Can cinema help Egypt’s overpopulation problem?
With the 2017 census raising discussion of overpopulation in Egypt, a debate has ensued on whether movies have and can help create awareness of the need for family planning?
In announcing the results of Egypt's 2017 census on Sept. 30, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi also identified major issues surrounding the population that has grown past 100 million: early marriage, insufficient housing and, most important, overpopulation. He said, “We must face these flaws in society in collaboration with civil society and media.” His reference to the media gave newspapers and websites the green light to analyze the potential of the media as well as the film industry in confronting overpopulation in the country.
Masr al-Arabia published an article Sept. 30 criticizing the media’s role in fighting overpopulation, quoting several experts who claimed that the media's approach to the issue is to please the government by paying lip service to family planning rather than promoting societal change by actually educating the public about concrete, specific measures to take.
