Thursday, September 17, 2020
Malala Yousafzai tells the business community: Education is the best way to guard against future crises
This back-to-school season, consider the girls who may never go back to a classroom. According to a report from the Malala Fund which was issued last spring and updated in July, 20 million secondary school-aged girls could find themselves permanently out of an education even after the pandemic has passed. Why? The reasons are manifold, starting with early marriages and teen pregnancies. And the impact is far-reaching, not only in the regions where girls are most at risk but across the globe.
According to Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani activist known for cofounding her eponymous nonprofit, a more educated population translates to a society that is better equipped to handle global crises. It means that people are more knowledgeable on issues of viruses and vaccines, and how to slow the spread of a pandemic. It also means more economic stability, which helps populations weather a storm—whatever form the next one may take.
Fortune recently interviewed Yousafzai, the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner in history, to find out more about the ways her fund and its partners are working to mitigate some of the current threats to girls’ education, why this issue should matter to businesses, and to hear about her own personal challenges throughout the pandemic. The interview below has beed edited for length and clarity.
Fortune: We hear a lot about the disruption the virus is causing in education here in the United States, with much of learning being remote. Can you give us a bigger picture for what’s going on globally as a result of the virus, and in particular the risks to girls who are not going back to school?
Yousafzai: To be honest, Covid has shaken the global system of the economy and health and the world we live in. Before, all I could see in the future was progress, that things would improve with time. But as soon as this pandemic started and the Malala Fund did research on how this could affect girls education, we saw that it could impact 20 million girls who would be unable to return to the classroom forever. It made me more aware of the system we were living in, and that there could be unexpected events. We need to ensure that girls’ education is not ignored, and that we do not lose focus of this cause.
Can you explain why the estimates from this report showed such a disproportionate impact on girls?
The Malala Fund report [relied on insight from] the Ebola crisis. Even though it affected a smaller region, it gave us some information because it showed how many girls were in school before that and how many returned, and for those that did not return, why that was the case. The reasons are when girls stay home they often become victim to childhood marriages. School is a safe place for them, not just a place of learning. The second issue is that they become one of the family’s key breadwinners. There are several other reasons, including that oftentimes when there is an option of sending one child to school, families will send the boy.
Technological infrastructure was already an issue in many regions where your fund operates. How much of a role does it play in helping or hindering education now?
Technology is a key tool right now in ensuring that students do not miss out on their education. But it depends on the region we’re talking about. It’s difficult to make a generalized comment. We make sure we give the support they need in different regions. For example, activists in Nigeria are focused on giving lessons through a radio. Haroon [Yasin, a Pakistani education entrepreneur] is focused on using mobile phones and national television in Pakistan. It’s thinking outside the box and using the current technology that we already have.
What message do you want to send the business community, and why should they care about this risk to girls’ education?
[I notice the] lack of support during this time. It seems counterintuitive because education is the best way to protect ourselves from future crises. When girls go to school, economies grow and public health improves. In this time of pandemic, if you imagine a more educated society, it would allow us to more easily tackle more this crisis. It is education that gives us a society in which we can ensure that we are healthy and safe. There is an awareness of hygiene, and how viruses and vaccines work.
What has been hardest for you, on a personal level, throughout the pandemic?
I was in my final year of college when this all started. We were sent back home for Easter holiday and then never returned. I had to take my exams and do my graduation at home. The world I imagined post-graduation was that I would be traveling and meeting our champions [a network of activists and advocates of girls’ education, supported by the Malala Fund]. That is not what I see right now. Instead, there is a lot of uncertainty and confusion about what is next.
But at same time, I’m thinking that maybe this is an opportunity for us to reset the world we are living in, and not just return to normal. I hope that this is a time that we really think about society and the system that we are living in. The world is not perfect, there are issues from racism to sexism and global inequality. There is a lot that needs to be done. We continue our work with optimism.
https://fortune.com/2020/09/15/malala-yousafzai-business-education-girls-access-school-crisis/
#Pakistan - Chairman #PPP says no compromise on 18th amendment and the rights of provinces
Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the state has martyred his family members one by one. He said that “first my grandfather Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was hanged by a dictator and then my uncle Shahnawaz Bhutto was killed by poisoning him. The other uncle Mir Murtaza Bhutto was murdered in Karachi. Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto was murdered in the streets of Rawalpindi”.
