The week commenced with the Isloos feeling the stifling heat of the monsoon season intermingled with dust storms and cloudbursts. However, on a positive note, the endless varieties of mangoes available in the market were a treat for all the mango lovers.
My first invitation was to a presentation on 'Education and its implications for peace with special reference to Pakistan' given by Dr. Tariq Rehman, an eminent and a renowned professor of Quaid-e-Azam University, that was organized by Centre of Democratic Development.
Dr Tariq Rehman's research verified that the pupils belonging to English medium schools were more liberal in their views with regard to the medium of instruction, the curriculum followed and gender equality issues in comparison to ones who came from an Urdu medium background, while, the Madrassas were placed in a different category altogether. He said that such policies should be pursued by the government that promote peace and a quality education for all and sundry together with the Mullah factor being taken into consideration. There should be diversity in education with the examples of Sweden, Belgium, Canada and Spain to be studied and emulated. Firstly, a widespread liberal approach to education with emphasis on objective World History is the need of the hour so that it helps in evolving a tolerant and a moderate society. He, therefore, objected to Pakistan History to the exclusion of World History. Explaining further he said, Pakistan History should figure in the wider canvass of World History. Secondly, the thoughts on human rights by personalities such as Voltaire and Rousseau are a treasure of the world and not just Western and if they inculcated some good aspects in the western society so much the better for the West and so much better for the East. This means that people over here should not be shy of using this world heritage and one should not limit oneself to a narrow nationalistic perspective. It should form a part of the formal curriculum along with being exposed to informal channels such as dramas, radio, songs and other avenues which suggest the gender equality, that one does not kill for honuor, the notion that women can have relationships and are not just play things. This kind of awareness comes from exposure, the less exposed people are the more they ogle and harass. Therefore, it is in the national interest to expose the public to Western channels even if they are music channels and it should not be dubbed as 'indecent' as it is done now. This creates a more open mind and it allows women to function in our midst and stratifies that women like men play different roles in the society. This is the kind of education that has to be promoted which means doing away with class based education and that does involve a lot of expenditure by the state. Moreover, there should be a lot of informal channels of education with a widespread knowledge of English as a second language and not as a medium of instruction. Dr. Rehman said that it is considered heresy in the English medium circles that English medium schools create and reinforce a privileged class. All the developed countries such as Norway, Sweden teach in their own language side by side teaching English as a world language as it is a window to the world, it is moderating force, it is a liberalizing force, therefore, its presence is a must but in a more liberal and in an egalitarian manner. The kind of English that should be taught must be functional English similar to what they have in European schools. The public representatives must speak the same language as the general public that should not have a colonial connotation. The change in policies with regard to education will bring in peace as well as a tremendous change; it will almost be like a silent revolution. When one talks about spending that much money then that is in itself a silent revolution. This revolution is necessary if the present system is to survive, as it is diseased. And in the long run the elite are not going to survive in this system unless they open and change the system. The terrorist and Jehadi groups are basically poor people who are going to get more and more frustrated and eventually in the name of an Islamic Revolution they are going to bring about a class revolution. It will be a conflict against the rich who have been oppressing, despising them and don't consider them as human beings. That kind of anger has been expressed in the Iranian revolution and is being actually expressed in the form of an Islamic idiom. All of it is not theological or Islamic; it is actually the rage of the dispossessed.
It was an informative and an interactive discourse that highlighted the problems being faced by our educational system and it felt good to be part of such an enlightened talk.
My second sojourn was to a meeting featuring discussion on 'Hudood Ordinance' organized jointly by the Islamabad Cultural Forum and Pak-India Peoples Forum for Peace and Democracy. The speakers on this occasion were Justice Majida Rizvi, Chairperson National Commission on Women and Dr. Farzana Bari, head of the Women Studies Department, Quaid-e-Azam University. Justice Majida Rizvi comprehensively reviewed the Hudood Laws since its promulgation in 1979.She said that there were many discrepancies and anomalies in this ordinance and its enforcement had caused injustice instead of dispensing justice hence should not remain in the statute book. She said that majority of the sections in the Hudood laws were incorporated from the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and only a few sections dealt with Hadd offences. The significant fact about these laws was that only the poor women suffer while it does not affect the middle or upper class women.
Dr. Farzana Bari was very vocal and passionate about the Hudood Ordinance being exploited by successive governments to maintain a status quo. She said that the present government during the LFO negotiations connived with the MMA so as not to touch the ordinance.
A unanimous resolution presented by Prof Khwaja Masud at the end of the discussion said, 'Hudood ordinance has been controversial since its promulgation in 1979 and during the last 24 years these laws have brought more oppression and injustice to the underprivileged sections of the society, particularly women and minorities. Hence these laws should be repealed in accordance with the recommendations by the Commission of Inquiry for Women in 1979, and more recently by the National Commission on Women as well as women rights and human rights groups.'
I was proud to be a part of a forum where there were people who do genuinely care, and it is not just rhetoric, wanting to create awareness and make a difference so that it would help in evolving an egalitarian society. The art, the talks, the discussions are all paths leading to the same destination.
My third invitation was to a briefing by the Tribal Union of Journalists on the state of the protection of journalists in the conflict zone of Wana and other parts of the tribal areas. Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Citizen Peace Committee (CPC), Rawalpindi. Islamabad Union of Journalists (RIUJ), Rushd Foundation and other civil society groups were also present on the occasion. Sailab Mahsood, the president of the Tribal Union of Journalists said that journalists were being harassed and coerced so that they could not report independently. Five journalists were threatened for life and detained at the prison by the political administration. The provision of collective punishment in the Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) is a black law that infringes upon the fundamental rights of the people and bars journalists from protecting the right to know of the people. Political administration is biased against media that is why they have reduced the access or entry of journalist in the conflict areas to zero level. He further said that the journalists' community categorically denounces all kinds of terrorism, militancy and military operations against the people of tribal areas and demands an immediate cessation of hostilities and resolution of the conflict through peaceful means. Moreover, there should be an end to the threats to journalists thus enabling them to work independently on their professional assignments. And lastly the black law with a colonial legacy, FCR, should be scrapped from the statute book.
It was a busy week that brought the controversial issues in the forefront reflecting the society's hypocritical and indifferent attitudes prevailing in our culture. Though, the evening rains made it very pleasant and romantic towards the end of each day with an ever-lasting hope in a more utopian tomorrow.
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