Can cinema help Egypt’s overpopulation problem?

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. 

The results of the census, which was carried out by 40,000 young men and women and with a budget of 800 million Egyptian pounds ($45.4 million), put the population of Egypt at 104 million as of mid-2017. The annual rate of population increase from 2007 to 2017 was 2.56%, higher than the previous decade's rate of 2.04% and representing a steep rise.

Overpopulation and problems associated with it, such as higher costs of living and uncontrolled urbanization, have long been on the agenda of the Egyptian cinema, along with issues that are hampering the lowering of birth rates, such as a rejection of birth control. The film industry addressed the issue of overpopulation for the first time decades ago in “Mother Bride” (1963), which revolves around a father so burdened with taking care of his large family that he embezzles money. The sequel, “The Grandson” (1975), is about two daughters in the family who use birth control despite pressure from their mother and friends to have as many children as possible in as little time as possible.