Tuesday, February 9, 2021
Israel-Saudi Arabia peace: What would the benefits be? - opinion
Jailed Saudi activist Loujain al-Hathloul set to be released, sister says
The decline in the US birth rate is not about moral failure, it's about economics
Declining birth rates in the United States are a longstanding trend, consistent with similar phenomena in nations where women have gained greater economic independence and greater control over their own bodies. And the sharp downturn in fertility in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic is not unique to the United States, as the trend has also been seen in among women in European countries that were hit hard by the virus. The acute downturn in American fertility is likely temporary: sharp declines in births, followed by rapid increases, have been typical in the midst of historic events that caused mass disruptions to family life, such as the second world war. It’s likely that if life ever goes back to something like what it was before the pandemic, birth rates will go back to their previous levels, too.
But the longer-term trend of smaller American families and more adult women living childless lives is likely to continue. And it is this observation, perennially made by thinktanks and statisticians, which perennially sets off a minor moral panic among economists, pundits and observers of American political life. How will social services be paid for if America does not keep producing new generations of taxpayers? What will the social life and moral character of the nation look like if the childrearing nuclear family collapses as the primary social unit? What will America become, these thinkers ask, if women don’t start having babies again?
The reality of why American families are smaller is not about a failing national character or a decline in women’s femininity
Pro-natalism arguments such as these are never entirely devoid of sentimentality about family life, and they tend to make assumptions about women’s roles and responsibilities that are grounded in regressive, sexist and simple-minded ideas. When the trend of women having fewer babies is spoken about on the national scale, the old assertion that it is women’s role to bear children can advance from an item of moralizing paternalism to one of civic duty. In the minds of male pundits, fears of low birth rates can transform a woman’s fertility from a personal choice into an obligation of citizenship, something she has to do for her country, and theirs. Whose country, and whose babies, is always the unaddressed question in these conversations, and it is notable that those who think that America’s declining birth rates will cause problems as a result of a shrinking population do not usually offer increased immigration as a possible remedy. This focus on women’s choices makes the conversation around birth rates regressive and sexist, infused with a nationalism that exudes völkisch creepiness.
But the reality of why American families are smaller is not about a failing national character or a decline in women’s femininity. It’s about money. Because while many more women are choosing to have no children or fewer children, others are having fewer children than they would like. And for these women, their own smaller families are the result not of their own personal selfishness or moral degradation, but of economic constraints. For all of the pro-natalist handwringing over America’s shrinking tax base, the United States has spent shockingly little of its annual tax revenues on creating accessible and effective support for mothers. For years, the US has made domestic policy that has punished women for becoming mothers, and by extension, de-incentivized those who want to have as many children as they would like. This is one reason why the birth rate has declined so much: women are not given enough material support by the state to be able to raise children while still leading prosperous, economically productive lives.
Women, after all, are paid notably less than men, a trend that is especially dramatic when women of color are compared with their white male peers, and the gaps in compensation often begin early in women’s careers, even before they have begun raising families. Those pay gaps become larger as careers progress, making it harder for women to begin their families and harder for them to provide for the families that policymakers want them to grow.
Women are not given enough material support by the state to be able to raise children while still leading prosperous, economically productive lives
But once a worker becomes pregnant, there is little protection to enable her to have both her baby and her job. Pregnancy discrimination is rampant and laws against it are enforced laxly when they are enforced at all, meaning that many women, when they become pregnant, are demoted or fired by employers who assume that she will be less productive after she becomes a mother.
Even if she manages to keep her job through her pregnancy, there is no guarantee she will be able to keep it once she gives birth. The United States is unique among its peer nations in having no mandatory paid maternity leave, meaning that when a woman leaves work to have her child, she often has to choose between staying with her baby in the vulnerable and tender early months, or rushing back to work while she heals.
That is all assuming that the pregnancy and birth go well. Because due to public neglect of women’s health, the United States has some of the highest maternal mortality rates in the developed world, and those rates are dramatically, devastatingly higher for Black women.
There is no universal childcare in the United States, and the cost of childcare can be staggeringly high, meaning that mothers frequently have to choose between keeping their jobs, sending their children to substandard facilities, or allowing an acceptable childcare provider to eat a substantial chunk of her paycheck.
