All posts by Raza Jaffri

Trying presidents

Constitution, Defence and Disarmament, Guest Contributor, Justice, Politics

By Rifaat Hamid Ghani

ONE could well say Pakistan’s democracy suffers from a president problem. Ghulam Ishaq was adept at dismissing Parliaments. Farooq Leghari, popularly doubted for the party status he enjoyed till assuming office, let down the party, if not the public. Tarrar, unofficially renowned for carrying a briefcase, drifted through the crosscurrents of a countercoup without a hiccup. Presidents Musharraf and Zardari though are in a class by themselves; and who would you send to the top of the class? If one posed a conceptual challenge as a COAS president, the other posed a more empirical one as an active party promoter and controller.

And now, perhaps the thorniest nettle the incoming premier, Mian Nawaz Sharif, will have to grasp: Should the government he is to lead press treason charges on the former President Musharraf? Continue reading Trying presidents →

Language in learning

Books, Children and Youth, Education, Language

By Zubeida Mustafa

THE Children’s Literature Festival is the best thing that could have happened to the children of Pakistan. Six festivals have already been organised since November 2011 — the latest having been held in Islamabad last week.

It was a pleasure to see thousands of children assemble at the Pak-China Friendship Centre in Islamabad surrounded by gaiety, music and storytelling and, above all, books of all genres for young readers. The atmosphere was one of merrymaking. But the underlying mission was a very serious one. The objective of the organisers was captured in the words splashed all over the backdrops in the auditorium and the conference rooms —“Unlocking the power of reading”.

That is what the literary festival has undertaken to accomplish. It is too early to expect a visible change in the reading habits of children. If the tradition continues and the event reaches a large number of people in due course, it is hoped that it will make an impact. Continue reading Language in learning →

Lessons of May 11

Media, Politics, Social Issues

By Zubeida Mustafa

ELECTION 2013 has proved to be an enigma. We are a people in a hurry and immediately after the polling took place on May 11 we had started jumping to conclusions.

The facts had still not been ascertained fully, and without facts (and figures in the case of polling which is essentially a numbers game) how can one form informed opinions? What we have is a babble of judgements pronounced in line with the political leanings of various observers and on the basis of reports — not all of them authentic — circulating on the internet and in the media.

A lot did happen on polling day but one has to look at the bigger picture as well as the context. Of course there were malpractices in some constituencies amounting to rigging. They could not be ignored — the vociferous protests were too loud to ignore. Continue reading Lessons of May 11 →

Ageless Beauty: Zubeida Mustafa

Media

By Courtenay Cooper Hall

Zubeida Mustafa: 72, First Female Pakistani Newspaper Editor

Zubeida Mustafa is a freelance journalist who writes a weekly column for Dawn, where she was assistant editor from 1975 to 2008. Dawn is Pakistan’s most widely circulated and influential English language newspaper, founded in 1947. Mustafa writes on a variety of subjects but her interest has mainly been in the social sector, which she has covered extensively. She has investigated in-depth issues, such as education, health care, women’s empowerment, children’s rights and the lives of ordinary people. She launched and edited Dawn’s “Health Page,” “Book Page,” “Education Page,” “CareerWise,” “Encounter,” “Karachi Notebook” and most notably “Books & Authors,” the first book magazine by any newspaper in Pakistan. Continue reading Ageless Beauty: Zubeida Mustafa →

Invisibility of mothers

Organ Trade and Donation, Politics, Social Issues, Women

By Zubeida Mustafa

AS a new government enters the corridors of power in Sindh it will find itself empowered with an innovative and sensible document that lays down the gender guidelines for official policies in the province. It was a smart move on the part of the Sindh Women Development Department to launch its Provincial Policy for Women Empowerment two days before the elections.

The event was timely because such moves pertaining to women’s rights require a lot of support and backing from official quarters in Pakistan. This support was fully available. It could not have been otherwise considering that the women and human rights’ portfolio in the interim government was held by an inveterate champion of woman’s rights, Anis Haroon, whose role in the women’s movement has been phenomenal. Continue reading Invisibility of mothers →