China
21:08, 11-Jul-2017
Indonesia issues family planning incentives for men
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On World Population Day, July 11, officials in the central Java city of Yogyakarta, Indonesia are offering incentives to men who agree to undergo vasectomies. The move comes as part of a family planning program aimed at curbing high birth rates.
As the world’s fourth-most populated nation behind China, India and the US, Indonesia has been greatly affected by overpopulation, with experts calling it a crisis.
However, in a country where 90 percent of its population are Muslims, it is not easy to persuade Indonesian men to participate in any form of family planning. Agus, a resident in Yogyakarta, believed any form of contraceptives goes against the teachings of his religion.
The Yogyakarta government recently partnered with one of the country's largest Islamic organizations to convince men like Agus that contraceptives are allowed in Islam.