Sunday, May 17, 2020
PERSPECTIVES: Impact of COVID-19 on Women’s Mental Health
Whilst acknowledging that the impacts of COVID-19 have been enormous, both on men and women, it should also be noted that in times of pandemics, marginalized populations often get more negatively affected. Women happen to be one such group. However, the ways in which women get impacted more than often take a back seat, and their vulnerabilities are overlooked in difficult times. This is especially true in the context of South Asia where they are often least prepared for any kind of calamity. It is, nevertheless, crucial to understand that the impact on women vis-a-vis their mental well-being is often more severe and for the long-term during a crisis, in particular when hit with the global disaster of magnitude being currently experienced.
In the lockdown phase, abused women feel more vulnerable; feeling claustrophobic because their physical and psychological spaces have become restricted. With both the abused and the abuser at home, it does not provide either of them with the boundaries of privacy. In isolation, one feels trapped, unable to consider options like going out or to their parents/ friends, which plays a big part in our collective society. The pandemic has, thus, limited opportunities of getting out. Women tend to be deprived of avenues and strategies of self-rehabilitation. With time, we might be looking at a second pandemic. The existing situation is dealing with the infected victims but people who are going to be psychologically affected as a result will duly come later. The pandemic will inevitably play havoc on the psychological well-being and mental health (which is also inextricably linked to economics) of women, which will, in turn, affect the coming generation. It is, thus, imperative that we prioritise women’s mental health, taking initial steps towards acknowledgement and then lead to changes in policy.In the lockdown phase, abused women feel more vulnerable; feeling claustrophobic because their physical and psychological spaces have become restricted.This is due to various social, cultural and economic factors combined with social distancing and isolation measures that have been put in practice. Owing to the primary and secondary impact of COVID-19, the impact is not solely limited to women’s physical health but even their emotional responses, which also face a compromise, are disregarded and made invisible. This is in addition to lost livelihoods and deteriorating financial statuses, which may be a consequence of the pandemic as women already face a wage gap. All this allows the suffering of women from multidimensional disparities, which is particularly significant as women represent half of the global population and contribute towards social and economic development.In terms of the impacts of COVID-19, it has been evaluated to be more significant upon women with less freedom and space. This is owing to their roles and responsibilities as caretakers of households, working from home and in hospitals. Therefore, they are more exposed in their fight against the virus. Female healthcare workers and their everyday experiences with trauma, when dealing with patients, seeing dead bodies, their fear of catching the disease or the process of sterilisation before meeting their family members mean that there are multiple routes to being psychologically affected. Also, lockdowns and confinement at homes are an additional stressor plus the domestic burden of chores and irritability amongst children make women active recipients of psychological pressure. The uncertainty and loss of the control give rise to further apprehension amongst women about not only stressing about themselves but also about other family members. They are already vulnerable while bearing the brunt of all the aforementioned and can have long-term consequences on their mental health. Thus, this should be mainstreamed in COVID-19 response policy.In addition, in Pakistan, there is a lack of information on the extent that women are affected since there is no data to assess whether there has been a spike in the incidents of domestic violence and abuse since isolation measures have ensued. Incidents of violence are believed to be increasingly based on previous research. This is because men become frustrated while not being able to earn or fear redundancy and, therefore, take out their situational shortcomings on their female counterparts. The Lancet (2020) reported 24 cases while looking at the effects of quarantining and isolation and identified that what was most commonly found was emotional exhaustion, depression and outbursts.
https://dailytimes.com.pk/613043/impact-of-covid-19-on-womens-mental-health/
#Pakistani Minorities get a toothless commission
Waqar Gillani
Federal government's reconstitution of the national minorities commission draws flak.The federal government has reconstituted its National Commission for Minorities.
According to a notification issued by the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony on May 11, the body will be headed by Chela Ram Kewlani. It will formulate “national policy to promote peace and interfaith harmony”.
However, several minority groups and human rights bodies have expressed reservations regarding the composition and powers of the commission.
Critics say the 16-member commission has been notified without legislation and lacks independence.
When it comes to minorities, Pakistan has a checkered record. Over the years, minorities have suffered persecution in various forms, including terrorist attacks, target killings, destruction of worship places and repressive laws. Successive governments have tried to change that, at least on paper.
According to rights activists, the latest development is a cosmetic move.
In September 2013, a gruesome attack against a church in Peshawar prompted the then chief justice of Pakistan to take suo motu notice of the matter. During the proceedings, the CJP asked what steps the state had taken to protect minorities.
