Category Archives: Children and Youth

Healthy tips

Archive Edition, Book Reviews, Children and Youth, Culture and the Arts, Education, Health

By Zubeida Mustafa

NANHAY DOCTOR by Iftikhar Ahmad. Illustrated by Nigar Nazar. Published by UNICEF, Pakistan. 1992.

67-17-07-1992With the changing concepts of health care — there is now greater stress on health education and preventive medicine — the need to teach people the basic principles of hygiene, nutrition and immunisation can hardly be overemphasised. In fact the sooner this process of health education and information begins, the better it is.

In this context, UNICEF’s Nanhay Doctor could not have been more Continue reading Healthy tips →

Increased funding amid high scepticism over real progress

Archive Edition, Children and Youth, Development and Poverty, Economy, Education, Health, Human Rights, Labour, Language

By Zubeida Mustafa

36-15-07-1988GIVEN the public outcry against the government’s failure to invest adequately in the social development of the people, the authorities in Pakistan have become more wary about making loud pronouncements about their commitment to the social sectors. What better occasion would they have of speaking about this commitment and receiving media publicity than the time of the presentation of the budgets — federal and provincial. Hence, it was no surprise that in the budget season this year each and every finance minister spoke in exaggerated terms about the social sector being his government’s major priority.

But the problem with budget speeches is that they are accompanied by budget documents and preceded by the Economic Survey which do not always substantiate the official claims. This year too the provincial governments have attempted to focus on health and education, which are central to any programme of human resource development. Although there has been an overall increase in the budgets for these two sectors, one cannot but feel sceptical about the progress that will actually be made. Continue reading Increased funding amid high scepticism over real progress →

Guess who came for breakfast?

Archive Edition, Children and Youth, Culture and the Arts, Economy, Education, Human Rights, Law & Order, Social Issues

By Zubeida Mustafa

64-26-05-1992  A few weeks ago we had some jninvited guests for breakfast. They were masked and armed and the breakfast they took was most unhealthy — gulab jamuns and Coca Cola. They also took away whatever cash they could lay their hands on and some valuables — to use the crime reporter’s terminology. But the most precious thing they stole was my peace of mind.

If there is one word to describe my experience of this armed robbery, it is “bizarre”. Of course I also felt terrified, but that came much later.

It all happened early in the morning, which is the worst time for such unwholesome intrusions — not that other times are better. In the morning your senses are not fully awake — apart from the fact that one is not even properly dressed to receive visitors, including the unwanted ones. Continue reading Guess who came for breakfast? →

Privatisation of higher education

Archive Edition, Children and Youth, Economy, Education

By Zubeida Mustafa

The Pakistan government is considering the privatisation of the universities. The new education policy, which has been on the anvil for an inexplicably long time, is expected to lay down the guidelines for the establishment of private universities and colleges.

This step is being taken at the prodding of the World Bank which perceives privatisation as the magic cure for all economic ills. Being totally dependent on the loans it receives from the aid-giving agencies, the Pakistan government feels it has no other option but to obey the Bank’s edict. But will this solve the problems the country faces in the higher education sector? Continue reading Privatisation of higher education →

Population welfare: the plan that failed

Children and Youth, Development and Poverty, Economy, Population

By Zubeida Mustafa

Recently, the Washington-based Population Crisis Committee released its 1992 edition of World Access to Birth Control. It is not too flattering to Pakistan which is ranked a lowly 55th among 95 developing countries in terms of availability of modern birth control information and services. What is more shocking than the low score (37/100) is the fact that Pakistan lags .behind countries considered more backward.

71-09-02-1993B

In South Asia, Pakistan ranks the lowest compared to Sri Lanka (80), Bangladesh (77), India (73) and Nepal (50) in providing contraceptive options, competent services and outreach of the population programme. Continue reading Population welfare: the plan that failed →