Overcoming the Demographic Trap Through a Cultural Movement: Is the Economy the Prime Suspect?

Mashhad – Population aging stems less from economic challenges than from changes in lifestyle and mental beliefs, and can be checked only through a cultural movement and a shift in societal attitudes.

Ambassador Arjan - Provinces Group, Atefeh Wafaian: A child is not a name or an additional burden on the lonely shoulders of people; Rather, it is the breathing of a new spirit in the body of the age, the extension of the kind breaths of fathers and mothers, and the green bud of hope in a garden that, if left alone, will be robbed of its ruthless treasure of freshness.

Sometimes mental knots and high fences of modern expectations make us forget the most beautiful and simple meaning of living; Where fleeting and individual pleasures give way to the warmth of small and innocent hands that were supposed to illuminate bright and peaceful homes.

This is Khorasan; A safe threshold where the tired steps of the pilgrims along with the hard work of its people have become a refuge for the sprouting of hope and life. With empty hands but a heart full of faith, dozens of green leaves can be prevented from falling.

Necessity of cultural development before economic measures in the field of population

Hojjat-ul-Islam Muslim Monfared, the strategic deputy of the National Youth Assembly of the Population, while examining the various aspects of the population's youth issue in a conversation with the Mehr reporter, stated: the population's youth issue is not only related to the future of the country, but it also affects the individual and social lives of people today. The reduction of marriage, smaller families and the younger generation gradually changes family relationships, support networks and social structure; However, since the consequences of this issue appear late, today's decline in births will turn into a decline in the young population and an increase in the proportion of the elderly twenty or thirty years from now.

Referring to the need to address the real concerns and questions of the youth, including the fear of responsibility, expenses, raising children, job prospects, housing, education, and lifestyle, the strategic vice president of the National Youth Forum of Jamiat said: "People join a discourse when they feel that their problem is understood, rather than simply being given orders."

He added: Therefore, honest conversation with young people, answers to doubts, narrating the experience of successful families, producing attractive content and using the capacity of clergy, teachers, academics, media and popular groups should be at the center of cultural programs.

In response to the question why "cultivation" is emphasized even before some other actions, Monfared stated: Many policies succeed when they are associated with the general culture of the society. If economic facilities are provided, but the society believes that "fewer children means a better life" or "having children hinders the progress of men and women", economic support alone will not create sustainable change.

The strategic deputy of the National Youth Assembly of Jamiat pointed out: Of course, cultural development is not a substitute for economic support, but rather a precursor and complement to it, and the government should pursue the reform of society's attitude through cultural institutions, in addition to reducing economic and structural barriers, in order to form a comprehensive package including economic support, facilitating marriage and childbearing, reforming laws and services, and supporting mothers and fathers.

Regarding the role of seminaries and religious missionaries, he said: The issue of population has deep religious and moral roots, and missionaries should not limit themselves to giving orders to increase children, but should understand the issue of today's family and provide religious, rational and practical answers.

Emphasizing that the youth of the population should not be considered a short-term project or an occasional slogan, Monfed said: Today, the issue is what image of a desirable life we have created in the minds of the future generation; Therefore, the population is the country's human capital, which cannot be maintained by superficial measures, and requires a serious and intelligent movement to rebuild the society's attitude towards family and childbearing.

Preventing dozens of abortion cases with public support in Razavi Khorasan

Zahra Swarkar, the secretary of Jamiat Youth Assembly in Razavi Khorasan, in a conversation with Mehr reporter, referring to the activities of Jamiat Youth Assembly in Razavi Khorasan, stated: Our approach during this period has relied more on the activation of people's capacities; So that each person and group has undertaken a mission according to their ability. In this regard, the capacity of preachers in the pulpits and the production of rich contents of the National Assembly of Population Activists have been exploited, and even religious poets and hymns have explained this issue by producing population poems in popular gatherings and circles.

Referring to the support challenges after the martyrdom of President Ayatollah Seyed Ebrahim Raisi, the secretary of Jamiat Youth Assembly in Khorasan, Razavi added: despite the reduction of governmental support, valuable measures have been taken by relying on people's capacities and the help of benefactors and founders. Among these measures is the use of endowments with the intention of having a family and having children; In such a way that with the cooperation of the General Department of Endowments, the project "Finishing the Qur'an" and "Prayer and Fasting for rent" was implemented by people's groups and religious women, and its costs are spent in order to meet the essential needs of pregnant mothers and needy families.

