Category Archives: Development and Poverty

Whose child is this?

Children and Youth, Development and Poverty, Education, Human Rights

By Zubeida Mustafa

THE State of Pakistan’s Children 2011 report prepared and launched by the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child puts the spotlight on us as caregivers of children.

But do we care or hold ourselves collectively responsible? Sparc’s report very appropriately quotes the iconic South African leader Nelson Mandela who said: “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.”

A glance at the report establishes beyond doubt that we have blackened our souls. How else will you treat the following information provided by the report: 25 million children out of school; 10 million child workers slogging it out in factories and workplaces to support their families; 300,000 street children with no homes to return to at night; 68 per cent of children in Pakistan found to be stunted in 2011 with the number growing every year. Continue reading Whose child is this? →

Health for all

Development and Poverty, Health

By Zubeida Mustafa

IT is said that modern healthcare is accessible to only 15 per cent of the population of Pakistan. In other words, nearly 150 million men, women and children in this country are denied adequate medical treatment when they fall ill.

This happens more frequently than it should, given the utter neglect of preventive health and the physical environment. It translates into poor quality of life for a huge chunk of humanity and low productivity of the national economy. Continue reading Health for all →

Education pitfalls

Development and Poverty, Education, Health

By Zubeida Mustafa

HEALTH or education? Which should be the government’s first priority? I would say education and health. Both have a symbiotic relationship. A government that recognises the importance of its social capital and the value of its human resources will address both sectors.

Good health facilitates good education, just as good education should promote health by teaching people the basics of preventive medicine and health care. But when a state is strapped for cash and focuses on other matters that it erroneously believes to be important for its national security, it tends to neglect ‘frivolous’ issues like education and health. Continue reading Education pitfalls →

Politicians and education

Development and Poverty, Education, Politics

By Zubeida Mustafa

ELECTION season is here. The political leaders know no form of canvassing other than that of mud-slinging. Most of them can produce no documented evidence, but it is enough to start a vitriolic debate.

What betrays the low level of our electioneering is that no one has so far discussed any substantive issues. There have been attacks on the government in terms of the numerous crises that engulf the country today. Yet no party leader has actually analysed official policies on any burning questions or tried to offer his own solution. In other words, no one has shown us the light at the end of the tunnel. No party has announced a plan and the old manifestos that lay gathering dust have been dusted off and brought out where needed. Continue reading Politicians and education →

Are Pakistanis extremists?

Children and Youth, Development and Poverty, Education, Islamisation, Terrorism and Violence

By Zubeida Mustafa

THERE are two ways of effecting a change in a society: from top to bottom or from bottom to top. Conventionally, it has been believed — and development and political strategies are based on this notion — that changes at the top and the trickle-down effect will create an impact at the bottom, where it is needed.

Unfortunately, this approach has failed in our case for two reasons. First, in the absence of statesmanship in the leadership and its corruption, the vested interests at the top support the status quo. Hence they obstruct changes in the system or their policies for the benefit of the majority. Second, there is no pressure or demand from below to force those at the helm to reform themselves and the system they administer. Continue reading Are Pakistanis extremists? →