| December 24, 2008 | Wednesday | Zilhaj 25, 1429 |
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Endless ordeal for a stolen car
Equity vs equality
A sane voice from India
Serious air pollution threat to population
Inter-faith harmony in curriculum
‘Peace the only way out’
Iraqi ‘shoe thrower’
Granting identity cards
Readers are requested to restrict their comments to a maximum of 400 words. We reserve the right to edit letters for reasons of clarity and space. Letters, including those by e-mail, should carry the complete postal address of the sender. The views expressed in these columns do not necessarily reflect the views of the newspaper.—Editor
THIS IS apropos of Shahina Siddiqui’s letter (Dec 14) on the above subject, advocating education for a child while he earns through honest means in a healthy environment. Perhaps she is not aware of the exploitation and abuse of children in this country.
The main idea behind employing children — sometimes as young as five — in carpet-weaving, brick-making, agriculture, deep-sea fishing, etc., is to reduce cost of production. These children are paid very poorly, just a few dollars a month, as stated in a report in the UK on child labour ( Dawn, Dec 9 ).
The places where these children work are really not regular workshops or factories as such but only dingy and filthy, unventilated and unhealthy premises. As pointed out in the report, the city of Sialkot has as many as 2,000 surgical instrument makers. These are not real plants, only shabby setups often located in a portion of a residential house. But of course there would be only a few rich exporters, controlling manufacture, production and prices, taking the lion’s share of the profits themselves.
Children, at their tender age, are obviously very susceptible to the hazards of the irregular workplaces. Those engaged in carpet weaving succumb, in due course of time, to failure of their respiratory system caused by non-availability of masks and absence of proper ventilation arrangements.
The ones employed in embroidery work end up with failure of vision or weak eyesight. Many are hurt or injured as accidents at workplaces, generally unreported, are not uncommon due to lack of safety measures. These children are not regular employees as rules would not permit it and, therefore, not entitled to any compensation against injury or disability. Children make the cheapest and the weakest work force and are most susceptible to abuse.
Pakistan is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989 and is accordingly bound to “ensure protection of the child from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child’s education or be harmful to the child’s health or physical, mental and moral or sound development .... protect the child from all forms of physical and mental violence, injury or abuse, exploitation etc....... provide the right of the child to education, the right to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child “.
Children cannot be put to work under any pretext. It would be immoral to do so. It would also be fatal for the country. Children should only study and play and not be made to work for earning livelihood for their parents/guardians.
S. ABRAR HUSSAIN
Lahore
LAST year when my husband was about to have a bypass operation in the famous cardiovascular department of the JPMC, I accompanied him as an attendant to stay overnight. I parked my car in the hospital parking and found the next day that it was stolen.
In desperation I went to a police mobile parked nearby and inquired about my car. There was no security staff visible at the parking premises. The policemen politely asked me to sit on the front seat and took me to the Frere police station to register a complaint.
My daughter called some family friend from her office to reach the station to give me some relief as I was in tears. They registered a complaint and the SHO told me not to worry and that the car would be recovered soon as the thieves are usually after CNG kits installed in cars.
While my husband underwent the operation, I used a taxi or my daughter’s car for commuting to work, home and the hospital. After a few days the SHO asked me to come and register an FIR. I reached there with my daughter who was unwilling to go inside the police station. I told the SHO to hurry up as my daughter was waiting outside, but he kept insisting that I should call her inside. He even offered to send a constable outside for her but I strictly told him that I don’t want her to come inside. The officer was smiling all the time while I was in jitters.
Two months later I received a call from another police station that they had found my car but said that I was now required to go to the judicial court to get an NOC to take possession of my car which now had no number plates.
The CNG kit, all my personal belongings, i.e. my branded trainers, sandals, a big office bag full of notebooks and my favourite nick-knacks (which I still miss) were all gone. In my dairy was my address and cell number and while my car was missing, I started getting calls from young men from Quetta who just wanted to chat with me.
The insurance people finally got delivery of the car on court orders and took it to workshop and started putting in the missing parts. I wanted to see my car which was parked in the parking lot of the police station but they said I better not see it as it will be a shocking sight for me.
The second traumatic phase began when I wanted to have duplicated number plates of the car as the insurance people had made temporary plates. I was harassed by the traffic police at every step, as they wanted to put up a ‘challan’ for me because of the plates. When my weak and frail husband went to the excise department to get a duplicate plate, he was handed over a long list of documents to be provided.
