Although it is a woman’s right to have a child, many women are not aware of it. They have no clear knowledge about this, no idea about their rights. As a result, health risks are increasing due to unawareness including giving birth to more children. Analysts believe that this is mainly due to patriarchal society and lack of awareness and indifference towards women’s rights.

According to the “Bangladesh Maternal Mortality and Health Care Survey”, the maternal mortality rate in Bangladesh decreased from 322 to 194 per 100,000 live births between 2001 and 2010. Of these, the mortality rate is higher when giving birth to more than two children. According to the Bangladesh Maternal Mortality and Healthcare Survey in 2016, 196 mothers died in childbirth for every one lakh children. According to a 2010 survey, more than two lakh mothers die per lakh.

However, the resource kit was released in 2016 from the Department of Family Planning denying the information and statements of this survey report. It is said here that the maternal mortality rate in the country is 170 per lakh children. This number is not very low. No further surveys have been conducted since 2016. It is not clear why this indifference is such an important issue. Analysts say many women do not know what their rights are. The role of mother in childbirth is most important. But the decision to give birth to that child or not is in the hands of men. The woman is just a lamp to fulfill the wishes of her husband or in-laws. This image is more common in villages than in cities. A woman is repeatedly pregnant in the hope of having a son. But he has no desire. Not enough treatment. Women are treated like robots. Men set the program here and women follow it. As a result, women’s health risk is increasing, maternal mortality rate is not decreasing.

Women’s silence on sexual and reproductive health increases her health risks. Her husband or in-laws decide how many children a woman will have or how many years she will have children. Even during pregnancy, a woman cannot decide for herself where to seek treatment, whether to take any treatment at all, or whether to go to the hospital. Women are still considered second class citizens in the society. Analysts think that such thinking is the main reason for underestimating women’s decision to have children.

The women of the society are only women, as human beings they have no control over their own body and psychology, here the decision of the husband is all. Women are not aware of reproductive health. Women need to know their rights. Only then will it be possible to reduce maternal mortality and women’s health risks, analysts say. Everyone, including analysts, expects that good day to come.

-Umme Kulsum