Yet more inflation

INFLATION in Pakistan continues to set new records. According to the Federal Bureau of Statistics, the Consumer Price Index — which reflects roughly the changes in the cost of living of urban areas — rose 24.83 per cent in July and August over the corresponding period in 2007. To put this in perspective, in the same July-August period in 2007 the CPI rose 6.41 per cent over 2006. What this means is a nearly four-fold increase in inflation within a year. And the numbers seem to suggest that worse is to yet come. In July, the CPI rose 24.33 over July 2007; in August, the CPI rose 25.83 over August 2007. This rising trend will be compounded by the fact that the ongoing month of Ramazan has seen a further spike in prices.

Most worrying in the short-term is the price of food essentials. In August, the price of perishable and non-perishable food items rose by more than 35 per cent over August 2007. A large portion of this food inflation is no doubt driven by higher input costs, including the 40 per cent increase in transport and communications costs in August. However, daily news reports suggest that there is also an element of profiteering involved — unscrupulous elements are hoarding, smuggling and overcharging and little seems to be done to clamp down on these illegal activities. Worse yet, there is no relief in sight in the medium-term. Non-food and non-energy core inflation rose 16 per cent in August, whereas in August 2007 it rose by only six per cent over the same month in 2006. What this suggests is that inflation is not merely spiking seasonally around the month of Ramazan but has settled on a high — very high — sustained path.

The policy options for dealing with the inflation crisis are not very appetising. The State Bank is likely to further increase its discount rate later this month, which will be greeted with dismay by businesses already groaning under the high cost of borrowing. On the fiscal side, the government will be under severe pressure to reduce its expenditure. Notwithstanding the pledge by the president — and earlier by the prime minister — of belt-tightening in Islamabad and reducing the cost of running the government, the deepest cuts are likely to be seen in the development sector. Already Rs100bn has been taken away from the PSDP and disbursements in the first quarter have been heavily scaled back. The one bright spot is that international oil prices have fallen dramatically in recent days as fears of a weak global economy have kept oil hovering around $100 a barrel. The government must overcome its reluctance to give up the resultant revenue windfall and pass on the maximum benefit to consumers.

Misuse of vet drugs

THE ongoing crackdown against hundreds of rural clinics in Punjab over the use of veterinary drugs for the treatment of humans has drawn attention to an abuse of public health that has arisen as much from the unethical practices of medical practitioners and quacks as from the ignorance of the general public. The latter, in many cases, has little choice but to go to these clinics for treatment. The fact that numerous clinics have been sealed, in particular in Rawalpindi and Attock districts, and many others have had cases filed against them in the drug courts since August indicates the extent of the problem. Indeed, the situation represents not only the potential harm such drugs can inflict on unsuspecting patients, it is also a slur on the medical profession. It is unprofessional conduct for a veterinarian to provide medical treatment to people and to prescribe or dispense drugs labelled for veterinary use only. It is just as unethical, in fact downright criminal, for registered medical practitioners to prescribe or dispense animal drugs to people because they are cheaper and often stronger than the drugs meant for human use.

In 2005, the Drugs Control Organisation of the health ministry had identified 13 veterinary drugs — all in vial form — that were most commonly used for human treatment by quacks and irresponsible medical practitioners. With the exception of one, an anti-inflammatory pain-relieving drug that has been banned for humans in the developed countries since the 1990s, the rest — mostly antibiotics, anti-inflammatory and anti-histamine drugs, vitamin B preparations, a local anaesthetic and distilled water — are similar to those sold for human use and usually for the same purpose. Despite this, using preparations intended for animals on humans can have serious side effects because they are prepared in different concentrations, are made by different manufacturers and are likely to be less pure than those marketed for people. However, a one-time crackdown on culprit clinics, like the current campaign in Rawalpindi and Attock districts, is unlikely to stamp out the abuse permanently and can only temporarily disrupt the practices of illegal operators. Any effective measure to curtail the misuse of veterinary drugs will not only have to include the formation of a body to track and punish this crossover use of animal preparations. It will also have to promote a campaign to raise awareness among the public and healthcare workers, especially in the rural areas, about the dangers of quacks and medicines which are meant for animals.

KESC: a failed entity

KARACHI’S electricity crisis may have gone beyond a joke, but KESC officials say light-heartedly that if the power demand continues to outstrip the supply at the current rate of 300 megawatts a year, the power company will soon be able to announce a load-shedding schedule: most localities will get electricity only once a week. And analysts believe that the sole reason for the sorry state of affairs in the KESC was its ill-executed privatisation almost three years ago. The KESC privatisation was touted as the panacea for the city’s power woes by the previous government. A private management, ran the argument, would operate the loss-making power company efficiently, generate more electricity, cut down on power theft, invest in the creakingly old transmission and distribution system, and, above all, be more responsive to consumers’ complaints. Nothing of the sort happened.

