By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
OF ALL the components of education, the key one which determines the success or failure of a state in educating its citizens is the role of the teachers. Their professionalism, knowledge and pedagogic skills mould the minds and personalities of the generations of tomorrow.
Continue reading Teachers as social reformers
By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
IS THIS the turning point? As the events in Islamabad unfold, it becomes instantly clear that the filing of the presidential reference against the chief justice has come as the proverbial spark in a tinderbox that was waiting to explode. Had it not been the reference, it would have been something else.
That is why people are interpreting the happenings of the last 12 days as the lawyers’ revolt, the public’s outrage, a storm on the political horizon and an attack on the fourth estate and so on. What is clear is that the discontent that was building up has now burst into the open.
Continue reading With a sense of déjà vu
Reviewed By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
THE message that emerges powerfully from this nondescript looking but informative book is that for Pakistan the chickens of its Afghan policy are coming home to roost. The author, Dr Fazal-ur-Rahim Marwat, who is associate professor at the Pakistan Study Centre in Peshawar, packs so much information in From Muhajir to Mujahid that it is not easy to assimilate it in one reading. There are so many details, names and events thrown together randomly that it takes some time for the reader to get accustomed to the writer’s style. As one wades through the book, all the pieces fall in place like thatof a jigsaw puzzle.
Continue reading How Afghanistan was lost
By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
EARLY this year, education in Pakistan appeared to be on the verge of experiencing a change of a positive kind . But this may not happen now. Those who control power are actively opposed to reforms though they will never acknowledge it publicly. Hence they go through elaborate motions of bringing about a change without actually changing anything.
Continue reading Killing education reforms
By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
MARCH 8 is International Women’s Day. It should not be made into a day of lamentation decrying the plight of women in Pakistan. No doubt it saddens one’s heart to see the honour killings, the rapes and the domestic violence that women suffer.
Then there is the prevalent gender bias in society combined with the fact that unequal opportunities marginalise women. It makes one ask, how far do we still have to go?
Continue reading Revisiting women’s movement