Following consecutive hearings, the court delivered a detailed judgment urging the state/government to take serious measures to protect religious minorities’ rights and form a body through parliamentary legislation to safeguard their rights.
However, the judgment, considered as a milestone in the history of minority rights, was not fully implemented. The apex court later formed an implementation bench to oversee the actions taken by the government.
In 2019, the SC also formed a one-member commission to ensure the implementation of the SC judgment. Retired civil servant Dr Shoaib Suddle heads the implementation commission.
In its latest report submitted two weeks ago, Suddle stated that the commission was facing non-cooperation from the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony.
In its 2014 judgment, the SC had stated: “A National Council for Minorities’ Rights be constituted. The function of the said Council should inter alia be to monitor the practical realization of the rights and safeguards provided to the minorities under the Constitution and law. The Council should also be mandated to frame policy recommendations for safeguarding and protecting minorities’ rights by the Provincial and Federal Government(s).”
So, the government had set up a National Commission for Minorities in 2014 in compliance with the SC judgment.
However, the commission was not in line with the SC ruling. It was in this backdrop that the current government decided to reconstitute the body.
Now, Shoaib Suddle has moved the apex court against this reconstitution of the commission, saying it is in violation of the spirit of the apex court’s 2014 judgment.
“This constitution of the commission is contradictory to the SC judgment. Such a commission must be a legislated statuary body on the lines of existing statutory bodies like National Human Rights Commission, National Commission on Status of Women and recently set up commission to safeguard the rights of children,” he says.
“The commission is not for the welfare of minorities and it does not have a veto over major decisions. It is merely a forum to promote interfaith harmony and healthy discussion.”— Qibla Ayaz, CII chairman
Meanwhile, several human rights bodies and minority groups have strongly objected to the inclusion of six ex-officio members and two Muslim scholars in the commission.
One of the Muslim scholars is the government-appointed khateeb of the Badshahi Masjid. The other member is from a pro-government seminary.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has expressed strong reservations concerning the formation of a national minorities’ commission through a cabinet decision based on a summary moved by the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony. “We urge the government to set up the long demanded national council or commission for minorities up through effective legislation in the spirit of the 2014 judgment,” Haris Khalique of the HRCP says.
The Women Action Forum has also rejected the commission, stating that “such unilateral decisions undermine the parliamentary process and weaken democratic consensus without serving the purpose of protecting minorities and amounts to contempt of court by violating a judgment based on the national and international principles.” The forum warns that “such dangerous games of identity politics are what encourage extremism in Pakistan and have led to murderous results… It is a travesty that nearly half the members of this commission for minorities are from the majority Muslim community.”
“The government of Pakistan has been running the religious minorities’ affairs through ad-hocism and toothless bodies,” Peter Jacob, who heads Centre for Social Justice, says.
“We think there is nothing new and the recent formation of the Minorities Commission is a rehash of old practices and merely an administrative action.”
He says it is quite obvious that the government is not interested in solving the issue. “In fact, its composition puts a big question mark on its performance. It is a mere eyewash.”
Interestingly, rather than focusing on safeguarding the rights of minorities, the commissions’ Terms of Reference state that “it will formulate proposals for amending laws/policies which are reported to be discriminatory towards religious minorities, recommend steps to ensure maximum and effective participation by the members of minority communities in all aspects of national life, ensure effective participation and association of minority communities with their religious and cultural festivals and celebrations. The commission will also look into the grievances and representations made by members of any minority community”.
Most of the matters that the commission is going to address are already in purview of existing official bodies.
For example, matters pertaining to Hindu community and their worship places are controlled by the Evacuee Trust Property Board.
Similarly, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) takes up complaints of minority rights violations.
The parliament too has recently formed a joint special committee of National Assembly and Senate members to discuss the issue of forced conversions.
“I think there is a wide misunderstanding about this recently set-up Minorities Commission,” says Qibla Ayaz, the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) chairman, who is also an ex-officio member of the new commission.
“The commission is not for the welfare of minorities and has no veto over government decisions. It is merely a forum to promote interfaith harmony and healthy discussion.”
He says there is a lot of international pressure on Pakistan to safeguard minority rights. “The annual reports on religious freedom also have negative references regarding Pakistan. This also leads to imposition of conditions by various international bodies like FATF (Financial Action task Force). The commission is an official effort to control such damage and fulfill international obligations and show the world that Pakistan is making progress in such matters,” he says.
