July 11, 2022 6:20 pm
It was enough for the Iraqi planning minister to hint at his intention to implement demographic control, establishing a maximum number of children and certain intervals between pregnancies, for the country’s religious parties and institutions to immediately prevent the move by declaring that it conflicts with religion. .
Another conflict that divides Iraqi society. Due to the religious campaign and the reaction of religious parties, the minister withdrew his project.
According to official statistics published by the ministry last March, Iraq is on the eve of a population boom. The population has reached more than 41 million people. Annual population growth has exceeded forecasts. The ministry estimates that Iraq’s population increases by one million each year. The largest number of inhabitants live in the capital Baghdad, where more than 8.7 million people reside.
With such rapid population growth, Iraq will face many social problems, due to the gap between population growth and the state’s ability to provide an adequate environment for such growth. The current inability of the state to offer job opportunities for graduates appears to be the main reason for at least 28 demonstrations in Iraq in recent months. This is one of the disadvantages of uncontrolled population growth.
If the planning minister takes any initiative to limit population growth, his proposal will encounter the same difficulties in parliament as any other legislation concerning family planning, due to the predominance of Islamic parties in the assembly. They will argue that the law violates Article 2 of the Iraqi constitution, which states that it is not allowed to enact a law that contradicts the fundamental provisions of Islam.
(Translation by Francesco De Lellis)
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