Tanzania’s President John Magufuli has asked the Tanzanian women to sieze from taking birth control pills, saying the country needs more people.
In his statement he said, “Women can now give up contraceptive methods.”
Mr Magufuli made his comments at a rally on Sunday in the northern Meatu district, saying people who use family planning methods were lazy, the local Citizen newspaper quoted him as saying.
He further said, “They do not want to work hard to feed a large family. And that is why they opt for births controls and end up with one or two children only.”
In addition the President said, “I have travelled to Europe and elsewhere and have seen the harmful effects of birth control. Some countries are now facing declining population growth.”
However not all are in agreement with the President, Opposition Member of Parliament Cecil Mwambe has criticised the comments, saying they contradicted the country’s health policy.
She further said that if President Magufuli wanted his comments to be taken seriously, he should change the health insurance scheme to cover 10 children instead of the current four per family
The day after Mr Magufuli’s contraceptive comment the speaker of parliament Job Ndugai has now gone ahead and banned female MPs from wearing fake nails and eye-lashes in parliament.
Speaker Ndugai has claimed that the ban is for “health” reasons.The new regulations also ban women MPs from wearing short dresses and jeans. Female visitors to parliament will also be expected to adhere to the dress code.
Mr Magufuli made similar comments in 2016. After the launch of free primary and secondary education, he said “Women can now throw away their contraceptives. Education is now free.”
He has proposed several controversial policies since he was elected in 2015.
Last year he proposed that pregnant schoolgirls be blocked from resuming their education after giving birth.