#CoronaInPakistan - Pakistan learnt nothing from close friend China on fighting Covid. Xi trusts in science
PERVEZ HOODBHOY
No one knows the price Covid will extract for Pakistan’s disrespect of science. The country will have to be lucky in its fight against coronavirus.
When the coronavirus suddenly emerged in Wuhan province, panicked Chinese authorities botched it badly and were sharply criticised internationally. Yet rapid self-correction led to a systematic, comprehensive and coordinated response. Soon China ‘flattened the curve’ drawing praise from everywhere (except the US). Now, by sending thousands of ventilators and millions of masks overseas, China is re-imaging itself as a world leader battling the pandemic.
China succeeded because it takes science seriously — very seriously. When its epidemiologists saw Titanic speeding towards an iceberg, they demanded drastic action. Raised in a culture of science, the Chinese political establishment concurred and soon engineered the largest mass mobilisation in recent world history. Imposing country-wide quarantines, building a score of temporary hospitals, and meticulously locating all who might have encountered the virus, China showed what a disciplined, rational and collective response could do.
The United States, undoubtedly the world’s most scientifically advanced country, could have done still better. Approximately 18 American citizens have died for every Chinese one and so the urgency is greater. But a quirk of history has put at America’s head an extreme right-wing, science-bashing president who just rebuked his country’s senior-most epidemiologist, cut off funds to the World Health Organisation, and ordered America to end its lockdown.
Trump’s approval rating still hovers around 50 per cent — a sad thing for a nation that the world once admired but now mocks. Nevertheless, its suffering could have been still worse. Fortunately, Americans had the good sense not to buy into the crazy prescription of a lunatic — even if he’s their president — and self-inject Lysol/Dettol as protection against the virus. The mask remains mandatory and social-distancing has lessened but slightly.
Ordinary Americans are partially overcoming Trumpism because they, like ordinary Chinese, were raised inside a cocoon of rationality. Evangelists aside, all others accept that disease comes from viruses and bacteria, not God’s wrath. All who went to high school learned at least a few things there. Proper education pays.
What of Pakistan, both leadership and people? An image coming to mind is that of Prime Minister Imran Khan reverentially listening to Maulana Tariq Jamil at a fundraiser where the latter piteously bleated to the heavens for forgiveness and blamed scantily clad women for bringing down divine punishment. Another image: though in dotage, Khan follows Trump in refusing to wear a mask lest his appeal be diminished. His unfazed followers say no evil virus can defeat a brave man under God’s protection.
But all bravery evaporates when up against religious forces. Suspecting that the government was planning to close mosques and shrines, in a rare display of unity both Sunni and Shia ulema sent a stern warning. In response, President Arif Alvi declared mosques could remain open subject to 20 conditions agreed upon by the government and ulema. Like everyone else, he knew it was a farce. Indeed, the ink was still wet when flagrant violations were reported in about 80 per cent of the country’s mosques.
Thereafter the floodgates crashed down. After a brief hiatus, public places are now teeming with unmasked and ungloved people who have recklessly abandoned all to fate and chance. Food, footwear, and clothing markets are packed. Even as Covid deaths spiral up, life is normalising everywhere except where priorities are low — such as education. Although younger people are statistically at lower risk all schools, colleges, and universities in Punjab will remain closed until July 15.
What makes ordinary Pakistanis so much more religiously charged and difficult to handle than Muslims elsewhere? Saudi Arabia plans to enforce a countrywide five-day-long 24-hour curfew over the forthcoming Eidul Fitr, while Iran’s interior minister says the government is still debating whether to impose a full lockdown on that day.
But to ban congregational prayers, and follow the steps taken by other Muslim countries, is impossible for Pakistan. Even if the government was to so decide, ordinary policemen and foot soldiers would likely disobey received orders. The bitter experiences of moving against the Taliban in the aftermath of 9/11 have yet to fade from the minds of the military establishment.
President Alvi therefore had no choice other than seek face-saving. Whether half-civilian, mostly-military, or full military, every government must mollify the likes of Maulana Abdul Aziz of Lal Masjid because mullahs control the masses. The state tried choosing co-optation over confrontation, but this was sensed — correctly — as a sign of weakness.
Might more education fix the problem? Very often one hears that expanding education will induce a more rational outlook and bring Pakistan closer to more enlightened and more governable Muslim countries like Turkey, Malaysia, or Morocco. But if education means the stuff which presently goes under that name, then this cannot happen.