Three years on, the company that took over the KESC from the government has palmed it off to another company. The new management is reported to have been in talks with the government for a zero-liability balance sheet. The new owners of the KESC have no qualms of conscience about generating less electricity than they can to save on costly fuel. Electricity from the independent power producers is purchased only during the peak demand hours. New power connections are not being issued despite the fact that applicants are reported to have deposited Rs900m. Transmission and distribution losses, which include power pilferage, still stand at around 35 per cent. The quantum of average and supplementary billing — two convenient ways of increasing revenues — is unchanged. Most importantly, the privatised KESC managements have not been able to add a single megawatt to their generation capacity. Since a tariff row between the KESC and Wapda has remained unresolved — with the former complaining of being overcharged and the latter upset about rising outstanding dues — Wapda no longer supplies to the KESC the amount of electricity it used to in the past. As a consequence, the citizens spend longer hours without electricity. The irony is that the power crisis — if not sorted out promptly — may only aggravate.

OTHER VOICES - North American Press

Welcome move on Afghan exit

The Toronto Star

JUST six months ago, Prime Minister Stephen Harper was lobbying parliament to extend Canada’s military role in Afghanistan past 2009. And, vowing Canada will never “cut and run”, he has always balked at setting a firm exit date.

Now, in the opening days of a federal election, Harper has abruptly signalled that the troops will be home in 2011. Why the change?

By 2011 our troops will have been there 10 years. Our casualties are nearing the 100 mark. And concern was growing that Harper had a “hidden agenda” to extend the mission yet again once the election was safely behind him.

Back on March 13, parliament voted that “Canada will end its presence in Kandahar … by December 2011”, which was widely read as leaving open the door to a possible redeployment of our 2,500 troops elsewhere in Afghanistan. No longer. Harper has moved to disarm his critics and win as many Quebec votes as he can by locking in a 2011 exit, as Liberal leader Stéphane Dion had previously urged.

The Afghan insurgency shows no sign of abating. Barack Obama talks of sending 10,000 more troops. John McCain seeks “a lot more help” from allies. Both would want Canada to stay.

Like Jean Chrétien’s prudent refusal to join the Iraq invasion, Ottawa’s answer may define the character of Canada-US relations for the next presidency. But bowing out now will be easier.

The next prime minister, be it Harper or Dion, will not be able to break faith with the electorate and retain any credibility, now that both men are running on a commitment to pull out by 2011.

This early signal gives American policymakers time to take note of our intentions, and it should encourage allies to step up to the plate. It also puts Afghan President Hamid Karzai on notice to build up his army and police with some urgency.

From day one, Canada’s modest aim in Afghanistan was to help Karzai’s elected government establish itself by preventing the Taliban from toppling it. And Afghans want foreign troops out as soon as possible.

By 2011, Canada will have trained 3,000 Afghan troops, restored a key dam and built schools. By then we will have invested an estimated $10bn in military and development aid, and we will have taken many casualties. Few countries have done more. There will be no shame in bringing home the troops. — (Sept 12)

Gender bias in language

IN recent times the focus of questions in language and gender research has been shifted from language spoken by women to language spoken about women. This shift raises questions about the politics of representation constructed largely with the help of language.

Dale Spender’s book Man Made Language (1985) offers an intriguing thesis that, like other forms of culture, men have controlled language and as a result one can see more positive words for males with a lot more opportunities to use them.

Since language is a powerful tool to construct social reality with, women, by the use of sexist language, are being dubbed as inferior and deviant. The perpetuation of this negative representation of women takes place in diverse situations through multiple modes. The process of validation in social institutions ‘confirms’ the inferior female status to the extent that a large number of women start viewing themselves in negative colours.

If language is a vital force in constructing, validating and perpetuating the differences, can language reform play a role in reducing the gender gap? One group of linguists, researchers and practitioners endorses this idea. They believe that it is important to get rid of gendered expressions and create new words, terms, and expressions which are not biased against any gender.

There are two simple reasons for avoiding the use of gendered language. First, as we use gendered language we, in fact, own it and validate its gendered messages. Second, the more we use these gendered expressions, the more we engage ourselves in strengthening these messages. According to Austin, we do things by using language. This suggests that language itself is involved in performing things, in this case gender. This concept is further clarified by Judith Butler (Gender Trouble) when she suggests that repetitive expressions construct gendered bodies.

The more we use gendered language, the more we realise that sexist impressions turn into ‘natural’ and ‘common sense’ and become part of the psyche of a society. There have been some efforts to reform language. For instance, the title ‘Mr’ is used for men whether they are married or unmarried, the suggested title for women is ‘Ms’, irrespective of their marital status. This, to some extent, addresses the problem of the mandatory revelation of marital status through the use of ‘Miss’ or ‘Mrs’.

In case of the use of the generic masculine pronoun for both men and women, it is suggested one writes s/he. This problem can also be tackled by using the plural expression.

