As a first step, Pakistan must make reproductive health services, including family planning, accessible to these women through the primary health-care system without delay. Decentralized management accountable to local authorities rather than a centralized bureaucracy will be a step in the right direction. Users and potential users need information and education about reproductive health and family planning, which will further increase demand for services. To meet the growing demand we must involve not only the government services but women, women's organizations, and other groups. We must promote men's participation in reproductive health programmes and insist that they assume responsibility for their sexual and reproductive behaviour.
Education is important for everyone, but it has a special significance for women.
Education empowers women in multiple ways. Educated women know their rights and have the confidence to claim them. Closing the gender gap in education must be a first priority. Many Muslim countries have based a successful population policy on that understanding. Pakistan should be prepared to do it too.