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| November 24, 2006 | Friday | Ziqa'ad 2, 1427 |
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Education for Afghan women
Illegal organ sales
Essence of divine guidance
The paralysis of creation
WHEN Allah told the angels that He was going to place His vicegerent on earth (the reference was to the creation of Adam), they got astonished and said: “Will You set up one who will create disorder and bloodshed on earth when we are engaged ceaselessly in Your service and glorify Your name.” Allah said “I know all that you do not know” (2:30).
THE scientist James Lovelock predicts that global warming may compel our generation to discover the sort of heroism his displayed in the war against fascism. Yet the elusive challenges of climate change won’t serve as a call to arms until we unlock our imagination from its current paralysis.
THE report of the US experts on the Karachi stock market crash of March 2005 has disappointed many who expected it to provide solid proof against major market players perceived by them to be responsible for huge investors’ losses. Yet, those closely monitoring the official response to the crash found no element of surprise in its findings. For them, the expected has happened because of the nature of the SECP’s mandate to the American firm, Diligence, to look into the facts and the circumstances underlying the mishap. Like the task force headed by Justice Saleem Akhtar, the report of the US experts has not reached any final conclusion, with its observations so qualified as to make every misdeed seem doubtful. The two reports stand testimony to the fact that the government cannot afford to lose the confidence of the capital market leaders — one good reason to keep them in good humour with the next election date round the corner.
The forensic investigation report has found “prima facie evidence of possible wrongdoing by a significant number of brokers in certain areas.” In Future contracts, as many as 2,491 cases involving 88 brokers with the net sales position exceeding the Rs50 million threshold for a single scrip have been identified. If substantiated, this, according to the US experts, could represent a serious violation of the law. Another 13 brokers trading on the Future counter have been named for “potential” breach of the Securities and Exchange Ordinance. Besides, many individuals and isolated incidents involved in “potential” violation of laws in wash trading have been mentioned. The SECP has been provided the “underlying data and analysis” for further action as required by the law. It is, however, a task beyond the competence of a toothless SECP — a regulator handicapped by lack of professional expertise. The forensic investigators admit that they did not have “sufficient evidence” to support the “paramount scheme of manipulation” in the manner put forth by the task force, by the “primary element” of withdrawal of COT financing. Elsewhere in their report they have also admitted that their work was handicapped by the quality of the data reporting process and implicitly by the low level of transparency, accountability and integrity of the capital market. The Diligence report does not subscribe to the assertion that in March 2005 “certain influential brokers, systemically and manipulatively inflated and then deflated market prices, reaping substantial profits in the process.”
Yet another intriguing aspect of the whole affair is the timing of the release of the forensic report by the government. It coincides with the launching of one billion dollar global depositary receipts by the Oil and Gas Development Corporation because the US experts have tried to impart, on the whole, a positive image to Pakistan’s capital market. While appearing sensitive to significant investor losses, the US experts have advised the investors to recognise the unique risks in security markets everywhere that come without warning or manipulation. The government, which hired the investigators, has emerged faultless in the report. One gets the impression that the report tries to impart legitimacy to the abnormal volatility in equity markets that tends to drive the small investors away. In the case of the KSE, the local investors need to realise that their risks are much greater. The market lacks depth and is more prone to speculation. In the absence of a strong mutual fund industry, it is turning into a rich man’s club. It is no place for small investors and small companies.
A REPORT in the western media that sheds light on the dismal state of women’s education in Afghanistan makes sorry reading. In a country devastated by two decades of civil strife and a foreign military invasion, the women have been the worst sufferers. Their misery was compounded by the orthodox misogynist policies adopted by the Taliban when they came to power in the mid-nineties. Women were banned from taking up jobs — many school teachers were left unemployed — and girls were not allowed to step out of their homes and attend school. With the Taliban ousted from power, many of these policies have officially changed. But unfortunately, the socio-cultural legacy of the Taliban years and the breakdown of law and order still linger on. The government may not be the oppressor now. But the male members of the family and the Taliban dissidents in the southern areas have taken it upon themselves to restrict women’s mobility and freedom by resorting to violence.
As a result, even five years after the fall of Kabul and the advent of the Karzai administration, only 15 per cent of Afghan women are literate. Data is not available for female school enrolment but it is plain that women still have a long way to go. Their uplift will not be quick, all the funds being poured into women’s education notwithstanding. It is now plain that the social development of a people, especially a badly depressed class, has to be addressed holistically. For instance, just opening schools and employing teachers will not ensure the enrolment of all girls. It is important that all men and women are made aware of the rights of women and the importance of giving them dignity, education and self-empowerment. All three are interlinked and one without the other will not make any difference to the status of women. The Afghan government claims to be working hard to eliminate domestic violence and laws are on the anvil to provide women protection against all kinds of violence. The Afghan women have fought a courageous battle for their freedom — one still recalls the role played by RAWA in the days when the Taliban ruled the roost. This struggle must go on if the Afghan women are to reach their goal of emancipation.
