Exploiting the Young at the Hands of Child Labour -by Uzair Ahmed

About Author:

Writer is a post-graduate student and a social activist working toward population welfare and child protection.

Children are like roses and roses are best suited in the gardens and parks. Similarly, the children look good in the schools and playgrounds not in the garages and factories. Unfortunately, in Pakistan most of the children do not attend school. According to the recent global competitiveness report issued by UN, Pakistan has the second highest number out of school children approximately 25 million.  The major reason behind the low enrollment of the children is poverty. Most of the poor families in rural Pakistan prefer to send their children to work instead of allowing them to get education. These children either work in the agricultural lands or at the shops and factories in the nearby towns. The wages offered to these children are very low and they are also mistreated by their employers most often. Some of these children also become the victim of child abuse. 

The government has introduced various incentives in order to improve the enrollment of the children into schools but has failed completely in improving the enrollment rate. According to the article 25-A, the government is required to provide quality compulsory education to the children in the age group of five to sixteen years. But unfortunately, the presence of the children on roads selling various items, in garages and in factories suggests that government has failed to fulfill its responsibility.  There are thousands of government schools in Pakistan but most of them are inefficient. Many of these schools are without building and other infrastructural facilities. The quality of education being provided in these schools is also inferior. Furthermore, the media reports about the condition of public schools in our country are also sufficient to convince the parents to not to send their children to schools. Therefore, instead of sending their children to the government schools, the parents send them to work. Most of the children are sent by their parents to the big cities of Pakistan for work such as Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad and Faisalabad. They have to live alone and bear their complete expenses as well as save some amount for their parents. 

"It is the joint responsibility of the government as well as the parents to save the future millions of children who could prove to be an asset for our country."

 

 

The population growth in our country has also contributed in the growing trend child labour. Many of the parents who have more than three children cannot afford to send their children to schools. Therefore, they prefer to send them to work so that they could not only feed themselves but also save something for them. The parents might get advantage from their children by sending them to work in the short run but they must understand that they are spoiling the future of their children. Education does not only create favourable earning opportunities but it also broadens the vision of a person. The parents should not only consider the financial motive behind education but they should also understand that quality education will make their children better citizens as well. 

Most of the small and medium sized companies employ child labour as it readily available. Similarly, it is not only cheap but easy to control as well. These companies operate through contractors who provide them child labour from the underprivileged areas of the country. The companies require these children to work late hours and that too under very harsh conditions. The current labour laws of our country require these companies to avoid child labour but by bribing the government officials, these companies continuously engage in the child labour.

It is the joint responsibility of the government as well as the parents to save the future millions of children who could prove to be an asset for our country. The government should provide stipends and cash transfers to the needy and meritorious students. Similarly, the poor families should send their children to the government schools if they cannot afford to send them to the private schools. The government should also build partnership with the NGO’s to improve the state of the public schools. The current government has started a scheme under which the government school is handed over to the NGO which runs it. These types of initiatives will certainly improve the condition of the private schools. Furthermore, the government should also ensure that the laws related to child labour are implemented in letter and spirit and no company whether big or small is allowed to indulge in child labour. Moreover, the government should also increase the budget for the education so that more and more children could be sent to schools.

Invisibly Visible or Visibly Invisible –Veil and Women’s Right to Self Determination -By Atiq Bin Ishtiaq

About Author:

Atiq Bin Ishtiaq is pursuing his post-graduation at IoBM Karachi and is an avid advocate of women’s empowerment and gender equality. 

Social Media was exploded couple of weeks back when a women in Lahore was allegedly refused for admission in a renowned university for wearing a veil. Folks from both sides of argument see it as a challenge to women’s rights in the country. Veil is not a reason for debate for the first time, but is increasingly keeping intellectuals busy in determining its place in modern societies. 

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy initiated a parliament act in his tenure regarding ban on “veil” (concealment of the face in public space) and “Hijab”, a full body covering. His stance to the act was that face-coverings prevent the clear identification of a person which is both a social hindrance and a security risk within a society where facial expression and body posture is necessary for communicating. The key argument is that it encroaches on individual’s freedom. When it comes to the modern perception of ‘freedom’, society as whole has penetrated the ideologies of religion. What has changed in the past century or so that people are questioning millennium-old practices? It was an abomination in the United States to openly declare homosexuality if we go back 50 to 60 years, but now it is considered an anti-human sentiment to speak against it. Same goes for the Islamic law and the basis behind it. 

As time progresses and ‘freedom of expression’ is on the rise, with a catalyst of the new-age social media, rulings like Hijab – the Muslim veil – have stirred emotions that only reveal themselves through anonymity provided by the internet. It is not completely a direct opposition to Islam, but anything that portrays rigidity in terms of appearance has received strict criticism. As countries are intervening more on what they call ‘barbaric’ laws, subtle topics like the Hijab are surfacing to counter the arguments on women empowerment. The directions toward global sentiments have taken the route of complete un-regulated freedom of choice. And what better way to advocate freedom than to use the historically-oppressed women as a subject. 

