2-Child Limit On Muslims In Parts Of Myannar The First Corto Maltese 1999
Muslims 2-child limit
Similar to China, Myanmar’s western Rakhine state has imposed a child-limit law for the Muslim Rohingya citizens. The new law states that the Muslim families are allowed only two children per household. Unlike China, this law is based on religion and does not apply to all citizens.
A majority of the citizens in Myanmar are Buddhist, so the Muslim citizens view this new law as discrimination. The Rakhine state spokesman Win Myaing stated that this law is not meant to discriminate against Muslims.
Myaing added, “The population growth of Rohingya Muslims is 10 times higher than that of the Rakhine [Buddhists]. Overpopulation is one of the causes of tension.”
The new law is meant to help control the rapid growth of the Muslim population in the area, which is believed to be the main cause of the sectarian violence. The Muslim population in Myanmar has a growth rate that is ten times larger then the Buddhist population, so that is why this law is applied to only Muslims.
The sectarian violence started over a year ago, and the violence has been the catalyst of many fatalities.
Inquisitr reports that along with a two-child limit, the latest measure also bans polygamy for Rohingya Muslim families. The measure was enacted a week ago and follows a government-appointed commission’s recommendations.
This new law would be applied to only two of the townships that border Bangladesh. These townships have the highest Muslim population and most residents are Muslim. Though these townships are mainly Muslim, the Muslim population only makes up four percent of the Myanmar’s population.
China has been carrying out a planned birth policy since the late 1970s, but it is not based on religion and exceptions apply to minority ethnic groups. India briefly practiced forced sterilization of men in a bid to control the population in the mid-1970s.
Hurriyet Daily News provides more indepth coverage of this controversial topic.
In June 2011, the United Nations Population Fund released a report on The State of the World’s Midwifery. It contained new data on the midwifery workforce and policies relating to newborn and maternal mortality for 58 countries. The 2010 maternal mortality rate per 100,000 births for Myanmar is 240. This is compared with 219.3 in 2008 and 662 in 1990. The under 5 mortality rate, per 1,000 births is 73 and the neonatal mortality as a percentage of under 5’s mortality is 47.
Source:
2-child limit for Muslims in parts of Myanmar
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/2-child-limit-for-muslims-in-parts-of-myanmar.aspx?pageID=238&nID=47623&NewsCatID=356
Myanmar Imposes 2-Child Limit On Muslims In Rakhine
http://www.inquisitr.com/675781/myanmar-imposes-2-child-limit-on-muslims-in-rakhine/
