Sana’a May 26

H.E. Judge Hamood Al-Hetar said “family planning might reach to be mandatory for some cases; if the interest of the mother and children need this regulation process”. Adding, “Family planning is mandatory to preserve the health and safety of mothers and good bringing up boys and girls”. This came in his speech in the opening of the workshop of religious raising awareness campaign on family planning, organized by the Ministry of Endowments and Guidance, in coordination with Ministry of Health and Population and the National Population Council, supported by UNFPA.

Al-Hetar pointed out the difference between birth control and family planning. The first one, which is BC, is not approved by the Sharia, while the second is between permissible and mandatory. He asked participants to make this very clear to the people during their religious campaign which will take place in six governorates: Hadramout, Aden, Ibb, Al-Mahweet, Hajjah, and Hodeidah and will last for one week. “We call for family planning and not to birth control”, Al-Hetar reaffirmed.

In the meantime, the representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Mr. Hans Obdeijn, said “This effort is very much part of the continuous efforts of UNFPA and its partners to reach our joint goal in Yemen: “to have met the needs of couples in Yemen by providing quality, acceptable, accessible and affordable family planning services, including information to help them plan and space their children”. Adding “UNFPA supports voluntary family planning programmes that help couples plan the size of their families, protect the health of mothers and their children, enhance family well-being and increase men’s participation in family planning and reproductive health decisions” .

According to Obdeijn, “in Yemen, there is currently an estimated 50% unmet need for family planning. One of the determinants of this is a perceived social, cultural and religious inaccessibility to family planning services”. Therefore, he asked religious scholars, preachers, and guiders, to advocate for family planning as they are very influential in the Yemeni communities and can assist in increasing the accessibility and this campaign is aiming to fulfill these needs of the people.

It is noteworthy; nearly all Muslim countries support family planning. As many Islamic scholars have pointed out, the regulation of family size is fully consistent with Islamic law. Professor Abdul Rahim Omran, commissioned by UNFPA to write "Family Planning in the Legacy of Islam," said: "… family planning in Islam is neither prohibited nor required. It is only permissible, or 'mubah'” You can do it if conditions warrant it, and you can avoid it if conditions do not warrant it. There are 54 Hadith texts from the Prophet relating to contraception and family planning.

Data shows; Yemen has one of the highest total fertility rates in the world (over 6 births per woman). Its current population growth is around 3 percent, and it will reach, if nothing happens, 60 million in 2050, from the current 23 million.

“The workshop is expected to identify the urgent issues, topics and misconceptions that need to be addressed. The result will be unified, concrete and effective religious messages”, Obdeijn concluded. & Gentlemen

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