All through this traumatic experience, the CPLC has been a blessing, it tried to trace the car and the court documents, saving me the ordeal of going to the court several times.
Upon receiving the documents of the car, I learned that the car now belongs to the government unless they find the thieves. For all legal affairs, I had to get an NOC from the judicial magistrate. I have yet to get duplicate plates.
Being a working woman, I have been shuttling between my office and chasing the excise department for the required documents. My ordeal has still not ended.
Until I get my duplicate number plates, I try to hide behind other cars to avoid police checking as I have to pay for ‘chai-paani’.
In a nutshell, if your car is stolen, it leashes an endless ordeal of miseries for a Pakistani, and if you are a woman, you have had it.
PERVIN NASIR
Karachi
THE latest debate of the Council of Islamic Ideology over the use of the term ‘gender equality’ as opposed to ‘gender equity and justice’ leads me to question the following: what useful purpose can it possibly serve?
Yes, women are, on the whole, physically weaker than men; conversely, there is one physical asset which is the exclusive preserve of women: childbirth. As to the contention of mental ‘differences’, consider the following: Ever since the quota system has been eliminated in medical colleges in Pakistan, women have consistently won more of the available seats than men. This is despite the fact that many more men give the entry test than women! Are these the differences the CII is referring to? In the defence of men, I shall say that intelligence is too complex a concept to be defined solely by one factor, gender or otherwise.
True, women and men are not ‘equal’ in that they are not identical (we scarcely needed the CII to figure that one out!). However, in a society that is far from Islamic in that women are not given the proper respect and dignity they deserve, the move proposed may be premature and counterproductive.
Let’s assume such a move is reflected in actual practice (say hiring) in the present climate: when the true intentions of Islam in emphasising male-female differences will almost certainly be glossed over, and the norm tilts in favour of men already, it may very well set back the pace of women’s progress.
In addition, in an economic reality where the majority of jobs has nothing to do with physical attributes, which are the clearest gender differences, how will you define these “gender-related distinct differences”? Maybe the medical college example should be a guiding post for future legislation: From now on, all doctors in Pakistan are to be women only, because the data suggests that more of them successfully enter medical school.
Although the technicality on which the CII’s argument rests may hold some weight, the real question is this: will it help us become a better, more Islamic society or will it accomplish nothing, perhaps except reinforcing the injustices against women in Pakistan?
Let me close with a historical narrative: A little more than 1400 years ago, in a land far more barbaric than ours (and that is saying something), there was a woman, widowed and childless, who took the reins of her deceased husband’s business. Eventually, she required someone to look after some of her business affairs. She chose a man who was known in the land as “The Honest” and “The Trustworthy”.
So impressed was she, that being even 15 years his senior, she made the bold step of sending him a proposal, which he then accepted (Has that ever happened to anyone you know? Would it even be deemed “appropriate” today?). She subsequently helped the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) in his mission, a mission that continues to touch the lives of more than a billion people, more than 1400 years later.
Why can we not rely on this kind of Islamic precedent more often? Why are the so-called authorities perennially engaged in debate that unfortunately ends up as some kind of women-bashing?
In the 1970s it was the draconian Hudood Ordinances that shamefully, in the name of religion, made it harder to bring rapists to justice. Now it is this move, which if implemented by some chance, would almost certainly not yield positive results in an environment such as Pakistan’s.
MEHAR SULTAN
Faisalabad
THE current situation in Pakistan is heart-breaking to say the least. A vortex of violence trying to engulf the entire country, economic meltdown and international isolation are mere symptoms a deeper malice afflicting Pakistani society.
Pakistan has spent a considerable part of the last 60 years in trying to create an identity that is distinct from that of India.
The direct outcome of that is the current situation where Pakistan is literally at war with itself; confused about its present and unable to form a coherent vision for its future. The key for the people and civil society of Pakistan today is to have a vision for Pakistan that is not rooted in the negative. No country can sustain itself for long, let alone prosper, on a principle purely based on negation or rejection of something else.
Whether it is being anti-India, anti-West, anti-America or anti-Musharraf, Pakistan has so far defined its identity and aspirations only in negative terms.
What is needed today is someone who can define a vision and an identity for Pakistan which is positive — pro-democracy, pro-peace, pro-prosperity, pro-justice, pro-equality, pro-moderation and pro-compassion.
What is also needed is for the people of Pakistan to believe in their ability to realise this vision. They, like India, are heirs to one of the oldest civilisations on earth. Theirs has once been the land of enormous beauty, romance and valour as opposed to the existing situation where acts of meaningless violence are being committed on or from the land of Pakistan.