Male partners help, but not enough: women still do a disproportionate amount of the unpaid domestic labor of childcare, eldercare and housework. If a mother is owed child support by her children’s father, there’s a good chance that she’s not receiving it: less than half of custodial parents who are owed child support receive the full amount.
And now, all of these circumstances have been exacerbated by the pandemic, one in which most of the job losses have been borne by women, and where the childcare once provided by public schools has now been converted into yet another obligation for mothers – that of supervising online learning. As the writer Lyz Lenz put it in a piece responding to the Brookings report, “Now, with no schools, no daycare, no social support, and probably no job … now women are supposed to just suddenly feel in the mood to have babies because America’s tax base is eroding? Go to hell.”
The truth is that American policy has not treated childrearing and childcare as essential infrastructure, the kind of thing that workers need to have access to in able to keep the economy going. Instead, America has treated the raising and maintaining of children – and the care and support of pregnant women – as private issues, sentimentalized as labors of love. And of course, mothers do love their children, and many of them find that love rewarding and personally sustaining. But love does not pay the bills. The state has abdicated its responsibility to help women raise families, meaning that this burden has been borne by women alone. In light of these profound obstacles to child-rearing in the US, the question that comes to mind is not why so many American women are not having children. The question is why so many of them still are.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/feb/09/us-birth-rate-decline-one-economics-coronavirus
Time for Pakistan's Christian TV channels to raise their voices
While the Church is embracing the digital age like never before, it needs to address national issues to escape its bubbleThe year 2020 will go down in history as the year of coronavirus, but for the Catholic Church in Pakistan, it marked a revival of the media ministry. When the Covid-19 pandemic forced the closure of churches last March, many priests were forced to train in social media and take their parishes online by celebrating Masses on Facebook Live and initiating WhatsApp groups.Archbishop Sebastian Shaw of Lahore dedicated the conference hall of the bishop’s house for a studio-cum-chapel, while Radio Veritas Asia (RVA) Urdu Service revamped its format to launch a news program — the first of its kind in Pakistan.I revived the YouTube channel of Caritas Pakistan. Islamabad-Rawalpindi Diocese became a YouTuber last November with the launch of Ave Maria Catholic TV under the theme of “A journey of peace and hope.”The efforts to spread spiritual awakening through electronic media are continuing. During an RVA board meeting on Feb. 8, Archbishop Joseph Arshad, chairman of the National Commission for Social Communications, approved sample TikTok videos based on hymns, Bible verses and quotes of the saints for evaluation. For the first time, a session on media has been added in the ongoing formation of 75 young priests (five years into their priesthood) in Lahore Archdiocese. “This is the biggest number we ever had in the history of the local Church,” Archbishop Arshad told me. “Diocesan directors of the Commission for Social Communications will be instructed to activate existing channels. The Church cannot afford to lose the media competition.” About 16 Christian TV channels are operating in Pakistan. All share the common goal of evangelization, broadcasting prayers and church activities as well as dispelling misconceptions regarding Christianity. Their presenters use Urdu, the national language. Few of them report minority rights. Many are being managed by resourceful ministries. Their founder pastors can be commonly seen in colorful coats on the stage at healing crusades with wives wearing heavy makeup. “It is a fact that most issues related to minorities are highlighted by the foreign media, and they reach Pakistan mostly through social media and are discussed in mainstream media,” said Peter Jacob, executive director of the Centre for Social Justice. To check the facts about minorities’ complaints regarding Urdu media, UK-based Minority Concern Pakistan (MCP) followed two national Urdu newspapers’ front pages in June 2020. The survey revealed that not even a single news story regarding minority issues or their activities appeared on those pages.