He said that a lot many people who were with Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto are here in this room and many those are here as well who were not with him. People who were against him are calling him Shaheed now. Similar is the case with Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto who was called corrupt but now the very same people are declaring her a Shaheed.
Chairman PPP said that even today character assassination is carried out on television channels but the PPP is still steadfast on its principles and manifesto. Whatever rights we have now in Pakistan are due to the sacrifices of the workers of PPP, he said. He said that what kind of Riasat-e-Madina is this where a woman is gang raped on the motorway but the people who were responsible of giving her protection, started victim blaming. Now, the prime minister and other ministers have come in support of that police officer.
He said that 2.5 million people in Sindh are homeless because of floods and similar is the case in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit but there is no voice for them in the media. The federal government of PPP in 2010 and 2011 had helped the flood victims by issuing them “Watan cards”. It is unfortunate that no one is ready from the federal government to help them. He said that the bills were bulldozed in the joint session yesterday. The speaker was not ready to conduct the vote re-count. If this continues then we will have to consider that how long this Parliament will continue to be a rubber stamp.
The rights of every strata of the society are being usurped. You are well aware of the pressure exerted by NAB and the establishment. The media owners who used to say that they form the government and they send the government home are themselves facing pressure and high handedness. The senior members of the Bar have gathered all of us here and I have to ask them that when Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, President Asif Ali Zardari and PPP wanted to put forward a stance about judiciary at the time of the movement of judiciary, nobody gave us support then. When the PPP had come out against the establishment, then everybody started saying that we are trying to protect our corruption, how wrong those people have been proved.
Today, everyone is with us on the issue of the 18th amendment but at that time we used to say that a national party is being forced to a corner and efforts were made to limit us to one province but no one listened to us. We had agreed in Charter of Democracy that there will be a constitutional court, the PPP wanted to make that court but we were not allowed to do that. The Parliament was forced to pass the 19th amendment. When we had said that the judges’ appointment should be done by the Bar, Parliament and the judiciary, no one supported us. At that time, the threat of doing away with the 1973 constitution was hurled at us. There is no future of such legislation. Like the senior journalist Sohail Warraich says, “yeh company nahi chale gi”. He urged the Pakistan Bar Council to include a resolution revoking the 19th amendment.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that he has experienced accountability since the age of two years with his parents. He has seen the courts and the prisons from a very young age. Several false cases were initiated against Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and every case was quashed but unfortunately, she was not alive to see herself exonerated. He said that our narrative about civil liberties and human rights should be one. What kind of civil liberty is this that an interview of a politician could not be aired on television? This is not the way of a living nation. We have rendered sacrifices and now we want to hold accountable the ones who have spilled our blood.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that he and his party are not ready to compromise on the 18th amendment and the rights of the provinces. He said that we will have to unite to liberate our Parliament and our country.
https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/23764/
Wednesday, September 16, 2020
Imran Khan govt seen getting intolerant of criticism as journalists face treason cases
ISMAIL DILAWAR and FASEEH MANGI
Bilal Farooqi of Express Tribune, Asad Ali Toor of Samaa TV and former AAJ news anchor Absar Alam are facing sedition charges for allegedly defaming Pakistan Army and govt.
At least three journalists in Pakistan have been charged for alleged sedition in the past week, raising concerns that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government is increasingly intolerant of media criticism.
Bilal Farooqi, the news editor at the Express Tribune, said he was arrested by the Karachi police last week on charges of sedition for defaming the country’s army and criticizing the government but later he was released on bail. Absar Alam, a former anchor at AAJ news channel, said he also faced similar accusations in charges made available to him by police. Asad Ali Toor, a journalist at Samaa television, is facing a sedition case, the local media reported.
Many prominent journalists in Pakistan have taken to social media to describe their battles with government censorship. Reporters Without Borders has lowered Pakistan’s ranking by three points to 145 out of about 180 in its 2020 World Press Index. The ranking has dropped six notches since Khan, once a vocal advocate of the free media, came to power in 2018. The prime minister has claimed the press enjoys unprecedented freedom in the South Asian nation.
“The arrest of Bilal was a part of the nefarious and concerted plan to gag the free media and independent voices,” the Karachi Union of Journalists, said in a statement. The government has no tolerance for dissenting views and criticism of any kind, Farooqi said on phone from Karachi on Tuesday. Such cases are an “honor in a fascist regime,” Alam said on phone.
