I personally don’t believe overpopulation is an important issue, let alone a human rights problem (at least not on the global level; in isolated, mainly agricultural areas characterized by subsistence farming things may be different). But I know that many people think that so-called overpopulation – or, even better, the “global population bomb” – is the world’s most pressing problem and the cause of a large number of rights violations such as famine, hunger, war, violence, poverty etc.
Unless and until, we adopt some strict measures, the increase in population is beyond one’s imagination with the present pace of addition every day.
According to the US Census Bureau, world population growth is faster than the current death rate. Every second 4.2 children are bornd in the world but on 1.7 people die. That is an increase of 2.4 people per second. Some ‘stress measures’ have to be floated to bring down the birth rate. I think disfranchising couples who have a third child and banning them from holding any elective post would be a better proposition than legally enforcing to under sterilization for which we have already the bitter experience in the past.
Another idea is that government should pay women not to have children. For each year the woman does not have a child, she would receive a reward. No doubt, the arguments against this plan will not find a favour as it is against the human rights yet this will also cost extra burden on government. The cost of raising the children that would otherwise be produced is considered. By not going against a childless couple, but the young woman could be persuaded to postpone having children till the next census with a handsome award to control the population problem.
However, there is a need to provide education for girls to control population growth. It is seen that when poor women will have increased access to educational opportunities, in which class the birth rate is on the higher side, birth rate will decline. Besides making population related seminars/awareness programmes mandatory a part of education to the matured students at school college level.
With the control over this major population problem which is important being directly linked to health of the people and earth?