The core impediment to greater rationality is that particular interpretation of our national slogan Faith-Unity-Discipline (and permutations thereof) which gained currency during the Ziaul Haq era. It has since remained dominant. In seeking to create national unity through faith alone, the price paid was a demotion of reason and a demotion of trust in temporal institutions. This reduced governability. Whatever laws the state now makes are regarded by the public as man-made and distinctly secondary to orders received from a much higher authority.
This mindset permeates every aspect of life. Reforming education and creating a critical mindset becomes extraordinarily difficult in these circumstances. Science — impossible without scientific thinking — remains stuck despite large injections of money. Pakistanis do not question science’s utility for making bombs, machines, and medicines. But any step-by-step process that demands carefully weighing empirical evidence is culturally alien. Few encounter it in school, even while studying science subjects.
No one knows what price Covid-19 will extract for our disrespect of science and reason. Epidemiology and virology lack the exactness of physics so even our best experts can provide only guesstimates and advise on setting strategies. But since science is little understood or valued, their recommendations fall on deaf ears. If lucky, Pakistan’s final death toll will be limited to a few thousands. What’s certain, however, is that this ship’s crew and captain are powerless to steer it away from the iceberg ahead.
#Pakistan - #PPP demands withdrawal of illegal notification of 10th NFC
Information secretary Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians Dr.Nafisa Shah has said that due to his confused narrative prime minister Imran Khan is responsible for the death of over 800 people.
She said this while addressing a press conference at the PPP media office Islamabad with Palwasha Khan and senator Rubina Khalid. Media coordinator PPP Nazir Dhoki and vice president PPP Rawalpindi Naeem Kayani were also present on the occasion.
Dr. Shah said that members national assembly came from far and away to attend the Covid-19 special national assembly session whereas the irresponsible prime minister went missing. She said that chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari attended the session but the treasury benches started mad-mouthing the PPP and Sindh government for taking appropriate measures in time. She said that so far over 850 Covid-19 deaths have been reported and the number of patients has reached 40 thousand and our handsome prime minister has lifted the lockdown. Shah said that it is ironic that the nation is fighting Covid-19 but the prime minister is watching 90 episodes of a play.
Dr. Shah said that this government has announced numerous financial amnesty just to benefit its cronies. She said that first beneficiary of the first amnesty was Aleema Baji. She rejected the 10th NFC and said that NFC is awarded through article 161 and 162 of the constitution. The illegal notification of 10th NFC should be withdrawn, she demanded.
Palwasha Khan said that Murad Saeed is a jester who cracks jokes all the time. She said that the government is frightened of Covid-19 but not combating it. She said that if the government narrative is that we have to live with this virus then what is the purpose of this government. She said that instead of providing employment to the people, Imran Khan has made 18 million people unemployed due to his failed economic policies.
Senator Rubina Khalid said that it seems prime minister wants to turn Pakistan into a huge graveyard that is why he went missing from the national assembly session. She said that the PTI government in KP and centre says that everything is fine in the KP hospitals so why doctors are resigning in KP. Why doctors are crying for PPEs in KP?
She said this while addressing a press conference at the PPP media office Islamabad with Palwasha Khan and senator Rubina Khalid. Media coordinator PPP Nazir Dhoki and vice president PPP Rawalpindi Naeem Kayani were also present on the occasion.
Dr. Shah said that members national assembly came from far and away to attend the Covid-19 special national assembly session whereas the irresponsible prime minister went missing. She said that chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari attended the session but the treasury benches started mad-mouthing the PPP and Sindh government for taking appropriate measures in time. She said that so far over 850 Covid-19 deaths have been reported and the number of patients has reached 40 thousand and our handsome prime minister has lifted the lockdown. Shah said that it is ironic that the nation is fighting Covid-19 but the prime minister is watching 90 episodes of a play.
Dr. Shah said that this government has announced numerous financial amnesty just to benefit its cronies. She said that first beneficiary of the first amnesty was Aleema Baji. She rejected the 10th NFC and said that NFC is awarded through article 161 and 162 of the constitution. The illegal notification of 10th NFC should be withdrawn, she demanded.
Palwasha Khan said that Murad Saeed is a jester who cracks jokes all the time. She said that the government is frightened of Covid-19 but not combating it. She said that if the government narrative is that we have to live with this virus then what is the purpose of this government. She said that instead of providing employment to the people, Imran Khan has made 18 million people unemployed due to his failed economic policies.
Senator Rubina Khalid said that it seems prime minister wants to turn Pakistan into a huge graveyard that is why he went missing from the national assembly session. She said that the PTI government in KP and centre says that everything is fine in the KP hospitals so why doctors are resigning in KP. Why doctors are crying for PPEs in KP?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)