Bank.
Time bomb
Opposition
leaders in Tanzania have criticized Magufuli’s stance, saying the
country’s already rapid population growth is a time bomb, and
disapproving remarks surfaced on social media.
“As a modern woman I can’t believe this ... especially coming from him (the president),” said one Twitter user.
Others said it was simply bad economics for Magufuli to urge Tanzanians to have more babies.
“High
population growth in Tanzania means increased levels of poverty and
income inequality,” said a rights activist based in Dar es Salaam who
asked not to be named to avoid possible repercussions from the
government’s ongoing review of registration of non-governmental
organizations.
“Women’s ovaries should never be used as a tool for seeking economic prosperity.”
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