Muslim Two-Child Limit Has Been Proposed: A Proposal To Stunt Population Growth In Buthidaung And Maundaw

A Muslim two-child limit has been proposed by authorities in Burma's western Rakhine state.

The policy does not apply to Buddhists in the area and comes from the aftermath of sectarian violence, but the Muslim two-child limit applies to Muslim Rohingya families.

On Saturday, local officials told reporters that the Muslim two-child limit would be applied to two Rakhine townships that border Bangladesh and have the highest Muslim populations in the state. The townships, Buthidaung and Maundaw, are about 95 percent Muslim, according to The Journal.

"The population growth of Rohingya Muslims is 10 times higher than that of the Rakhine (Buddhists)," Rakhine state spokesman Win Myaing told The Journal. "Overpopulation is one of the causes of tension."

Muslims are the majority in the two townships in which the new policy applies, but they account for only about 4 percent of Burma's roughly 60 million people.

Some of the population growth has stopped due to Sectarian violonce. Sectarian violence has taken place in Burma almost a year ago and hasn't stopped in Rakhine state between the region's Rakhine Buddhists and Muslim Rohingya.

 The violence included mobs of Buddhists whom had machetes and raided thousands of Muslim homes. Hundreds of people died and roughly 125,000 were forced flee and it was mostly Muslims.

 China implemented a planned birth policy since the 1970s. Urban couples are generally limited to one child and no more than two couple for rural families.