Category Archives: Education

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? →

Books in times of war

Balochistan, Books, Children and Youth, Education

By Zubeida Mustafa

A CHILDREN’S Literature Festival in Quetta sounds like a contradiction in terms. Quetta is in Balochistan and one doesn’t have to be reminded that the province is in the grip of a violent insurgency.

When I went there last week I could feel the tension in the air. Fear was palpable. So how could a festival — that too for children — be held in a place not considered very safe?

For me the festival amounted to making a political statement: children need peace. We knew that whatever the state of security, life has to go on. Yet one could not turn a blind eye to the tight security which in turn made one feel insecure. The event was not advertised and was reported in the media only after the show was over. Continue reading Books in times of war →

Cheryl, the peace envoy

Education, Foreign Policy of Pakistan, War and Peace, Women

By Zubeida Mustafa

BEFORE India’s external affairs minister arrived in Islamabad on Friday, there was talk of the low expectation of progress in bilateral relations between Pakistan and India.

We were warned against expecting anything ‘spectacular’ coming out of the visit. Do we need spectacular developments in everything we do? Mercifully a peacenik, ex-ambassador Aziz Ahmad Khan, was realistically positive when he pointed out that the ‘good atmospherics’ that exist today can strengthen the India-Pakistan peace process. Continue reading Cheryl, the peace envoy →

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 →