In Afghanistan, imams are risking their lives to preach birth control in mosques

In Afghanistan, women's health is intimately tied to birth control — or, more frequently, lack of contraception. The country has the highest infant mortality rate in Asia, and 1 out of every 50 Afghan women die of pregnancy-related causes, The Guardian reports. The Taliban forbids use of condoms and other forms of contraception, and many husbands forbid their wives from giving birth in a hospital, much less practicing birth control. Because of the threats, customs, and lack of eduction, only 22 percent of Afghan families use contraception.

Five years ago, the United Nations Population Fund and Marie Stopes International (MSI) realized that the best way to expand access to women's health was by educating men at their mosques. Since then, MSI has tried to set up partnerships with 6,000 imams and their wives, and their joint efforts prevented 1,646 unintended pregnancies in 2014, the NGO says, up from 199 five years earlier. "Last year MSI even noticed the wives of local Taliban members coming into the clinic for consultations," says The Guardian's Maeva Bambuck.

The imams, as well as women who work at the health clinics, are putting their lives at risk, especially now that the Taliban is back on the offensive. "Imams like myself disappear and no one asks about them," says Mansour Mahsoom, one of the clerics who promotes birth control at his mosque, using scripture to argue that Islam allows contraception. Hear more from Mashoom, and learn more about the push to bring condoms to Afghanistan, in the video below. Peter Weber

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