The New Nation - Internet Edition

A Correspondent, Kurigam

The people living in different chars (shoals) in the district of Kurigam are unaware of family planning and most of them have five to 16 children, inviting miseries only.

Mohammad Ali and Safina Begum have a total of 13 children, including six sons. They pass their days almost starving. They live in a hired house as the river made them homeless on several occasions. When Ali has no work, the entire family goes without food. Safina said, I do not know what is family planning. None has ever asked us to adopt it. However, now I realise that so many children is not good.

Barasat ali and Sakina Begum have become parents of 16 children. Sakina, whose age is 80, cannot identify all her children by name. They have about 50 grandsons and grand daughters. But none of them has travelled beyond the level of primary education.

It has been revealed that early marriage is a big problem to the char people. Though birth certificate is necessary, it is not followed at the time of registration of marriage. It is said that the parents escalate the age of their minor children in order to marry them.

Rafiqul and Sonavan wedded a year ago when they were 14 and 12 respectively. They have no idea about family planning and by this time gave birth a child. The local family planning workers reportedly do not do their duties regularly to motivate the uneducated and superstitious believing poor char people. But the workers denied the allegation an claimed that about 70 percent people take birth control pills. But the real picture is different. Very few women take pills, though irregularly.