Zafar Abbas, a spokesman for Pakistan’s interior ministry, was not immediately available for comments on journalists being booked for treason.
In July, a senior journalist, Matiullah Jan, claimed he was kidnapped from Islamabad by the security forces and later released after pressure from the media groups. Jan is known for being a strong critic of Khan and the army’s alleged involvement in politics. The country’s powerful military has ruled Pakistan for about half of its seven-decade history. – Bloomberg
https://theprint.in/world/imran-khan-govt-seen-getting-intolerant-of-criticism-as-journalists-face-treason-cases/503667/
اپوزیشن لیڈر شہباز شریف اور پیپلز پارٹی کے چیئرمین بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے کہا ہے کہ آج پارلیمان کی کارروائی کو پاؤں تلے روندا گیا۔
حزب اختلاف کی دو بڑی جماعتوں کی قیادت نے مشترکہ نیوز کانفرنس کی، شہباز شریف نے کہا کہ اسپیکر اسد قیصر نے آج ریڈ لائن عبور کرلی ہے، ان کے رویے کی مذمت کرتے ہیں۔
انہوں نےمزید کہا کہ اسپیکر قومی اسمبلی کے حوالے سے باہمی مشاورت کے بعد جلد فیصلہ کریں گے۔
شہباز شریف نے یہ بھی کہا کہ اسپیکر اسد قیصر نے ہماری ترامیم پر بحث ہی نہیں ہونے دی، اسپیکر کی ڈائس تک گیا مگر انہوں نےمجھے سے بات نہیں کی۔
ان کا کہنا تھا کہ اپوزیشن فنانشل ایکشن ٹاسک فورس (ایف اے ٹی ایف) سے متعلق 12بلوں کی حمایت کرچکی ہے، اس کے باوجود ہماری حق بجانب ترامیم کو مسترد کیا گیا۔
شہباز شریف نے مزید کہا کہ این آر او نہیں مانگ رہے، نیب کا سامنا کر رہے ہیں، ملک میں چینی 100روپے کلو تک پہنچ گئی ہے جبکہ قوم بدترین حالات کا سامنا کر رہی ہے۔
https://jang.com.pk/news/821090
#Pakistan #PPP - Legislations passed in the joint session of the Parliament in unconstitutional manner, Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari
Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that the government has unconstitutionally carried out legislations today.Addressing a press conference in opposition leader’s chamber in the National Assembly with the Opposition leader Shahbaz Sharif and other Parliamentary leaders of opposition parties in the National Assembly and Senate of Pakistan, Chairman Bilawal said that all the representatives of the people came today to the joint session of the Parliament to express their views on important matter which concern Pakistan. It was unfortunate that the government adopted an unconstitutional way to pass their bills.
Chairman PPP said that after court’s decision, an advisor cannot present bills in the Parliament. This was illegal and unconstitutional. He said that according to rules the Opposition leader can address the Parliament at any time like the leader of the House.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that earlier we had objected the legislation on FATF just to help the government. Now the bill the government has bulldozed today will facilitate arrest of any person without an arrest warrant. If this happens in Pakistan then there will be negative effect on the economy of the country. He said that the anti-democratic manner with which this government has bulldozed legislations today in the parliament was not seen even in the assemblies under dictators like General Zia ul Haq and General Musharraf.
https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/23757/
Tuesday, September 15, 2020
#Pakistan - Foreign Office needs reform
NO institution can perform effectively unless it is able to adapt to changes around it, leverage the opportunities offered by a globalised world and learn new skills to deal with emerging challenges. Periodic review and reform are essential to reinvigorate any organisation and make it fit for purpose. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is no exception to this rule.
For decades little has changed in its working methods, structure, training of personnel and mode of recruitment — and thus in its outlook and approach. If foreign policy is the country’s first line of defence, Pakistan’s foreign service needs serious attention and reform.
A frequent and justified lament heard from the ministry is that over the years it has steadily lost its centrality in the foreign policy-making process to other stakeholders in the country’s hybrid civil-military system. But the answer to this is to make the ministry more relevant, even pivotal, by improving the quality of its policy inputs and by showing initiative to stay ahead of the curve. After all, demoralisation only disempowers the institution.