----"Public perception of a veil has been so damaged by the global media, that even a working-class female, who is in complete control of her life, is considered ‘oppressed’ if she is wearing the Hijab."

Majority of the new world believes in women’s right to wear whatever they please – something that holds an indirect contradiction with the principles of Islam. A country like Saudi Arabia has rigid rules that are perceived to be anti-feminist, but perhaps one country should not be the focal point of attention to judge a following of more than a billion lives. Women that have embraced the Hijab have strictly opposed the fact that they are oppressed. In fact, it is argued that empowerment comes from ability of a human being, not how they look. In the age when women are portrayed as objects – with popularity given to those who look good in revealing clothes, we have forgotten female contributors to society that will be remembered for their achievements rather than how they look. In my opinion, it is completely relevant to consider freedom of expression as humanitarian basis for evaluating a certain group. That is the sole reason why no woman should be questioned on why she is wearing a veil. Yes, being forced to do something goes against basic human rights, and the society we live in today makes sure we cannot be forced to wear anything we do not want to.

While people present arguments of states with poor human rights track record, they tend to forget countries like Malaysia and Indonesia, where the question of a woman’s hijab is never the point of discussion. In fact, this trend of secularism is often accepted in countries like these, while a country as ‘forward thinking’ as France has banned the veil in public. So it begs the question, France can be considered a more backward country than many of the states that are majorly practicing Islam. Public perception of a veil has been so damaged by the global media, that even a working-class female, who is in complete control of her life, is considered ‘oppressed’ if she is wearing the Hijab. 

This hypocritical ‘freedom’ that has been subconsciously embedded in our means of entertainment has ruined any sort of difference that goes against what first-world countries portray as a humanitarian right. If a woman, by her will and thought process, embraces something as openly rejected as the veil, it is a form of strength that can truly define women empowerment. Of course, not all the world holds mild Islamic practices as ‘backwards’, as countries like Australia openly defend a Muslim woman’s right to wear a veil. 

It is important to understand how desensitized we have become when thinking about only our perception of what’s right and what’s wrong. Only when a voice of reason through media that can defend an ideology on equal footing appears, we can safely say that there is a basis for judging years of practice on principles set by the modern world.

Bakra Eid- How Yummy Gets Yucky

Eid Ul Azha has everything for every age group to offer and that makes it a ‘Big Eid’. Elders like to incorporate with neighbors on buying Halal Animals and spend hot days in bargaining and window shopping in city’s numerous Cow and Goat Markets in effort to bring home a ‘real’ animal. At home, kids can’t wait for their beloved animal to finally arrive so they can take them out in their vicinity to put on display a Macho Animal to be slaughtered for their friends and foes and create a buzz. Interestingly, I have come across Facebook pages of such animals maintained by their young owners with hundreds of likes and equal number of people talking about. Grown up boys and girls are most interested in late night BBQ parties where they can enjoy good food, music and company of their pals. Aunties try their hands on innovative recipes that they learn from glamorous cooking shows on Television. Transcending the family saga, religious and political groups dedicate themselves to only one aim and that happens to be the collection of as many skins as possible to raise liquidity for their groups. Everyone has something or the other to celebrate and nail during this meaty and beefy Eid. So sacrifices of Muslim men and women just do not go in vain, everyone gets a lump of sugar in their glass. Here come the medical professionals on the showground that get overbooked with the appointments and visits by the patients and ultimately get the whole jug of sweetness. During this long episode of delight and fun of activities, everyone is too busy that they just overlook the stains or in fact streams of blood and yucky whiff in the atmosphere. Media has no time to throw some light on this hazard and only tries to raise their TRP by showing Animal Stars, like for instance, “The Dabangg Cow” and “Mr. Don Goat”.  If we can spare few moments to contemplate on it, a very little care can make this Spicy Eid more Spicier but only requires mass awareness and education. If a person can afford to buy a cow for sixty thousand bucks and pleases to buy additional ornaments for the animal like LEDs to light up horns, and every stupid type of bangles and bracelets to make their animal resemble Madhuri Dixit. Then why can’t they get a pack of Plaster of Paris and a cheap perfume most commonly known as kafoor in Urdu to maintain the hygiene of their own area??? No doubt that the government machinery has gone a step farther by not just limiting itself to newspaper ads but actually is seen on the ground taking venerable steps. But this situation will only improve if each household takes its own responsibility. By taking up the onus to keep our vicinity clean, we can earn double reward from Allah, one for sacrificing valuable animals and the other for sanitation. Never to forget what Holy Quran said about cleanliness:

"Allah loves those who turn to Him constantly and He loves those who keep themselves pure and clean." [2: 22]

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