Mullahs quote Quran in birth control push

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Some mullahs in Afghanistan are distributing condoms. Others are quoting the Quran to encourage longer breaks between births. Health experts say contraception is starting to catch on in a country with the world's second highest maternal death rate.

Afghanistan has one of the world's highest fertility rates, averaging more than six babies per woman despite years of war and a severe lack of medical care. Awareness of, and access to, contraceptives remains low among many couples, with Unicef estimating 10% of women use birth control.

But use of the pill, condoms and injected forms of birth control rose to 27% over eight months in three rural areas — up to half the women in one area — once the benefits were explained one-on-one by health workers, according to the report published on Monday in Bulletin, the World Health Organization's journal.

Quotes were used from the Quran to promote breast-feeding for two years, while local religious leaders, or mullahs, explained the importance of spacing out births.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Mullahs-quote-Quran-in-birth-control-push/articleshow/5638962.cms