Smaller news items about non-Muslims were found in the middle pages. Although minority coverage is better in English newspapers, Urdu media is the main opinion maker. Christian TV channels in Pakistan are struggling, but they face challenges of mostly untrained communicators and sub-quality content. As a result, the community doesn’t rely on them,” MCP founder Aftab Mughal told a recent talk show. Fear of blasphemy allegations and lack of interaction with Christian professionals in mainstream media further constrain their freedom of expression, according to other speakers.The solutions Mughal, a former executive secretary of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Major Superiors Leadership Conference of Pakistan, suggested Christian TV channels in Pakistan raise their voices about national issues and contribute to national movements to escape their ghettoized situation.The Pakistan Church addresses the misuse of blasphemy laws and persecution only through the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP), its human rights body.Other commissions have adopted a non-controversial approach. The National Commission for Interreligious Dialogue and Ecumenism condemns misuse of blasphemy laws, but only if it occurs in other countries. The media ministry highlights good news, while Caritas Pakistan deals with development, and so on.All these commissions can establish a platform with the cooperation of mainstream media organizations to hold seminars, discussions and debates on interfaith harmony. The new year offers them another chance to mend their broken ties with liberal civil society, human rights defenders and free thinkers, creating more space for church groups. Punjab’s recently launched draft policy on interfaith harmony, the first of its kind in Pakistan, recommends the Punjab government use the Punjab Information Department and Directorate General of Press Information to motivate the media to be part of the "Harmonious, Tolerance and Safe Punjab for Everyone" campaign. The survival of Christian media in Pakistan depends on the country’s complete transformation to a democratic state. More provinces should develop and ensure implementation of policies on interfaith harmony. Protection of minorities and journalists can help soften the image of our country. Right now, it is a dangerous place for them. https://www.ucanews.com/news/time-for-pakistans-christian-tv-channels-to-raise-their-voices/91331
Why Most Pakistanis Can't See The Film Pakistan Is Submitting For An Oscar Nod
Religious events where he once starred as an esteemed singer are now off limits – he is literally pushed out of one event by other performers who are enraged by his wedding performance. He finds his face plastered across tawdry memes on the internet. Children who once loved him for the sweets he handed out in their crowded alley call him a pig and a pimp. A cleric threatens to accuse him of blasphemy – which can be a deadly accusation in Pakistan. Worse, his beloved daughter turns against him.The film was banned in Pakistan after an extremist religious group watched the trailer and became enraged at its portrayal of the cleric in the movie. Not only does he loosely hurl accusations of blasphemy against the protagonist, the cleric is painted as a sneering, arrogant man who turns a blind eye to child sex abuse in his seminary, even as he leads the charge to shame the protagonist. And the group rallied against the director. "Who are you to talk against scholars?" demanded Khadim Hussain Rizvi, the then-leader of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan at a rally last February against the movie, which gathered thousands of angry, chanting protesters. "The prophet did not delegate the faith to you!" he said, referring to the film's director, Sarmad Khoosat. So just like the protagonist of Zindagi Tamasha, Khoosat faced a whirlwind of hatred. "I would be added to these WhatsApp groups where mysterious people would just send me messages with gross, horrifying images of beheaded people," he tells NPR. "On social media, Twitter was on fire with 'ban Zindagi Tamasha' and 'kill this bastard.' " He says other users accused of him of blasphemy, which can trigger vigilante attacks and even lynchings in Pakistan. Following the outcry by Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan, the Pakistani government postponed Zindagi Tamasha's release. They also asked the country's Islamic advisory body to conduct a "critical review" — effectively shelving the film. The shelving of the film reflects a decades-long trend of Pakistani authorities appeasing the religious right, says Raza Rumi, the director of the Park Center for Independent Media at Ithaca College, and the editor of a liberal outlet called Naya Daur."This is a trend that has been there for a long time, and it's been growing over the decades, with more and more pressure from the religious lobbies," Rumi says. "Every government attempts to appease them, because it's a risk to anger the mullahs." "The mullahs have street power in Pakistan," he adds. But critics argue that the current ruling coalition of the prime minister Imran Khan appears even more obsequious than previous governments. That's because of a perception among some Pakistanis that it is indebted to the country's powerful military establishment for being propelled to power."This government has the unique distinction that it is probably the weakest civilian government in a long time," says Murtaza Solangi, a colleague of Rumi at Naya Daur. "It's easier to blackmail them and put them under pressure."In response to a request from NPR for an interview about the shelving of Zindagi Tamasha, and the banning of other media products, the information minister Shibli Faraz denied the government was in the business of censorship. In a statement, he wrote: "The government neither believes nor practices any kind of censorship or press advice. What it does believe in is encouragement of self-regulation by all forms of media. Further, it strongly believes in the preservation