According to Khabaronline news agency, Amirhossein Bankipour, the representative of the people of Isfahan in the Shura Assembly, today (Saturday, November 23) at a press conference on the occasion of the anniversary of the promulgation of the Family and Youth Protection Law, pointing out that November 24 is the 1400th day of the promulgation of this law. In such a way that this law was the result of a collective and elite movement.
According to Isna’s narration, he further stated: Several meetings were held in committees and commissions to formulate this law so that this law was finally formed; The law that our Martyr Imam mentioned as a truly vital law and used descriptions such as “strategic law” about it.
Martyr Leader’s gratitude to the activists of drafting the youth law of the population
Recalling the letter sent to the leader of the Martyr Revolution after the law was finalized, this member of the parliament’s cultural commission said: I remember on the same day that the law was finalized, we sent a letter to him and informed him of the finalization of the law. In response, he wrote a letter that was read at the first meeting of the Jamiat National Headquarters.
He continued: In that letter, people’s activists, MPs and the government were thanked for their efforts in the field of the population, and this move was considered as a lasting good deed.
Changing population behavior in difficult economic and social conditions
This member of the cultural committee of the parliament stated that after five years the effectiveness of the law on the youth of the population should be checked, he said: In this session, we have the opportunity to check the performance of this law and see to what extent it has been able to achieve its goals.
Referring to the special conditions of the country in the last five years, Bankipour said: During this period, we experienced conditions that perhaps none of the post-revolutionary periods can be compared to. Because in these years, we were faced with strange incidents and events, and we went through the most difficult economic conditions, inflation, and the inappropriate social and security situation.
He emphasized: It is very difficult to change demographic curves in such circumstances, but when we examine the recorded statistics after five years, it can be seen that despite the severe economic and social pressures on the people, the social behavior of the society in the field of marriage and childbearing has changed significantly.
Changing the parenting culture required going through established patterns
Pointing to the difficulty of changing population behavior in society, Bankipour stated: In the experience of different countries in the world, changing society’s behavior in the field of population is not an easy task; Especially since the culture of family planning has been promoted in our society for years and various social patterns, from housing and wages to cultural patterns, were formed based on the slogan of one or two children.
He added: In such a situation, in the most difficult economic and social situation, changing the behavior of the society in the field of population was a very difficult task, and for this reason, it is particularly important to examine the effectiveness of the law on the youth of the population after five years.
The youth law of the population reduced the abortion rate by 50%
Explaining the three important achievements of the Family and Population Youth Protection Law, this member of the Cultural Commission of the Islamic Council announced about a 50% reduction in abortions, an increase in the proportion of third-child births and a decrease in the downward slope of births, and said: Despite these achievements, only about 50% of the provisions of this law have been implemented and operationalized.
He went on to explain the achievements of the Family and Youth Protection Law and stated: This law has had three important results, the first of which is a significant reduction in the number of abortions.
He added: Based on detailed studies and surveys that were conducted before the implementation of the law and were repeated after its implementation with a similar method in a more accurate and comprehensive manner, the abortion rate has decreased by about 50%. In one of these studies conducted by Dr. Haqdoost at Kerman University of Medical Sciences, a 48% reduction in abortions was reported and the results were announced to the Ministry of Health.
Bankipour continued: In the supplementary investigations, it was also taken into consideration whether the decrease in abortion was due to the decrease in the number of pregnancies or not; The results of the surveys showed that the decrease in abortion was not only due to the decrease in the number of pregnancies.
Increasing the share of the birth of the third child and above
The member of the Cultural Commission of the Parliament considered the second achievement of the Population Youth Law to change the pattern of childbearing and increase the birth of third children and said: Before the implementation of this law, the dominant pattern of families had moved towards one and two children, while in order to save the population from the current situation, we had to move towards the pattern of the third and more children.
Stating that before the implementation of the law, the share of third and above births was about 17.5% of all births, he clarified: in the sense that out of every six babies born, five were the first or second child and only one was the third or above.
Referring to the statistics published by the civil registration organization, Bankipour said: this year this share has reached 28.8%; This means that the share of births of third and above children has increased by about 65% compared to before the implementation of the law.
He pointed out that although the total number of births has decreased, the number of third, fourth and fifth children has increased significantly in the last four to five years. One of the criticisms raised at the time of the law’s approval was the allocation of special incentives to the third children and later, but now the results show that the law’s goals have been achieved in this regard.
The law of population youth prevented the escalation of abortions
The member of the cultural commission of the parliament named the third achievement of this law as prevention of the downward slope of births and fertility rate and said: Before the implementation of the law, about 170 thousand births were reduced from the number of births in the country every year, but after the implementation of the law, this slope decreased and in recent years, the rate of reduction of births reached about 85 thousand cases.
Referring to the decrease in the population of women in the main childbearing age, he explained: From 2014 onwards, the population of women aged 20 to 40 in the country, where about 87% of births are related to this age group, has been decreasing. Although the population of women aged 15-49 may still be on the rise, the 20-40 age group plays a major role in births.
Bankipour continued: Until 2014, despite the implementation of family planning policies and the reduction of childbearing patterns, the number of births was increasing; The reason for this was the high number of mothers of childbearing age. In the first years after the revolution, the number of births increased from about one million and 300 thousand in the years before the revolution to about two million and 400 thousand and remained above two million until 1365.
He added: The same increase in births in the first years of the revolution caused a significant population of women to enter childbearing age in the following decades, and even despite the decrease in the number of children in families, the number of births remains high. But from 2015 onwards, the generation born in the years of declining births entered the motherhood age, and for this reason, the population reserve of mothers in the country decreased drastically.
Stating that the population of women between 20 and 40 years of age decreased by 350,000 last year, this member of parliament said: Since the beginning of the implementation of the law, the population of this age group has decreased by more than 2,200,000. Despite such a sharp decline in the population of women of childbearing age, the law of population youth has been able to prevent the free fall in the number of births.
In 1402, the decrease in births reached 17 thousand
Referring to the performance of the law in 1402, Bankipour stated: In that year, when the law was properly implemented, we were able to reduce the decline in births to one-tenth; In such a way that the number of births decreased to about 17,000 and the fertility rate not only decreased, but also increased in 15 provinces of the country.
Expressing his regret for the weakening of law enforcement in the recent period, he said: “Unfortunately, the law enforcement was weakened and despite the efforts that were made, we could not maintain the improvement process and only prevented the return of a more severe downward slope.”
Emphasizing the importance of population policies, this member of the parliament’s cultural commission pointed out: the youth policy of the population was a vital and absolutely correct policy, which was also emphasized by the Supreme Leader. The Family and Youth Protection Law is also a necessary and correct law, but unfortunately, only about 50% of its provisions have been implemented so far, and serious attention should be paid to the reasons for this weakness in implementation.
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