By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
THE state of governance is the single most important factor that determines the quality of public services provided to the citizens of a country. Many independent bodies and aid agencies that have looked into Pakistan’s development problems have attributed the malaise in public services — be they education, health, housing, water supply, transport, or sanitation — to poor administration.
Continue reading Why we lack good governance
By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
THE health sector has traditionally received Cinderella-like treatment from the policymakers in Pakistan. In this scheme of things, it is not surprising that mental health has been relegated to the lowest rung of the ladder, if for no other reason than that it is the most misunderstood branch of health science. It is also the most stigmatised.
Thanks to the efforts of the Pakistan Association for Mental Health and some committed psychiatrists, a measure of awareness has been created about mental illness in the country. But this is confined to the patients’, their families’ and the caregivers’ level. As a result, a large number of people suffering from a mental disorders who would previously visit pirs and mazars are now turning towards medical practitioners to seek treatment. But attitudes of the public have yet to change because no campaign on a massive scale has been undertaken to educate people about mental health and illness.
Continue reading Caring for the mentally ill
By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
AT A time when the poverty line and the number of people living below it in Pakistan are being hotly debated, there is another issue that needs to be addressed. That is the opportunity a poor person has to improve his economic and social status. Is it inevitable that a person at the bottom of the heap should be destined to remain there for many generations to come?
Unfortunately, that is how it is in this country, even though theoretically there is nothing to bar a person from striving for self-improvement and make progress. But the fact is that our society is so stratified economically that social and economic mobility is well nigh impossible for a person from the low income group. Even the power structure operates against the poor. In Europe we often hear stories of the sons and daughters of working class parents rising to become prime ministers of their country. Could one ever dream of that here?
Continue reading What of education for the poor?
By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
IT IS ironical that it required a massive show of strength in the form of a large demonstration in Karachi on June 2 to get the city government to stop the demolition of katchi abadis it had been carrying on in a very determined way.
The protest rally organised by the Pakhtoon Action Committee two weeks ago blocked the main arteries of Karachi and caused such a traffic jam that the administration was forced to rethink its policies — at least for the present.
Continue reading Why make people homeless?
Reviewed By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
THE Taliban are back in the news. After their rout by the Americans in the wake of 9/11, it was widely believed that they would eventually be totally crushed. But that has not happened, the vehemence of the war on terror notwithstanding. Many find this intriguing. To understand the phenomenon of the resurgence of the Taliban one must read Kathy Gannon’s book, I is for Infidel. Hardly a heavy academic book, it can be deceptively light reading like the numerous travel accounts of journalists who visit troubled lands and then write about them.
Continue reading Story of treachery, betrayals and …