Discriminatory job titles were revised by the US Department of Labour. These alternatives, given in parenthesis, were an attempt to combat ageism and sexism: airline steward, stewardess (flight attendant); foreman (supervisor), salesman (salesperson), signalman (signaller), watchman (guard), fireman (firefighter), chairman (chairperson, chair).

But this language reform agenda should not confine itself to surface level changes, it should also tap the intentions of expression. For instance, we need to revisit the sayings and proverbs which are so commonly used in daily life situations as ‘logical evidence’ from the repertoire of folk wisdom. A number of these sayings and proverbs are biased against women. Similarly, jokes about women are also based on gendered stereotypes. Likewise in a number of Hindi/Urdu songs women are defined only in terms of their physical beauty and are presented as an object of display. There is a need to challenge these gendered stereotypes through our social institutions, e.g. families, educational institutions, judiciary and the media. Such sayings, jokes and songs need to be discouraged at all levels.

The conservative school of thought, however, takes a contemptuous view of language reform and dismisses any such initiative. Some self-concocted examples of language reform are presented for the purpose of ridicule. For instance Manchester where ‘Man’ needs to be replaced as it is ‘sexist’.

The radical approach of feminists also shows reservations about language reform for different reasons. The feminists believe that language reform at the vocabulary level is of not much use as the problem is much deeper. According to the radical school of thought, the whole language system is andocentric and bringing about change in just some expressions is of little use.

One school of thought believes that gender differences in real society should be reduced. Once gender equality is achieved, linguistic gender biases would be automatically taken care of. This viewpoint seems convincing but the underlying assumption is that language is a passive phenomenon which is not involved in action but subjected to action.

Language, on the contrary, is a highly political phenomenon and, far from being a passive and neutral tool of communication, is actively involved in the construction of social reality. Dale Spender rightly suggests that, “As more meanings change and the sexist semantic rule is weakened; as the society and the sexist semantic rule change so will more meanings change without deliberate intervention. To concentrate on either word meanings or social organisations, to the exclusion of the other, is to invite failure.”

A more holistic approach is to avoid the either/or distinction and work at both fronts, i.e. social equality in real society and linguistic equality through language reform at the same time.

The writer is director of the Centre for Humanities and Social Sciences at the Lahore School of Economics and author of Rethinking Education in Pakistan.

Email:shahidksiddiqui@yahoo.com

Early voting in US

AFTER almost two years of campaigning, the US election is arriving with a rush. Although there are 52 days left until the November 4 poll, the first of the ballot booths will open next Friday in Virginia for early voting.

Other states will follow soon after; 36 of the 50 are offering the opportunity to vote early, either in person or by post.

The expansion of early voting is posing a dilemma for the campaign teams, with decisions having to be made about whether to time ads and rallies to coincide with them or whether to delay drives until nearer November 4.

With 30 per cent or more of the electorate predicted to vote early, the Barack Obama and John McCain campaigns are in overdrive.

Early voting will have a “tremendous” impact on the campaign, said Professor Paul Gronke at Reed College in Portland, Oregon and director of the university’s early voting information centre.

He said that instead of one big bang on November 4, the weeks to come would be like Groundhog Day for the campaign teams, replaying election day over and over again.

“People tend to vote on Fridays and Mondays, so you have to time events for that. You have to get the ads out at the right time. For campaigns, it is raising the costs,” he said.

The concertina effect on the campaign is already forcing changes in campaign strategy, with signs that Obama is having to abandon his plan to fight all 50 states and instead concentrate on battlefield states.

The early opening of the ballots in Virginia, a battlefield state which Obama hopes to take from the Republicans, partly explains why McCain and his running mate, Sarah Palin, held a rally in the state on Wednesday and why a “Victory 2008” bus tour, packed with congressmen and McCain’s brother, Joe, set off on Friday on a voter registration drive.

Early balloting after Virginia opens in Idaho on September 22, Missouri the day after and Iowa, another state that Obama hopes to take from the Republicans, on September 25. In battlefield states that have often decided the outcome of recent elections, early balloting opens in Ohio on September 30 and Florida on October 20.

Those who vote early tend to be partisan, with their minds made up and unlikely to be swayed by the upcoming presidential debates, analysts say.

The Obama campaign is encouraging as many of its supporters as possible to vote early, fearful that would-be Democratic voters might turn away on election day if facing long queues on November 4 because of Republican challenges to voter eligibility. Professor Michael McDonald, an expert on elections at Virginia’s George Mason University, said: “We know there is going to be a high turnout and this [early voting] offers a pressure relief valve.”

He anticipated the highest turnout in 100 years. “We are off the charts in terms of interest in candidates,” he said.

The number of states offering early voting has increased from 11 in the 1990s. In the 2000 election only 15 per cent of the electorate voted early, rising to 20 per cent in the 2004 election and 25 per cent in the 2006 congressional poll.

Gronke predicted a figure of 33 per cent for this election.

— The Guardian , London