Leadership by the head of the service, the foreign secretary, is the key to revival of its once central role. But this has long been in short supply as careerism has been prioritised over professionalism. An unnecessarily timid and subservient attitude towards other stakeholders has characterised the conduct of recent holders of this office. This is a far cry from the 1990s and 2000s when foreign secretaries stood their ground to a military ruler and assertively gave policy advice to prime ministers even when that did not accord with their views.
As a first step a task force should be appointed to propose reforms for the PM’s approval.
The foreign secretary’s principal role is to lead, inspire and motivate the service by offering intellectually sound advice and resist any politicisation of decisions and personnel policy by the government of the day. A culture of open internal discussion should be fostered not of discouraging independent, out-of-the-box thinking.
Beyond behavioural changes, a number of structural measures are essential. An adequately resourced ministry that has financial autonomy is crucial to the performance of its basic functions. It must have the means to adapt quickly to changing needs and for that it needs greater financial authority, within its allocated budget. The numerical strength of the service also needs to expand especially as the number of missions has risen, complexity of international issues has increased and so have avenues for diplomacy. The financial cost can be offset by cutting down the support staff of a tail-heavy service.
A second structural change is to reduce the centralisation that has occurred over the years with decisions on even minor administrative matters concentrated in the foreign secretary’s office. Empowering additional secretaries and giving them greater policy responsibility will encourage initiative and fresh thinking. The director general should be the tier assigned to initiate new ideas and become the thinking post for the concerned division.
Three, working methods should be substantially overhauled to improve communication within headquarters, between divisions still operating in silos, and with Missions. The information flow is either too slow or absent, seriously handicapping mission work. Ambassadors can only be effective if they are kept regularly briefed. Sharing of timely information is hobbled by a communication and feedback system that needs urgent modernisation, without compromising security. It also needs a change in mindset from one that prizes monopolising information over sharing it. Clear lines of communication have to be instituted for the information flow.
Four, training requires major reform in several areas. The generalised initial training has to be replaced by more specialised training in which practical aspects of diplomacy should be taught along with knowledge of foreign policy. In other words, training modules should be focused on how to negotiate, communicate, practise public diplomacy and deal with a complex media landscape — modern tools every diplomat needs. Diverse expertise is now required on a complex array of global issues. Training should cater to these rather than be mired in mental maps of the past. The ministry’s lack of legal expertise also needs to be addressed at the training stage. This weakness was tellingly exposed during Pakistan’s representation at the International Court of Justice in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case.
As economic diplomacy acquires more importance, diplomats, who have long thought this wasn’t their job, need exposure to the country’s trade and business environment to be knowledgeable and effective. Above all a know-your-country (not just its foreign policy) approach is essential as sometimes diplomats appear out of sync with the domestic dynamics of a changing Pakistan.
Short courses at mid-career can also be introduced on public diplomacy especially as new opportunities open up to deploy soft power in a more globalised world in which diverse non-state actors increasingly shape a country’s foreign policy outlook. Certainly, use of the social media should be in the diplomat’s toolkit, but as of now, the foreign ministry has yet to evolve any rules for its use.
Promotions and postings are issues that generate much controversy and in-house resentment as they are either predicated on narrowly defined criteria (eg length of service) or favouritism rather than performance. A truly merit-based policy will lift the service’s sinking morale by rewarding the best officers, rather than those politically connected or favoured by the ministry’s top echelon.
Finally, a longer-term reform to consider is direct recruitment to the foreign service rather than through a generalised civil service examination. Long discussed, this has always been discarded for involving cumbersome changes including in the law. But as foreign service work is very different from that of other government departments its entrance exam should serve specific service requirements. This would attract better candidates and make the initial training process focused on the skills needed for diplomacy. The process can remain entrenched in the Federal Public Service Commission.
The menu of reforms to make the Foreign Office fit for purpose is extensive but aversion to change should not stand in the way of measures to make Pakistan’s diplomacy more effective and able to capitalise on the opportunities unleashed by a more multipolar and multi-stakeholder world. The government can take the first step by appointing a task force to propose reforms for approval of the prime minister within a specified time frame.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1579617/foreign-office-needs-reform
Pakistan: Hardline Sunni groups on collision course with Shiites
Rights groups in Pakistan say they are alarmed over rising blasphemy cases in the past months. Many of these cases have been registered against Shiites, who have come under pressure from fundamentalist Sunni outfits.