THE Supreme Court’s instructions to the attorney-general to provide information on whether there was any legislation to curb the unlawful organ trade in the country have put the spotlight on an issue that deserves immediate attention. The organ sale racket in Pakistan is reaching dangerous proportions as more and more poverty-stricken people offer their kidneys for sale as a last-ditch attempt to ease the burden of poverty and debt. Since the laws of their own countries forbid trade in human organs, many foreign renal patients come to Pakistan, where laws can be easily bypassed, for kidney transplants. Indeed, so lucrative is the trade for doctors and the middlemen — the actual donor is paid only a fraction of the sum — that an even more nefarious aspect of the racket is emerging: forcible extraction and by deceit where the kidney of a patient undergoing surgery is surreptitiously removed.
With poverty acute and widespread in the country, the problem can go on unless legislation on cadaver and voluntary organ donation is introduced to stem the tide of illegal sales. While our lawmakers mull over the passage of such legislation, it would be a good idea for our law-enforcers to launch an investigation to identify those hospitals and arrest those doctors and individuals engaged in such transactions. Such revelations could perhaps expedite the process of enacting a comprehensive law to curb the trade. What is also needed is an information campaign to educate people on the health risks of kidney donation and the lifetime medical costs to ensure that the remaining kidney is functioning properly. Without proper checks, illegal kidney sales in Pakistan will continue, especially as those in need of transplant face problems in finding persons willing to donate one of their kidneys to save the lives of critically ill patients.
Allah had His own scheme of things when He told the angels “I know all that you do not know”. He designed the human soul, the main animating force of all human actions, right or wrong, with three inclinations. One was the inclination towards doing wrong and evil things, termed as Nafs-i-Ammarah by the Holy Quran, exhibiting the inherent terrestrial characteristics (12:53).
The other was the inclination towards realisation and repentance i.e. to realise immediately, if one does something wrong that what he has done is wrong, and repent over it or rather reproach himself for what he has done, termed as Nafs-i-Lowwamah (75:2). The third was towards doing good and righteous deeds, termed as Nafs-i-Mutmainnah (89:27) also called the soul at peace.
Since one of the inclinations of the soul had terrestrial characteristics, there was need for exercising necessary control over it. With that object in view Allah endowed the human beings with faculties that could be of great help in the control and suppression of the inclination having terrestrial characteristic. They are: the mind (the seat of consciousness, thinking, intellect, reasoning and memorising) (16:78), the conscience i.e. the ability to make distinction between right and wrong in regard to one’s own conduct (91:8) and love and mercy (30:21).
Here, it may be explained that in the Arabic idioms the word “heart” implies mind and affection. Therefore, in the verse (16:78), the word “hearts” has to be understood to have reference to mind and affection. Besides, from the Quranic verse (32:9) which says Allah breathed some of His own spirit in the human beings it further follows that a fraction of some of the attributes of Allah might have come along with that spirit.
Being so shaped and designed what remained was the Divine guidance for the proper use and control of the said faculties which started simultaneously with the creation of Adam. When Adam was created Allah taught him the names of certain things and then asked the angels “now if you are right, tell Me the names of these things” (2:31). The angels said “O Lord, we know only that which you have taught us” (2:32). Allah then turned to Adam and said “tell Me of their names.” When Adam told their names, Allah said “did I not tell you that I know all that you reveal or conceal” (2.33). Then Allah ordered all to fall prostrate before Adam. All the angels fell prostrate except iblis (satan).
The main object of the above exercise, as may be seen, was to highlight the importance of knowledge and how much it was valued by Allah. It was knowledge that gave Adam an edge over the angels. The importance of knowledge has been highlighted by the Quran in several other ways. It is one of those attributes of Allah that has been emphasised again and again by the Quran. A large number of the Quranic verses end with the reaffirmation of this attribute in one way or another. For example it says “Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom” (4:17), “Allah is All-knowing and All-wise” (4:24) and “He embraceth all things in His knowledge” (20:98).
Knowledge was also quality of all the Prophets. For example about Moses the Quran says “when he reached his full strength and was ripe, We give him wisdom and knowledge” (28:14). About David it says “and we verily gave knowledge to David and Solomon” (27:15) and about Muhammad (peace be upon him) it says “Allah has sent down to you the Book and wisdom and taught you what you did not know” (4:113).
