Demographics have worried kings, politicians, and even philosophers as early as the Greek Republics. Population policy is an important lever to balance short-term goals with long-term economic growth, prosperity, and power, as well as social and environmental sustainability.
The revolutionary governments in Iran initially reversed the pre-1979 family planning policies of the previous regime. But, in the early 1990s, Iran reversed its course and implemented one of the most successful family planning schemes by international standards, reducing fertility rates from 6.2 to 1.9. Now, three decades later, Iran is making another U-turn, with a policy to mitigate the graying of its population in decades to come. A host of measures, some highly controversial, have been put in place together with a generous budget and the establishment of a campaign headquarters to induce families to have more children. Is this objective justified? And will the measures taken be acceptable to the people, or be effective? This topic will be discussed by a panel of experts.
Speakers:
Nadereh Chamlou
Former Senior Advisor, The World Bank, and current Nonresident Senior Fellow, the Atlantic Council
Firoozeh Kashani-Sabet
Walter H. Annenberg Professor of History, University of Pennsylvania, and Author of “Conceiving Citizens, Women and the Politics of Motherhood in Iran”
Farzaneh Roudi
Former Director, Middle East & North Africa, The Population Reference Bureau
Alex Vatanka, moderator
Director of Iran Program and Senior Fellow, Frontier Europe Initiative, The Middle East Institute
Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images
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