In crowded camps, Rohingya refugees embrace birth control

By Agence France-Presse

Dec 03, 2022 12:10 am

KUTUPALONG, Bangladesh: Rohingya cleric Abdur Rashid still believes children are divine gifts, but life in a Bangladeshi refugee camp with six little mouths to feed has left him and his wife unwilling to accept another heavenly blessing.

Earlier this year, his wife Nosmin asked doctors to fit her with a contraceptive implant, a decision that cultural norms among the persecuted and largely Muslim minority would have rendered unthinkable a few years ago.

PRACTICAL CHOICE In this picture taken on Aug. 11, 2022, a health worker (right) performs a checkup on a Rohingya refugee at a maternity ward of a medical center in Kutupalong refugee camp in Ukhia. Roughly two-thirds of Rohingya couples are now using some form of birth control — up from virtually none five years ago, according to figures from the UN refugee agency. AFP PHOTO

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