The Quran further says “But say O Lord, advance me in knowledge” (20:114) which in fact exhorts us to go on acquiring more and more of knowledge. The importance of knowledge is also evident from the Quranic verse which says “can those who have knowledge and those who have no knowledge ever be equal” (39:9) and the verse which says “Allah will exalt those among you who believe and have knowledge to high ranks” (58:11). The Prophet also said to go on acquiring knowledge from cradle to grave and go even to China for the acquisition of knowledge.
Acquisition of knowledge and actualisation of Taqwa were the two main elements with which the Divine guidance to the human beings started. The knowledge contemplated by the Quran means any knowledge, including the religious knowledge, that could be of benefit to mankind. Actualisation of Taqwa means that all the thoughts, feelings and actions of the person are permeated by the fear of Allah.
Knowledge broadens the scope of vision, enhances the power of insight, strengthens the effectiveness of conscience and enlarges the area of one’s activities. But all this could be of no use without Taqwa which alone can serve as the impelling force for the proper application of knowledge. Knowledge can inter alia enable one to know what right and wrong could be while Taqwa can enable one to do the right thing and get the reward (28:80).
Thus, with the aid of faculties the human beings have been endowed with, coupled with knowledge and animated by Taqwa, the human beings can be in a position not only to control and suppress the inclination of the soul have terrestrial characteristic but also to activate the other two inclinations thereof and thereby convert the terrestrial environment into heavenly environment.
Admittedly the facts are pretty paralysing. The problems before us are too massive for human intervention, too complex for the layperson, too scientific for democracy, with every way forward mired in controversy; add immobilising invocations of terrorism as background music and it’s all too tempting just to sit back, burn the patio-heater and leave the DVD on permanent standby.
Unfortunately the first casualty of this barrage of bad news is the imagination. Climate change brings on its own variant of seasonal affective disorder. The malfunctioning of the seasons, endlessly deferred autumn, muggy nights and flourishing lawns undermine our mental metabolism; like passengers after a long-haul flight, we find it hard to know where we are in time or space. And, just as flora and fauna are baffled by contradictory climatic signals, our need to envisage the future is stymied.
The result is a contraction of the horizon. How exactly do we picture a world where the stores of glacial water that feed the Indian subcontinent are gone, where Bangladesh, the Netherlands and King’s Lynn are under the sea? For the inhabitant of the Sahel, things are probably clearer - more of the same, and viciously so. In the west we play out the implausible scenario of us defending to the death our extortionate lifestyles, with token gestures at the margins. This inability to connect trauma in the biosphere with the small print of our lives stalls the necessity for radical change. For this new world will surely impose change on us if we don’t freely choose it.
Writers have a duty of a sort here: given that our collective imagination has crashed in the face of the magnitude of this crisis, and that, for all the rhetoric of David Cameron and deeds of David Miliband, the political response amounts to tinkering, we have to create stories that map this imminent future. And we must resist the temptations of apocalyptica. There is something just a little too cosy about survivalist narratives. And we have been here before: the cold war also blotted out the future, with science fiction the dominant form; indeed, our social realism may need to be closer to sci-fi than hitherto. Dramatic stories have too often dwelt on the human foreground with nature as a setting; now it’s a protagonist in its own right.
One model for us from that time is the stoical wit of Samuel Beckett. In his play Happy Days, Winnie, literally paralysed in a mound of earth by some undisclosed disaster, celebrates “another lovely day” under “blazing light”. She, like us, tinkers, admiring her toothbrush and finding solace in misremembered poetry. Her survival is predicated on a wonderfully comprehensive form of denial, a fastidious focus on the foreground. Winnie rather belies Lovelock’s hope that extraordinary times might provoke extraordinary behaviour; therein lies Beckett’s terrifying realism.
To offset Winnie’s bleak example, the anxiety-riven plays of late 19th-century naturalism offer us another role-model: Chekhov’s Dr Astrov, in Uncle Vanya, who salvages a patch of Russian forest from the ravages of development. Rather like Lovelock, Astrov is a man of deeds, a Cassandra blurting out his visionary project of reforestation to Yelena, the woman he adores. As he speaks, his hope gives way to a lament:”Almost everything has been destroyed now, and nothing yet has been created in its place.” Sadly, his listener’s indifference is all too familiar; as Astrov bitterly notes, “I see from your expression you’re not interested.”
Chekhov wasn’t facing the devastation we seem to be headed for; yet his intimation of profound environmental changes registering on the very nerve-ends of his characters still resonates. Poets, as the critic Jonathan Bate notes, have stored up the kind of eco- consciousness that might make us feel for nature rather than despoil it; dramatists, however, map the way we actually live. And the future rather depends on whether we can envisage ourselves playing the part of Winnie or Astrov. —The Guardian, London