Pakistani police registered at least 40 blasphemy cases in August, according to the country's human rights groups.
The South Asian country's independent Human Rights Commission said most of these cases were filed against Shiite Muslims in relation to speeches made at religious processions.
On Friday, hardline Sunni groups organized a large-scale rally against Shiites in the country's financial hub, Karachi. Thousands of people participated in the demonstration and chanted anti-Shiite slogans, including "Shia kafir" (Shiites are infidel).
Although, the Sunni-Shiite conflict in Islam is centuries old, it intensified in Pakistan in the 1980s, after the 1979 Iranian revolution and the subsequent Saudi-Iranian rivalry.
Sunni groups accuse Shiites of "disrespecting" some of the Prophet Muhammad's companions, who they hold in high esteem.
In the past decade, pro-Saudi Sunni militant extremists have intensified their attacks on Shiites, who have a religious affiliation to Iran.
Fear of violence
The rise in blasphemy accusations and street protests against Shiites has raised concern about a possible violent confrontation between the two groups.
"It is an unprecedented rise, and we are worried it can flare up sectarian violence," Mehdi Hasan, chairman of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), told Dpa news agency last week
Rights groups criticize the government for not taking action against hardline sectarian outfits, some of which are banned in the country.
Asad Iqbal Butt, a senior official of the HRCP, says the authorities are not doing anything to rein in extremist groups.
"The situation is alarming not only for Shiites but also for the members of other minority groups. The government has turned a blind eye to sectarian organizations that are spreading hatred against Shiites and other religious minorities," Butt told DW.
Protection of Islam
In July, lawmakers of the provincial Punjab assembly passed a bill that imposed punishments for vilifying holy Sunni figures.
Shiite activist Rashid Rizvi told DW that most of the blasphemy cases against Shiites have been filed after the passage of the bill. "More than 40 cases have been registered in the month of August only and more people are being booked. One Shiite cleric fled the country due to death threats against him and some were arrested by police," Rizvi said.
Senator Akram Baloch is also of the view that the bill has led to a spike in blasphemy cases. "The Punjab government should immediately scrap the law because it is fueling sectarian tensions in the country. The law is being misused," Baloch told DW.
Sunni groups, however, say the law is necessary to protect Islam.
Hafiz Ihtesham Ahmed, an Islamabad-based Sunni cleric, alleges that members of the Shiite community regularly commit blasphemy. "The Punjab assembly bill has exposed Shiites who blaspheme against holy figures that are revered by Sunni Muslims. So, I think the cases [against them] are genuine, and the government should arrest all those who have been booked," Ahmed told DW.
Muhammad Jalal Uddin, a member of the Jamiat Ulema Islam, says his party would oppose any attempt to amend or repeal the Punjab assembly law. "We will go to any extreme to protect this law. Pakistan is an Islamic country and we should have Islamic laws," he told DW.
An alarming situation
Blasphemy is a sensitive topic in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, where 97 percent of its 180 million inhabitants are Muslims. According to Pew Research Center, adherents of Shiite Islam in Pakistan make up between 15-20% of the country's total population.
Pakistan's blasphemy laws have come under hefty criticism, as they have often been used to target minorities, activists, and to settle personal vendettas. Although no one has yet been executed under the laws, dozens of people are currently sitting on death row due to blasphemy convictions.
According to rights groups, around 1,549 blasphemy cases were registered in Pakistan between 1987 and 2017. More than 75 people have so far been killed extra-judicially after blasphemy allegations. Some of them were even targeted after being acquitted in blasphemy cases by courts.
In 2018, Asia Bibi, a Christian woman, was acquitted on appeal and left the country, provoking violent protests across Pakistan.
Peter Jacob, a rights activist, said he was concerned at the recent spike in blasphemy cases, which also involved other minority groups. "In recent weeks, three members of the minority Ahmaddiya community have been killed – one over alleged blasphemy and other for unknown reasons. Some Christians have also been booked in blaspheme cases. Now even Shiite Muslims are being targeted, with extremist groups openly spreading hatred against them," Jacob told DW.
Ishaq Khakwani, a former federal minister and member of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, admits that the situation is worrisome. "I am concerned over an increase in blasphemy cases. People are afraid of supporting the accused. Even if the person who is accused of blasphemy is released, his life continues to be in danger," he told DW.
