Antara, Jakarta – Head of Indonesia's National Population and Family Planning Agency or BKKBN, Hasto Wardoyo, sought to clarify his previous statement about each woman having one daughter, which was misinterpreted and sparked a stir.

Hasto denied ever mandating that a woman have one daughter. "I didn't say that a woman must have one daughter. I didn't say that. I said that on average, it is expected that one woman will have one daughter," Hasto said on Sunday, July 7, 2024, after speaking at a stunting eradication event in Magelang.

"If a family in front of my house has two daughters and a family behind my house has no daughters, then that's fine," Hasto added.

He emphasized that his intention was to promote balanced population growth. "The BKKBN's role is to maintain population stability. If a sub-district has 5,000 women today, and that number drops to 4,500 in ten years, the population will decline because women are the ones who get pregnant and give birth," he said.

"That's what average means. Don't translate it as a mandate for every woman to have a daughter," he reiterated.

Indonesia's family planning journey

Indonesia's Family Planning program, known as KB (Keluarga Berencana), has been in place since the 1950s when the national population growth rate of 2.12% outpaced the global average of 2.06%.

Driven by a desire to reduce high maternal and infant mortality rates, a group of doctors formed the Indonesian Family Planning Association (PKBI) and spearheaded the KB movement.

The movement, however, encountered roadblocks. Articles 283 and 534 of the Criminal Code, prohibiting the demonstration of contraceptive devices, hindered their efforts.

Fortunately, a shift came with the rise of the New Order government. Recognizing the importance of family planning, the government established the National Family Planning Institute, the forerunner of today's BKKBN (National Population and Family Planning Board).

President Soeharto's administration, facing a further surge in birth rates, reaching 2.71% in the 1970s, made family planning a national priority. To encourage smaller families, the government offered free access to contraceptives such as intrauterine devices (IUDs) and birth control pills. This initiative proved successful in curbing population growth.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1888833/bkkbn-denies-mandating-each-woman-to-have-one-daughte