Day: April 13, 2012

LAHORE: Budgetary allocations for social and economic development of women should be doubled in the forthcoming budget as women in Pakistan are neglected and not getting their due rights.

Budgetary allocations for the schemes focused on women development can be possible by cutting down the non-development expenditures and defence budget.

These views were expressed by the women participants in Jang Economic Session on ‘Expectations of different segments of women with budget 2012-13’ here o Wednesday. The participants were Pakistan Study Centre of Punjab University Director Prof Dr Musarat Abid, PPP MPA Uzma Bukhari, South Asia Partnership (SAP) Pakistan representative Farzana Mumtaz, WISE Executive Director Bushra Kahliq, students of different varsities Anam Hafeez and Mahrosh Laila.

Sikindar Hameed Lodhi and Intikhab Traiq hosted the event.Prof Dr Musarat Abid said that 52 percent population of Pakistan comprised women but their majority was dependent on their male family members while 58 pc were illiterate and only 0.2 pc were highly educated. She opined the country could grow with active participation of women in the society. She said every government made tall claims of women empowerment but no action was taken in this regard. She said out of nine budget committees, no one understood the problems of women.

She called for maximum allocation for women education in the forthcoming budget. She suggested allocation of funds for small loans for domestic women to make them entrepreneurs. Uzma Bukhari said the PPP faced constitutional issues and challenges of revival of institutions and the war against terror after coming into power due to which it failed to deliver according to the public expectations. She said the tax culture did not prevail in Pakistan while tax resources and foreign investment were vital for economic growth. She said after the 18th Constitutional Amendment, education and health sectors were devolved while provincial financial rights rose to 56 pc from 47 pc. She said it would be the last budget of the ruling government while the prime minister already had declared it tax-free budget and it would be good if the public got relief in the last budget.

Farzana Mumtaz said the budget always disappointed the women as every government before budget announced to give relief to the public but always gave pain to them in it. She said non-stop inflation had increased kitchen expenditures. She said the major portion of budget was eaten up by defence expenditures due to which other sectors were not getting their required share from the budget.

Bushra Kahliq said that basic health units in Pakistan were 5,344 while government announced the establishment of one unit at every union council. She demanded handsome budgetary allocations for the social sector development schemes. She said mini budgets and indirect taxes played havoc with the public so the government should impose direct taxes and reduce GST.

Anam Hafeez said a majority of students was female while limited public transport facilities created troubles for them. She said in the budget 2012-13, the government foreign scholarships and loans for home-based industries should be started.

Mahrosh Laila said that globally, the average budget spending on education sector was 4 pc while in Pakistan it was only 1.8 pc. She called for uniform education system across the country.

The News

KHAIRPUR: An influential wadera of the Mitho Mari village has declared a 10-year-old girl as ‘kari’ and a man related to her as ‘karo’, issued the girl’s death warrants and imposed Rs600,000 fine on the man.

Relatives of ‘kari’ Fareeda Mari, 10, her brother Iqbal Mari, and mother and relatives of ‘karo’ Inayat Mari held a demonstration outside the press club here on Wednesday and accused the influential wadera and his henchmen of levelling false allegations against Inayat and Fareeda.

They told journalist the wadera had decided to kill the girl and impose a fine of Rs600,000 on the man.

They rejected the allegation and said it had levelled by the influential man to settle an old score with their families.

They demanded justice and urged police to take action against the wadera and his men. SP Khairpur Irfan Baloch appointed on Thursday a DSP as inquiry officer to look into the case and ascertain facts.

Dawn

By Xari Jalil

LAHORE: Prof Ashok Kumar is not afraid of taking a prominent stance on the Rinkle Kumari issue.

Fear, he says, is secondary compared to what is happening to the Hindu community in Pakistan, in particular Sindh. “We can’t just sit back and watch what our community is going through,” he says.

The recent case of Rinkle Kumari is not altogether an uncommon occurrence. Several young Hindu girls have been kidnapped in the dead of night from their homes, and dragged off to be forcibly converted to Islam, as they and their family members have later alleged. Usually this conversion is accompanied by a signing of the ‘nikahnama’ which strengthens the kidnappers’ side of the story, but still does not provide any kind of proof whether the marriage was done under duress or not.

On Thursday, protesters belonging to the Hindu and Christian communities in Lahore, accompanied by representatives of the Joint Action Committee (a group of social organisations), gathered outside the Lahore Press Club and shouted slogans in response to the slow treatment of the case, venting anger at religious fascism, forcible conversion, and a lack of support from the government.

Ashok Kumar, a professor of Sindhi language in the Linguistics Department of the Punjab University, is one of the protesters.

There are others too, students, professionals, young women, social workers, but the turnout has not been very high.

“We only decided this last night so couldn’t inform everyone on such short notice,” said Shahtaj Qizalbash from AGHS Legal Aid.

But Tanveer Jahan, also a member of the JAC, gives a more direct reply. “When it comes to minority rights, or any such sensitive issue, one just cannot expect any mass participation in Pakistan,” she says.

“You can just forget about the masses.” She says that both sides of the picture are grim – one side which does not support, and only watches the situation passively, while the other side which does come out on the streets but does so for its own vested interests and exploitation. “It is social workers like us who are stuck in the middle.”

