Children play at a kindergarten in Hotan, Xinjiang. (LIU XIN/CHINA NEWS SERVICE)
Sheng Juan, head of the Kashgar prefecture hospital's gynecology department, said Uygur women, especially those from rural areas, have clearly become more independent and know the importance of love.
"In the past, they were dependent on their husbands, but had little say in family issues such as having children. Now, women have more opportunities and can support themselves by finding employment. They also know they can make their own decisions, so it's only natural that their views on having children have changed," Sheng said.
Li Xiaoxia, a special researcher at the Xinjiang Development Research Center, said the birthrate and population growth rate in Xinjiang fell from 1.59 percent and 1.14 percent respectively in 2017 to 1.07 percent and 0.61 percent in 2018, mainly because people's views on marriage and having children changed after religious extremism in the region was effectively dealt with.
"As society progresses, the transition of the Uygur population has been achieved more by its own choice and autonomy, rather than through policy guidance and external forces. These changes did not happen suddenly, but were a gradual process," said Li, who has been researching shifts in the region's population.
For some time, it was difficult to promote and implement family planning policy in southern Xinjiang, including Kashgar, Hotan and Aksu prefectures. This led to rapid population growth in areas with large Uygur populations.
Influenced by religious extremism, some people chose to "get married" simply by holding religious ceremonies. They were also told by extremists that marriage certificates issued by the government were illegal and that terminating pregnancy was the practice of "kafirs", or heretics.
Li said: "The extremists also incited locals to resist the family planning policy, saying those who practice contraception are seen as heretics. This resulted in early marriages, bigamy and many unplanned births."
