"Two is enough," Egypt tells poor families as population booms
SOHAG, Egypt - Nesma Ghanem is hoping for a fourth child even though her doctor says her body can't handle a pregnancy at the moment. She has three daughters and would like them to have a brother.
"In the future he could support his father and the girls," said Ghanem, 27, who lives in a village in Sohag, an area with one of Egypt's highest fertility rates.
The family depends on her husband's income from a local cafe. "If I have a son people, here in the village can say that he will carry on his father's name," she said.
As Egypt's population heads towards 100 million, the government is trying to change the minds of people like Ghanem. "Two Is Enough" is the government's first family-planning campaign aiming to challenge traditions of large families in rural Egypt. But Ghanem's wish to have a son shows how hard that could be.
