Category Archives: Development and Poverty

Education disaster

Children and Youth, Constitution, Development and Poverty, Human Rights, Social Issues, Women

By Zubeida Mustafa

THE story goes back to the year 2000 when 1,100 participants from 164 countries assembled in Dakar (Senegal) for the World Education Forum.

The Dakar moot set for itself the goal of ‘Education for All’ and underpinned it with six specific targets to be achieved by 2015. Unesco stepped forward to monitor progress on these goals annually.

Thus an independent team was constituted and the Global Monitoring Report was born. GMR 2015 was launched last week and summed up the achievements of countries in the education sector. Continue reading Education disaster →

Justice for Perween

Development and Poverty, Economy, Education, Human Rights, Justice, Notable Personalities, Perween Rahman, Water, Women

By Zubeida Mustafa

THE  text message is still saved in my mobile phone. It was sent at 9.30 am on Wednesday March 13, 2013. It was signed “Thanks n Cheers PR”. That was the last time I heard from Perween Rahman, director of the OPP-RTI

For years she had made it a habit when in Karachi to read my column in the morning when it appeared in this paper and would send a comment by sms/email or call me up for a brief chat on her way to work. On that fateful day in 2013, less than 12 hours later, she was dead. The following week I wrote, ‘Rest in peace little sister’.

Continue reading Justice for Perween →

60% of women still oppressed

Children and Youth, Development and Poverty, Education, Human Rights, Perween Rahman, Social Issues, Women

As part of Why Are We Still Here?, a series of 12 blogs written by women around the world to mark International Women’s Day, Zubeida Mustafa reflects on the need for two strands of women to unite in Pakistan’s women’s rights movement.

I became a feminist when I was five. My brother who is a year younger than me had snatched my favourite doll. I tried to retrieve it but failed.  The drama ended when the doll lay mauled up as I sobbed uncontrollably at the destruction of my precious possession. When the tears had dried I learned that more than physical strength you need wits and courage to get what you think is yours. Continue reading 60% of women still oppressed →

Shattered dreams

Children and Youth, Development and Poverty, Economy, Education, Health, Human Rights, Population, Social Issues, Women

By Zubeida Mustafa

A FEW years ago, when the army operation took place in Swat and many families were displaced, I went to Baldia in Karachi to meet some of them. There I was introduced to a man who told me that he had 19 children. He had two wives. I was awestruck by his virility.

He may have been an exception. But we should not underestimate the reproductive capacity of Pakistanis. According to the Population Council in Islamabad, in 2012 Pakistan had nine million pregnancies of which 4.2m were unintended. Of these 2.25m ended in induced abortions. In other words, over six million babies were born that year. Continue reading Shattered dreams →

Linguistic dilemma

Children and Youth, Culture and the Arts, Development and Poverty, Education, Language, Media, Social Issues

By Zubeida Mustafa

WE do have a language dilemma on hand, whether we admit it or not.

I attend a ceremony at a school of journalism in Buffer Zone in Karachi where 49 girls are awarded a certificate for the three-month course they had completed supported by scholarships from donors. The language of the proceedings is English and it is plain that few in the audience really understand what was being said. A translator comes to their rescue. I decide to speak in Urdu as I want to connect with these young ladies who have aspirations of joining my profession.

A few days later, I go to a conference organised by the Society for Pakistan’s English Language Teachers. I presume the audience at a moot organised by them would expect me to speak in English. But when I begin I am requested to be bilingual. I drop the English bit and stick to Urdu.

Sometimes in between these events, I visit the Ardeshir Cowasjee Writing Centre at the main campus of the Institute of Business Administration, Karachi, (established in 2014). I feel I am on firm ground language-wise. Ardeshir who earned fame as Dawn’s columnist with a distinct style of his own wrote only in English. So English would be the language here and I guess correctly. Continue reading Linguistic dilemma →