By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
RECENTLY Piler, which has been conducting useful research on labour issues, released its latest report titled Denial and Discrimination: Labour Rights in Pakistan. Written by Zeenat Hisam, this report sheds light on the labour sector in the country and provides valuable information for those looking into the status of workers and how the labour movement is faring.
Continue reading A grim outlook for labour
By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
ONE positive result of the Lal Masjid operation is that it has brought into the open the ambiguities and contradictions in our social values and political attitudes. Hopefully, the tragic events of last week will shock people into confronting the truth.
The crisis began in January when the radicals of the Lal Masjid took matters into their own hands by getting the female students of Jamia Hafsa to occupy a government-owned children’s library. The action was in retaliation to the demolition of the illegally built mosques on encroached land in the capital city.
Continue reading Using religion as a tool of power
By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
PAKISTAN’S political leaders, it appears, can show a semblance of unity only in the face of adversity. Nothing else concentrates their minds better than the fear of a military leader or a political opponent entrenching himself indefinitely in office. They are then prepared to sink their differences — but only to an extent — and join hands to overthrow him.
Continue reading APC and a sense of déjà vu
By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
MORE appalling than the state of the reproductive health of women in Pakistan is the ignorance shown by our policymakers and leaders of opinion about the silent suffering of women.
Dr Shershah Syed, the president of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Pakistan, who is one of the most outspoken critics of the government’s health policy, recalled the other day his encounter with political leaders before the 2002 elections. The PMA had arranged a meeting with party representatives to brief them about women’s health. Thus the doctors hoped to enlist the cooperation of the prospective parliamentarians in health matters after the election.
Continue reading Little stress on women’s health