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Jammu and Kashmir Legislator Proposes Bill Amid Falling Fertility
Waheed Para, a lawmaker from the Peoples Democratic Party, has proposed a new Bill for Jammu and Kashmir.
He says the region is having fewer babies than before.
The Bill says there are about 1.4 children per woman, while about 2.1 are needed to keep the population stable.
It does not ask the government to force anyone to marry or have children.
Instead, it would try to remove problems that make family choices difficult.
These problems include financial pressure, poor healthcare, lack of menstrual products and interruptions to girls’ education.
The Bill also addresses sex selection, PCOS, pregnancy care and children’s health.
Its stated goal is to protect women’s rights while helping families make free and informed choices.
PDP legislator Waheed Para has submitted the ‘Ma-Beti aur Aane Wali Naslein Bachao Bill’ during the Monsoon Session.
The Bill cites a total fertility rate of around 1.4 children per woman in Jammu and Kashmir, below the replacement level of 2.1.
It proposes voluntary, rights-based and non-coercive measures rather than requiring women to marry, conceive or have a specific number of children.
The proposed legislation seeks stronger enforcement against sex selection and support for menstrual health, reproductive healthcare, maternal care and child health.
It also calls for free sanitary products, reproductive-health education, PCOS awareness, continued education for girls and support for families raising children.
- Who
- Waheed Para, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) legislator, submitted the Bill.
- What
- The ‘Ma-Beti aur Aane Wali Naslein Bachao Bill’ proposes voluntary measures to address falling fertility and strengthen reproductive, maternal and child healthcare.
- Where
- Jammu and Kashmir.
- When
- During the ongoing Monsoon Session.
- Why
- To address the long-term effects of below-replacement fertility while removing economic, educational, healthcare and social barriers to informed reproductive choices.
Key facts
- Proposed by
- Waheed Para, Peoples Democratic Party legislator
- Bill name
- ‘Ma-Beti aur Aane Wali Naslein Bachao Bill’
- Jammu and Kashmir fertility rate
- Around 1.4 children per woman
- Replacement-level fertility
- Conventionally 2.1 children per woman
- India’s national average
- 1.9 children per woman, according to Para’s statement
- Core approach
- Voluntary, rights-based and non-coercive measures
- Key proposals
- Menstrual hygiene, reproductive-health education, PCOS awareness, maternal and child healthcare, and support for families raising children
Quotes
Waheed Para
Peoples Democratic Party legislator from Jammu and Kashmir
“Jammu and Kashmir is vanishing, and it has nothing to do with politics. Our fertility rate has collapsed to 1.4 children per woman. It is among the lowest in India. Even India’s national average of 1.9 sits below the replacement level, but we are sinking faster than anyone.”
indianexpress.com
“Late marriages, mass voluntary bachelorhood, rising divorce, crushing financial pressure, and rising infertility are gutting the next generation before it’s even born.”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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