of our cultural and moral values." Faraz declined to answer specific questions. In any case, the government is sensitive to the criticisms of turbaned preachers, conservative viewers – and even an influential newspaper editor, Ansar Abbasi. He successfully demanded a jaunty biscuit advertisement be banned for showing an actress performing folk dances. "Wasn't Pakistan built in the name of Islam?" demanded Abbasi, as he complained in October about a Gala Biscuit advertisement to his 1.7 million Twitter followers. "Will biscuits be sold through mujra dancing now?" he demanded, a pejorative that refers to sexualized dancing.Within hours, Abbasi's tweet was shared thousands of times, and the ad was taken down for review by Pakistan's Electronic Media Regulatory Authority. "We received tons of complaints," Muhammad Tahir, a regulatory authority official, tells NPR. "A certain segment of our society definitely thinks dances are vulgar."Zindagi Tamasha and the biscuit ad are among the flurry of items that were banned or prevented from circulation over the past year. They include books, social media apps, television shows and even video games.As the triggers of offense appear to broaden, content makers have been left uncertain of how to work. The Gala Biscuit advertisement was a case in point: the director Asad ul Haq said it was meant to be family-friendly, celebrating local folk traditions. The actress who danced in the ad, "was fully layered up, there was no skin showing." The fear is that the country is creeping back to a repeat of its darkest days, under dictator General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, who tried to reshape Pakistan in his stern image after he seized power in the late 70s. He stopped movies from being screened and effectively choked the local film industry. Actors stopped finding work. Movie houses shut down. Musicians who provided their scores packed away their instruments. The military dictator Zia-ul-Haq died in 1988 in a plane crash, and it has taken years for the industry to recover. It was only in 2013 that Pakistan submitted a film for Oscar consideration: Zinda Bhaag, which followed the path of three young men who try smuggle themselves to Europe to start a new life. The committee responsible for picking the entry has submitted a film for consideration every year since. One committee member, Hamza Bangash, told NPR that Zindagi Tamasha was selected in November because it "really kind of upends a lot of hypocrisy within our society," he says. "It does so with humor and it's so gentle." But Bangash says he doesn't expect the nomination to change anything — in fact he calls Zindagi Tamasha "a cautionary tale, because it tells you you can pour your heart and soul into a film," he says, "and you might face death threats at the end of that." https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2021/02/08/965328189/why-most-pakistanis-cant-see-the-film-pakistan-is-submitting-for-an-oscar-nod
Imran Khan attempting to make Senate elections controversial like the 2018 general elections and conceal his farcical majority: Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari
Addressing a press conference at Media Cell Bilawal House, the PPP chairman said that we are ready to contest the Senate elections against the government even through open ballot, and angry members of the ruling party will vote against the regime despite the open ballot. “However, every citizen has the constitutional right to the secret ballot so that he can exercise his right to vote with complete privacy and without any pressure. This fundamental right is exercised in every election, but now the same right of the Assembly members is being attacked,” he added.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the reference regarding the Senate election is under hearing in the court, but the PPP will also challenge the Presidential Ordinance through the Sindh government, while Senator Mian Raza Rabbani and the provincial government will take a stand on the reference.
He said that there could be some rotten eggs who have sold their votes, but the majority of the members of the Assembly vote on the basis of their conscience. “If the PTI government wanted electoral reforms it had ample time during last three years to consult other parties for Constitutional amendments but now by using unconstitutional means it has exposed its bad intentions,” he added.
PPP Chairman further said that the selected government had hoped that they would also be given open concessions in the Senate elections like in the last general elections, but when Imran Khan saw that the PDM was ready to contest and his members were also angry, he first filed a judicial reference and then tried to impose a constitutional amendment bill through the committee without any discussion.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that if the conspiracy regarding the Senate elections was successful, it would be a major attack on democracy, Parliament and the electoral system. “if the Constitution of Pakistan is violated to satisfy the ego of a party and an individual, then it would make all the institutions controversial as the democratic parties want to stay with the system and struggle,” he stated.
PPP Chairman said that everyone knows that Imran Khan and PTI has no organic majority but these puppets have been imposed on us by undermining democracy and this key mistake is now dragging the economy of the country to destruction. “Imran Khan wants to conceal his farcical majority by trampling the Constitution and electoral laws, which won’t be allowed by the people of Pakistan,” he added.
He said that the PDM public meeting in Hyderabad would let the people of the country know what the people of Sindh wanted as they have already fought and given sacrifices during the popular movements of MRD and ARD.
Provincial Ministers Nasir Hussain Shah and Saeed Ghani, MNA Shazia Ata Marri and Jamil Soomro were also present on the occasion.
https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/24362/