Referring to one of the most important measures of this assembly, he stated: One of our main priorities is immediate support for pregnancies during marriage to prevent abortion. By financially supporting these couples and providing necessary items and dowry, while helping to form and strengthen the family, decades of abortions are prevented every year, and this trend has increased in recent months.

Swarkar pointed to special measures in the cities and outskirts of Mashhad and said: explanatory meetings and public gatherings have been held in different areas of Mashhad and cities such as Neishabor and Golbahar. The result of this correct explanation is a change in the attitude of the elite and the general public, and in recent months, several positive pregnancy cases have been reported among elite women who were single children for years.

The secretary of Jamiat Jamiat in Khorasan, Razavi, said regarding the effect of welfare and education on childbearing: If managers in administrative and work environments have a positive and supportive view of working mothers, not only continuing education and employment will not be an obstacle to childbearing, but it will also help to promote it.

He pointed to the capacity of the pilgrims of the shrine attributed to Saman al-Hajj (a.s.) and said: With the support of the Astan Quds Razavi and the implementation of projects such as "Mother's Glory" and the sending of crowd activists to the accommodation of pilgrims during the peak travel and martyrdom days of Imam Reza (a.s.), face-to-face consultations and the distribution of content packages with contact numbers for follow-up are carried out, and this continuous communication has brought very positive results.

Criticizing the performance of some managers of the institutions in the field of youth, Swarkar noted: Unfortunately, some of our managers have not yet opened the mental knot regarding the issue of population, and some of them shirk the burden of responsibility under the pretext of living conditions. Managers are expected to act as a role model by providing practical support to working women and taking into account privileges and job security for parents with third and fourth children, so that the concerns of employees in this field are resolved and we see a significant growth of demographic indicators.

Iran's demographic window is about to close

Hojjatul Islam Abdulhamid Sadeghi, a writer and researcher in the field of family, in a conversation with Mehr reporter, referring to the serious and frequent concerns of the Martyr of the Revolution about the vital issue of the decline in the youth of the population, stated: the worrying issue of the decline in the youth of the population is one of the most important concerns of today's society, and the reason for its importance is the gradual closing of the "demographic window" in Iran.

This author and family researcher explained the ratio of active and dependent population in society and added: In every society, people are divided into two groups: active population (ages 15 to 64) and dependent population (children under 15 and people over 65). Currently, the ratio of active to dependent population is around 43-44%; That is, for every 100 people of working age, about 44 people are in dependent groups, and this means more consumption than work.

He stated: If we consider the situation for the next 20 years, the dependency rate will reach 60%; This means that 100 people will work and 160 people will be consumers. This situation puts heavy pressure on pension funds, healthcare system, kindergartens, schools, insurance companies and the subsidy sector, and an aging society will work less and produce less wealth, science, power and military power.

Sadeghi said about the barriers to having children: Although economic issues such as housing, future security, heavy education costs from infant formula to university, and the competitive labor market are among the main factors, the claim that the economy is the only factor is not complete and scientific; Because some countries with lower per capita income have higher fertility rates. Therefore, cultural and psychological issues also play a very important role.

The author and researcher in the family field considered the crisis of meaning to be one of these obstacles and said: Many couples today consider childbearing to be equal to sacrificing their progress, peace and personal life, and they see the child not as a "blessing" but as a "burden" and an obstacle. The second obstacle is the "gap between expectation and reality"; High expectations to provide modern and expensive facilities such as non-profit schools, separate rooms, special toys and educational classes, unlike in previous decades when lives were simpler, have prevented young people from becoming independent to have children.

He mentioned "changing the pattern of happiness" as the third obstacle and added: In a society where individual pleasures such as travel, entertainment and consumerism prevail over collective pleasures such as family, children and empathy, people lose the motivation to produce generations. Therefore, both the officials and the people should take action in order to save the country from the population aging crisis, both in the field of having children and also in removing its economic and cultural obstacles.