Course on family planning that must be taken in order to register for nikkah cards.
Shehzad Roy, an activist, is working to raise awareness among couples about the importance of reproductive health.
Tariq Malik, the chairman of the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), announced his openness to make an online course about family planning a requirement for marriage registration on Wednesday.
The Nadra chairman expressed these opinions at a consultative conference held at the Health Services Academy in Islamabad, emphasising the need of ensuring that engaged couples are aware about family planning and maternal health.
Shehzad Roy, a goodwill ambassador for Population and Family Planning, promoted the project while the topics covered in the event’s Bakhabar Noujawan [well-informed youth] online reproductive health course were being discussed.
Roy emphasised the need for measures to ensure couples were well-informed about reproductive health and stated that “18,984 infants were born in Pakistan every day.”
The course’s goal is to equip teenagers between the ages of 15 and 29 with the knowledge and skills necessary to make responsible decisions about their health and wellbeing and develop into contributing members of society.
The majority of couples getting married want to practise family planning but are unsure [of how to do it], according to Roy. If couples complete the reproductive health course, they will learn about maternal health, spacing between children, and contraceptives, he added.
“I believe that if we could figure out a way to make this course mandatory, […] it may have a significant impact on Pakistan’s population management.”
Following this, the Nadra Chairman stated that two key ideas that would now be the subject of policymaking had emerged during the consultation session.
One is that, in addition to identification, age verification will be performed during marriage registration to determine whether or not the parties being married are of legal age.
The other suggestion is that family planning classes should be prerequisites. If we follow through with these two actions, we can prevent underage marriages while also promoting education.
The National Committee for Maternal and Neonatal Health (NCMNH) and the Ministry of National Health Services organised the event, working with the Association for Mothers and Newborns (AMAN) and the Health Services Academy (HSA).
Later, Roy posted on Twitter to thank the relevant authorities for their initiative.
In his capacity as a spokesperson for family planning and population issues, Tariq Malik was praised for his support of the NCMNH’s online course on reproductive health and his efforts to convince the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination (NHSRC) to require it of all couples planning marriages.
