November 26, 2024
By Ayinde Adeleke
Russia is considering the establishment of a “ministry of sex” to tackle the country’s declining birth rate.
This initiative comes as Russian authorities are looking for ways to address President Vladimir Putin’s call to reverse the country’s demographic decline, which has been worsened by the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Nina Ostanina, head of the Russian Parliament’s Committee on Family Protection, is reviewing a petition calling for the establishment of a “ministry of sex”.
This ministry would be tasked with implementing measures to boost the country’s birth rate.
Several unusual proposals have been made to encourage higher birth rates.
These include turning off the internet and lights between 10 pm and 2 am to encourage couples to engage in intimate activities.
The Government is also considering paying stay-at-home mothers for housework, funding first dates for couples, and covering wedding-night hotel stays.
In addition to these national initiatives, some regions are implementing their own strategies.
In Khabarovsk, female students aged 18 to 23 can receive £900 for having a child, while in Chelyabinsk, the reward is £8,500 for a first-born.
Russian officials are pushing for procreation, with Anastasia Rakova, a deputy mayor and known Putin supporter, emphasizing the urgency of increasing birth rates in the country.
Yevgeny Shestopalov, a regional health minister, suggested that Russians use coffee and lunch breaks at work for “procreation”.
In Moscow, authorities have been probing into women’s personal lives as part of efforts to increase birth rates. Female public sector workers have been asked to fill out detailed questionnaires about their sexual and reproductive health.
Also, a free fertility testing program in Moscow has already been taken up by 20,000 women.
The Russian Government is exploring various options to address the country’s declining birth rate, and the establishment of a “ministry of sex” is just one of the proposals being considered.