Pakistan has to embrace its own past and draw strengths from its own roots in order to face the challenges confronting it today. It must do it for its own survival.
The anger and hurt felt by the Pakistani people at seeing their country being linked to international terrorism is understandable but remaining in denial is no solution to this situation. Those trying to make this an issue of national pride for Pakistan are doing a great disservice to the country and its people. Unfortunately Pakistan has had a history of making mistakes when it comes to distinguishing friends from foes. Time is running out fast for Pakistan to deal with the ‘non-state-actors’ operating in its territory, decisively.
India, Pakistan and Bangladesh together are home to the largest number of poor, hungry, malnourished and illiterate people on this planet. We have paid enormous cost in terms of human development, apart from the direct human cost of conflict, over the last six decades. This is not what our forefathers fought for. We can not afford to spend another 50-odd years in this manner. Let us pray together for peace and humanity.
ANUBHA
India
WE, the residents of Sindhi Jamait Cooperative Housing Society located at main National Highway and other surrounding areas, totalling more than 10,000, are facing serious air pollution threat for the last many years due to some poisonous material being exhausted by the some textile mills established adjacent to the Society.
For example, a very well-known textile mill was established some time back adjacent to the west of the Society but its various outside chimneys are continuously exhausting its poisonous material/smoke direct, badly affecting the residents of the Society. Further, a large number of their exhaust fans are also adding to the miseries of the residents by further polluting the air.
The continuous exhaust of poisonous gases and other material from the various chimneys of the textile mills are posing serious threats to the health and lives of the residents. so much so that many people are now suffering from various diseases. If such a situation is not averted immediately, the whole population of the area no doubt would one day face serious health hazards.
We, the affected people, appeal to the authorities concerned in environmental and other government departments and NGOs which are striving to ensure a better atmosphere to intervene and save the precious lives and health of the affected people before it is too late.
We suggest the following:
1. The government should prepare a plan to shift immediately all such textile mills working in populated areas.
2. Till such shifting is materialised, owners of the textile mills concerned should be directed to remove all existing outside chimneys and exhaust fans immediately which are directly facing the population of the Society at present, and they should instead use such an alternative material as should not be injurious to the health of the people in any case.
AFFECTED RESIDENTS
Karachi
I WOULD like to draw the attention of the authorities concerned to respect for religions in the textbooks of Pakistan. The textbooks are being written according to the recommended education policy that they must be prepared according to the ideology of the pioneer of Pakistan that he presented on Aug 11, 1947 and in November 1947 to the participants of the educational conference.
The Pakistan Minorities Teachers’ Association (PMTA) has grave concerns about the writing of the textbooks as recently observed in my meeting with Chiragh Din Arif, director of curriculum, Punjab Textbooks Board, Lahore. These textbooks are being written in violation of the articles of the Constitution of Pakistan 1973, UDHR, United Nations Convention of Civil and Political Rights, International Convention on the Child Rights and the criteria of Unesco.
The PMTA published a white paper on education in Pakistan in 2007. This is a document to debate religious bias, general standard of textbooks and educational policies in Pakistan. Religious bias against Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, Zoroasters and Jews in 52 textbooks has been identified in the subjects of civics, ethics, English, Islamic Studies, Pakistan Studies, Social Studies and Urdu, along with recommendations.
Textbooks must be based on values and there must be removal of all sorts of bias against the minority religions and their followers in the upcoming textbooks which are being written for Pakistani students but not for the followers of a particular religion.
The role of religious minorities must be presented like Muslims’ in the creation and construction of Pakistan so that the culture of peace and harmony is promoted through the textbooks of Pakistan.
In the textbooks of Ethics (compulsory) chapters on Hinduism, Christianity, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism and Judaism must be written according to the teachings of their sacred books. These textbooks must be written without any comparison between or among religions as it is in the instructions of the curriculum of ethics.
These textbooks must be written by the scholars of the relevant religions so that any particular ideology of a religion may not influence the teachings of any other religion. The Sindh Textbook Board has already gone through the bitter experience of this unacceptability in the book of ethics for Class IX which was rejected by the Christians because the chapter on ‘Jesus Christ’ hurt their faith. If the situation remains the same in future textbooks, then there will again be violation of fundamental rights of the students of minorities of Pakistan.