“Down with mullah-ism!” shout the protesters, and a small number of drivers slow down on the busy section of the Simla Hill roundabout to see what the commotion is about. While many simply shake their heads and carry on, some are affected nevertheless, like Mehr Muhammad, a contractor.

“It is a sin to take away anyone’s rights like that,” he says, as he stands by watching the protest. “No religion allows this trampling of religious freedom. These girls should not be kidnapped and converted through force…how is it even conversion?” he questions, his brow furrowing over the worrying situation.

But another man has a completely different opinion. “Isn’t it a blessing if anyone is being converted into a Muslim?” he questions.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected two petitions, one filed by Rinkle’s husband, and the other filed by the father of another Hindu girl Dr Lata, from Jacobabad.

The two wanted to meet the girls, but the apex court observed that the two girls should be allowed to make a decision on whether they want to go with their parents or husbands based on a freewill therefore they were sent to Panah, a shelter home run by human rights lawyer Dr Majida Rizvi, where they will stay isolated till the court summons them again. The matter is to be taken up again on April 18.

The matter has been tangled yet further with the alleged involvement of Mian Mithu, a PPP MNA from Ghotki, where Rinkle was kidnapped, and also one Naveed Shah, who was a close associate of Mithu.

“Even when Nafisa Shah and some other PPP MNAs tried to move a resolution against this issue in the assembly, Mian Mithu did not support it,” says Tanveer Jahan. “I simply ask if an FIR has already been lodged against these two then why are they not under arrest?”

Another girl, Asha is still missing and Dr Ashok says: “The state of the Hindu girls being converted is terrible. Since January there have been at least 47 kidnappings. Another point to observe is that this is only happening to young girls, never boys or elders.”

Peter Jacob, worker for minorities’ rights, says this forcible conversion is not restricted to just Hindus and in Sindh. “In the last five years, there have been up to 400 to 500 conversions of Christians. And something equally horrifying, I know of: forcible circumcision of young men in Punjab and one in Balochistan…where are we going, one asks.”

In feudal terms, owning another party’s woman is having the upper hand. That coupled with marriage, gives the perpetrator more strength. No one knows what becomes of many of the girls after being married. Meanwhile, many Hindus feel that they are simply being harassed so they leave the country forever.

“But this is not just an issue restricted to Sindh,” says one. “This protest is meant to be calling out to the whole nation…Why does no one raise their voices for our rights too?” he asks.

Dawn

By Sa’adia Reza

KARACHI: Amid a big round of applause from a packed auditorium, the Dow University of Health Sciences on Thursday presented a lifetime achievement award to Dr Mohammad Ali Jawad of the Oscar-winning documentary, Saving Face.

Dr Jawad is a DUHS graduate of the 1984 batch. The ceremony was held on the university premises.

Much to the enjoyment of audience, mostly students and faculty, Dr Jawad began with a colourful sketch of life at Dow Medical College when he was a student. He recalled the active, yet peaceful discussions on politics, the endless doodh-patti chai, and the “bill that we couldn’t pay”, and then praised the academic standard of the institute.

The plastic, reconstructive and burns surgeon said he was proud to be part of this group. “Dow is very special, very infectious,” he said while addressing the students. “Your connection goes very deep here.” For him, he said, returning to the DUHS was a bigger honour than receiving an Oscar.

Dr Jawad then explained his journey of healing faces and experiences of working with Dr Bari of the Indus Hospital and eventually, while working on the project, he interacted with a group of acid burn patients whom he treated. When the word of his services became public, the director and producer of Saving Face, Daniel Junge, contacted him and hence the work on the documentary began. The documentary, he said, gave them an opportunity to get together and start saving faces of Pakistanis.

In reply to a query, Dr Jawad said it was unfortunate that this male-dominated society usually condemned acid attack victims assuming that it would be their fault and they deserved the torture. Perhaps this was the reason the women victims were more than willing to cooperate when they saw a helping hand, he said.

“But we should remember that acid burn cases are not just occurring in Pakistan,” he said. “They happen all over the world, and Sharmeen (Obaid) and the girls have helped the global community.”

The doctor also advised the future medical practitioners to derive pleasure and satisfaction out of treating patients, and to share their skills in areas where they’re needed most.

Earlier, DMC Principal Dr Junaid Ashraf called the Oscar a ‘landmark’ in the history of Pakistan, and thanked the entire team of Saving Face for bringing the glory to the country.

“Acid face burns is something we read about a lot in the media,” he said. “But the good thing is that the redemption is also coming from the country.” Praising Dr Jawad’s efforts, he said that the doctor had always brought happiness to a lot of people, and now he had done the same for his alma mater.

DUHS vice chancellor Dr Masood Hameed Khan also congratulated Dr Jawad and declared that a tutorial room in the new block of the campus would be named after him.

Dr Jawad’s achievement was a proof that Pakistanis, as a nation, were strong, he said, adding that that all they needed was environment conducive to progress.

The VC counselled his students to remain positive as they were blessed with inspirational figures. He cited the example of the DUHS that began operating in 2004 with a handful of programmes and at present boasted of around 50 academic courses.

“Each one of you can become a Mohammad Ali Jawad,” he concluded.

Dawn