ghazi52
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33 children, three wives: This is why we need a population census
Resident of Quetta, 43-year-old Jan Mohammad, is expecting two more children this year.
QUETTA: A resident of Quetta, Jan Mohammad, who has fathered 33 children from three wives says he is living a happy life with his large family. "The bigger the family, the better," says 43-year-old Jan, the father of 19 daughters and 14 sons.
Jan, who considers himself "young at heart", is expecting two more baby girls this year, with one of his wives expected to deliver a daughter this week.
A doctor and trader by profession, Jan, says he cares for his children himself and the only difficulty he encounters is that he often forgets their names.
The large family lives in Quetta's eastern bypass area on the outskirts of the city, a remote neighbourhood inhabited by low-income families.
"I spend about Rs100,000 a month to educate my children," says Jan, whose children range between one and 16 years old. His favourite child is his eldest daughter, Shagufta Nasreen, who is studying in the ninth grade.
"When Papa comes home, I am the first to open the door as soon as possible so he doesn’t have to stand outside," she says with a smile.
Jan Mohammad spends about Rs100,000 a month to educate his children.
When asked about his decision to have such an unusually large family, Jan says: "I had only one brother when I was growing up, and I was very fed up with that reality. I always wanted a large family."
Jan's large family came into the media limelight when he requested multiple copies of the Form B for his children, a request which Quetta’s Deputy Commissioner rejected, deeming the number suspiciously high.
But the Quetta Metropolitan Corporation has issued birth certificates for all of Jan’s children and he has an official ration book from 1974 as an ID document,
Journalist Zofeen T. Ebrahim, who often writes on Pakistan's demography says the trend of having such large families underscores the need to have a population count.
"We're bringing too many babies in this world and there is no plan to absorb them effectively," she tells Dawn.com.
"We can't have a one-child policy so we need to think intelligently on how to bring about a change in the mindset."
She stresses the need for a census. "A census is not just knowing the numbers — it gives a window into the household and how it is living its life."
She adds, "It helps demographers understand the country's population and the direction it is taking. Their input helps in informing a government's policy towards best and most strategic ways to invest in the human capital. Without knowing how many we are, its like policy makers taking a shot in the dark and hoping they get it right."
Ebrahim feels the lack of a population census since 1998 means "we cannot make intelligent and informed decisions on how to make investments that contribute to having small, manageable and healthier families".
"We can never achieve our full potential for economic growth that comes through a demographic dividend."
...
33 children, three wives: This is why we need a population census
Resident of Quetta, 43-year-old Jan Mohammad, is expecting two more children this year.
QUETTA: A resident of Quetta, Jan Mohammad, who has fathered 33 children from three wives says he is living a happy life with his large family. "The bigger the family, the better," says 43-year-old Jan, the father of 19 daughters and 14 sons.
Jan, who considers himself "young at heart", is expecting two more baby girls this year, with one of his wives expected to deliver a daughter this week.
A doctor and trader by profession, Jan, says he cares for his children himself and the only difficulty he encounters is that he often forgets their names.
The large family lives in Quetta's eastern bypass area on the outskirts of the city, a remote neighbourhood inhabited by low-income families.
"I spend about Rs100,000 a month to educate my children," says Jan, whose children range between one and 16 years old. His favourite child is his eldest daughter, Shagufta Nasreen, who is studying in the ninth grade.
"When Papa comes home, I am the first to open the door as soon as possible so he doesn’t have to stand outside," she says with a smile.
Jan Mohammad spends about Rs100,000 a month to educate his children.
When asked about his decision to have such an unusually large family, Jan says: "I had only one brother when I was growing up, and I was very fed up with that reality. I always wanted a large family."
Jan's large family came into the media limelight when he requested multiple copies of the Form B for his children, a request which Quetta’s Deputy Commissioner rejected, deeming the number suspiciously high.
But the Quetta Metropolitan Corporation has issued birth certificates for all of Jan’s children and he has an official ration book from 1974 as an ID document,
Journalist Zofeen T. Ebrahim, who often writes on Pakistan's demography says the trend of having such large families underscores the need to have a population count.
"We're bringing too many babies in this world and there is no plan to absorb them effectively," she tells Dawn.com.
"We can't have a one-child policy so we need to think intelligently on how to bring about a change in the mindset."
She stresses the need for a census. "A census is not just knowing the numbers — it gives a window into the household and how it is living its life."
She adds, "It helps demographers understand the country's population and the direction it is taking. Their input helps in informing a government's policy towards best and most strategic ways to invest in the human capital. Without knowing how many we are, its like policy makers taking a shot in the dark and hoping they get it right."
Ebrahim feels the lack of a population census since 1998 means "we cannot make intelligent and informed decisions on how to make investments that contribute to having small, manageable and healthier families".
"We can never achieve our full potential for economic growth that comes through a demographic dividend."
...
