By Zubeida Mustafa
SUICIDES by young men and women have been periodically reported from Gilgit-Baltistan (GB). Authentic figures are not available in the absence of scientific surveys and forensic facilities, which allows ‘honour’ killings to be masked as suicide. Nevertheless, the suicide rate in this region is, arguably, higher than the average in Pakistan (8.9 per 100,000).
Continue reading ‘Maraka’ truthsBy Zubeida Mustafa
THE world could not have been more unequal in contemporary history than what it is today. It has always been unequal but the present trend set in when the Cold War ended with the fall of the USSR giving neoliberal forces a free rein. With the countervailing force of the socialist bloc withdrawn and respectability granted to elitism and the exercise of unabashed corporate power, inequality became rampant. Not that inequities did not exist before. But today, inequality and its discontents are unparalleled.
Continue reading Unequal and illBy Zubeida Mustafa
RECENTLY, I had a deeply satisfying experience that gave me hope for our children. I attended five lectures as an observer in a five-week course for teachers’ assistants sponsored by the Pakistan Montessori Association, Karachi. This ‘return to school’ exercise reinforced my faith in the future of our children who alone can save Pakistan.
The lectures prompted some soul-searching. I could understand how we are failing our children and thus our country. It was William Wordsworth who wrote “The Child is father of the Man” in a poem. But state and society are destroying the spirit of our citizens of tomorrow.
Continue reading Follow the childزبیدہ مصطفیٰ
حال ہی میں مجھے ایک بے حد اطمینان بخش تجربہ ہوا جس سے بچوں کے حوالے سے مجھے امید ملی۔ میں نے پاکستان مونٹیسری ایسوسی ایشن کراچی کے تعاون سے پانچ ہفتے کے ایک کورس میں بطور مبصر پانچ لیکچرز میں شرکت کی۔ ’اسکول واپسی‘کی اس مشق نے ہمارےبچے کے مستقبل پر میرا اعتقاد مضبوط کردیا کیونکہ صرف بچے ہی پاکستان کو بچا سکتے ہیں۔
Continue reading بچے سے رہنمایٰ حاصل کیجےBy Zubeida Mustafa
SEX crimes and child abuse are reported to be on the rise in Pakistan. So are mental illnesses and the reach of the media. This is not a coincidence for the correlation between them has been widely recognised the world over. The fact that has however not been generally understood, in Pakistan at least, is that many of these evils have always existed but are now being reported more extensively, unethically and unprofessionally with a lot of bias. Since the reportage is generally flawed it can be quite disturbing for a young view/listener/reader.
One may ask what has mental health got to do with it especially in children? There was a time when adults were very careful about what they spoke before children. Parents actually exercised ‘censorship’ on images whether in print or projected electronically. The simple reason for this caution was that a child’s mind is sensitive to all that it is exposed to till quite an age. How it behaves in life is to a great extent determined by childhood experiences. For instance, it is well-known that many of those who commit sex crimes have suffered sex abuse themselves in childhood, have experienced violence or have witnessed it. Add to this list the youth and adolescents who are exposed to pornography habitually.
Continue reading Media and crime