During my meeting with the director of curriculum, he asked me to provide him a name of a scholar who is competent in the comparative study of religions. I was so surprised to know that it was an open violation of the instructions. It was evident that the ministry of education was not ready to bring changes to the curriculum and has some unknown fear from the patriot minorities.
The ministry of education only seems to be the voice of the majority but not of the minority. I presented a report of a seminar which was held in July in Lahore on the ‘Role of textbooks in promoting social and inter-religious harmony’. There were Christians, Muslims, Hindus and Zoroasters who participated in this seminar and unanimously passed the recommendations which were presented to the minister of human rights, the government of Punjab, but it seems that the voice of religious minorities is not being heard.
PROF ANJUM JAMES PAUL
Chairman, PMTA
Lahore
THIS is apropos of Kuldip Nayar’s article, ‘Peace is the only way out’ (Dec 19). The gentleman has been subjective while writing as he has highlighted many controversial things. One is stunned to see such type of approach as all the Pakistanis are harbinger of peace.
The writer has artistically portrayed our society as a society of warriors or war-mongers, the fact is otherwise.
The hype was created by the Indian media and Indian politicians after the Mumbai attack.
The Indian ministers’ blunt statements like ‘no compromise attitude towards Pakistan’, and recent mounting pressure on Ms Roy and Indian minister for minorities is a clear writing on the wall regarding the negative attitude of the Indians.
As far as Indian movie mania is concerned, everyone is well aware that there is no ban on Indian movies in Pakistan and our actors, singers and artists have always tried their level best to create bridges instead of walls.
Mending walls is or might be the case on the other side of the border.
I wonder what Mr Nayar would say about the violation of Pakistani air space.
We aspire for peace but not at the expense of our self-respect, dignity and honour. India no doubt is much bigger in size, militarily and claims to be the largest democracy (so called) but the minorities are not safe from the evil designs of Hindu fanatics.
The other day intelligence report by an American journal stated that Indian armed forces are ready for war with Pakistan and waiting for ‘go’ signal by the government.
Pakistan has been engaged in war against terror for the last few years. Our armed forces are busy along the Durand line and in Wana.
Even though its not our war, we have done more than enough as more than a 1,000 soldiers have laid down their lives for the peace and prosperity of Pakistan.
It’s easy to point fingers at others but very difficult to do some introspection.
TAHIR IQBALJADOON
Islamabad
HATS off to Muntazer Al Zaidi, the brave hero. Iraq will emerge a splendid and independent country as long as all the people become Muntazer Al Zaidi. But it will continue to suffer from slavery and humiliation as long as its present government , army and US remain there. Utter shame on the very existence of those who have been torturing and trying such a devoted national hero. Pakistani people have expressed deep respect for Muntazer Al Zaidi.
ARIF AZIZ WAID
Karachi
(II)
MUNTAZAR Al Zaidi is a hero. It is an irony that the Iraqi prime minister did not have the courage to stand up to the occupiers of Iraq, rather he termed America as a friend and ally and Muntazar’s acts as ‘shameful’. This is what democracy has given to the Muslim world, compliant puppet rulers who look after western interests.
It would be stating the obvious that the Muslims around the world face economic, military and political oppression at the hands of the West or regimes loyal to their western masters. Capitalism as an economic model has failed, the OIC as a platform for political unity has failed, and western ruling systems led by theocratic or liberal dictators or elected representatives have failed to protect the lives, honour and properties of the Muslims.
It is time the Muslim world adopted the model of political unity which guarantees every citizen what the Muslim world yearns for, living under the shade of Islam, a secure livelihood and protection of life, honour and property.
MOEZ MOBEEN
Islamabad
I RECENTLY decided that I would make a trip to Pakistan from Sydney, Australia, where I currently live. Travelling on an Australian passport means that I would have to either apply for a visa or apply for a NICOP card (National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis).
To my surprise, I was told that the card lasts 10 years for men and seven years for women, because ‘women age faster’. Have the rule makers not heard of ‘botox’ or ‘facelifts’, not to mention the fact that men can change their appearance more quickly and drastically by simply growing a beard or a moustache?
Then I was told that the NICOP card would need the identity card number of the ‘head of the family’, i.e. the father/husband. Why is this necessary?
At the age of 18 a person is considered an adult in every way. Does an 18-year old need the ‘head of the family’ to sit examinations for him/her or to be sentenced to jail if he/she is convicted of a crime?
Please can the authorities stop this wishy-washy process of granting identity cards to overseas Pakistanis and simplify the procedure which defies logic?
SANIA SAEED
Sydney, Australia
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