PAKISTAN’S population debate usually focuses on numbers, fertility rates and family planning services. One critical factor remains largely overlooked. That missing link is women empowerment. Pakistan is the world’s fifth most populous country, with over 240 million people. Population growth continues putting pressure on public infrastructure and facilities.

Governments have repeatedly intro-duced population policies and family planning programmes, but progress has remained slower than expected. The problem is not population alone. The real challenge is unequal opportunities for women. Population planning cannot succeed without strengthening women’s rights, choices and decision-making power.

Women often lack the authority to decide matters related to education, employment, marriage and healthcare, including reproductive health. Many cannot freely decide family size or birth spacing. These limitations reduce the effectiveness of population planning initiatives.

Population planning should, therefore, move beyond contraceptive distribution and awareness campaigns. It should address the social conditions shaping reproductive choices. Education is the strongest population policy available. Educated women better understand reproductive health and family planning information. Economic empowerment produces similar benefits. Working women gain greater financial independence and household decision-making authority.

Access to quality reproductive health-care remains equally important. Women need affordable, respectful and confiden-tial health services. Family planning succeeds when services protect informed choice and reproductive rights.

Early marriages continue undermining Pakistan’s demographic and development goals. Girls marrying young often leave school permanently. Early pregnancies further increase health risks for mothers and their newborn children. Gender-based violence also restricts women’s autonomy and wellbeing seriously. Violence limits mobility, education, employment and healthcare access. Population planning cannot ignore these persistent structural barriers.

Global evidence shows that countries investing in girls’ education and women’s empowerment experience lower fertility rates. They also achieve lower maternal mortality and healthier child development. Pakistan can learn from these experiences without abandoning cultural or religious values. Empowering women strengthens families rather than weakening them. Healthy, educated mothers raise healthier, educated and more productive generations.

The country should shift from population control towards people-centred population planning. Policies should expand women’s capabilities instead of merely reducing fertility rates. This approach creates sustainable demographic change while protecting human dignity.

Governments should prioritise girls’ education, women’s employment, repro- ductive healthcare and protection from child marriages. Investments in childcare, safe transportation and workplace equality also support women’s economic parti-cipation. These interventions simultan-eously advance both gender equality and demographic sustainability.

Reliable gender-disaggregated data should guide future population policies. Evidence-based planning enables govern-ments to identify regional disparities and allocate resources effectively. Better data also strengthens accountability and policy evaluation. Population planning should become every sector’s responsibility. Education, health, labour, social protection, local government and finance departments must collaborate. Sustainable demographic outcomes require coordinated public policy rather than isolated programmes.

Pakistan’s demographic future depends less on controlling population numbers and more on expanding opportunities for its women. When women exercise informed choices, families become healthier and communities become more prosperous. Population stabilisation then becomes a natural outcome instead of a policy target. The missing link in Pakistan’s population planning happens to be neither technology nor funding. It is women empowerment.

M. Waheed Iqbal
Lahore

Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2026