Christian Community’s role in modern education in Pakistan and the price they paid
By Ali Hasnain
Christians made remarkable efforts in introducing modern education in British India, which later became Pakistan and India. But rather than being appreciated they had to pay a heavy price for it.
Pakistan, being a third world country, struggles with many problems. Low literacy rate is one of the prominent one. But the condition is bleaker when it comes to the literacy rate of religious minorities, especially the Christian community of Pakistan.
It is an undeniable fact that the missionaries played a vital role in bringing English medium education to what was known as the British India, in 1854.
The first missionary school of the sub-continent Rang Mahal Lahore, which started under a tree with only three students and was soon transformed into a high school.
The churches continued their endeavours to develop more institutions with modern education, in fact within fifty years, hundreds of institutions and an increasing number of students reflected the centrality of education as the missionary objective.
Despite all the efforts, Christians had to pay a heavy price, not only for pioneering modern education in the sub-continent, but also for supporting the Muslims when the British India was being partitioned into two states, namely: India and Pakistan. Majority of the Christians supported the formation of Pakistan. Prominent Christian leaders of that time even argued before the Boundary Commission that, in case of division, the Christians must be counted with the Muslims.
After the creation of Pakistan:
After the creation of Pakistan, in 1947, missionary schools were known for quality education. Admissions were given irrespective of any religious affiliation. In fact, founder of the country, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, National poet of Pakistan, Sir Allama Muhammad Iqbal and other main leaders studied at Christian institutions.
But things started changing dramatically in 1972, when all educational institutions, including missionaries, were taken over by the ruling government. Civilian Chief Martial Law Administrator Zulfikar Ali Bhutto ordered nationalisation of all educational institutions.
Since those schools were an identity of the Pakistani Christians, nationalisation was not only seen, but felt, as an attack on this identity. Although the decision was not made on religious grounds, it initiated some other serious issues.
Aside from providing good education, missionary schools were also a source of interaction between various faiths. With a low-fee structure, these institutions provided an opportunity to students from every social class and religion to come in contact with others. This helped in breaking barriers and developing harmony between the adherents of different religious denominations.
Nationalisation not only had an adverse effect on the quality of education, it also sabotaged the inter-religious connections. This resulted in persecution and instances of prejudice against minorities.
Policy implementation and its Aftermath:
The policy to nationalise all the educational institutions was announced on 15th March 1972. According to the data conducted by Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), a research organisation in Pakistan, 3,334 institutions consisting of 1,826 schools, 346 Islamic seminaries, 155 colleges and five technical institutes were taken over by the government.
Apparently, the government vowed that this step would enhance the literacy rate, but reality was contrary to the claims. As an aftermath, strength of non-Muslim teachers and students was seen to plummet and the standard of education also declined.
In order to take back their schools from the government’s possession, Christians of the society staged protests in various cities to condemn the arbitrary move of the government, on 30th August 1972.
“I participated in that protest as a schoolboy and I heard a phrase from a passer-by ‘Where have they come from? I did not know there were so many Christians in Pakistan’,” said, Executive director of CSJ, Peter Jacob.
Press release for the protest was issued with the heading ‘Death Knell for Christians – 1st September 1972’ which accentuated the severity and urgency of raising voice against the take-over which was due on 1st September 1972.
“Protestors demanded a meeting with the then President, Zulfiqar A. Bhutto, at the Presidency which was 300 meters away from the protestors in Rawalpindi,” said Jacob.
“Police, who were in riot-control gears, initially resorted to baton charging and firing tear gas and eventually opened fire on the protestors, killing two marchers,” Jacob added.
According to the press dispatch issued by the administration, protestors were armed with guns and sticks.
No gain, with a big loss:
Steep decline in the quality of education and the literacy rate of the country made it clear that nationalisation was not the right decision. Apart from the decline, corruption and nepotism in the recruitments, religious biases and narrow mentality by the teachers was observed.
Sister Shehla Keane, Principle of St. Teresa’s High School, one of the nationalised missionary schools, penned her experience in Focus, published in 1988.
“As a principal I felt completely frustrated by not knowing what nationalisation really entailed. I would soon find out…The male science teacher was not allowed to continue, and the first vacancy was created and filled almost immediately.
There was no interview, Shamim (the appointee) arrived with her appointment letter and equipped with her knitting.
Three more young Muslim teachers had joined our staff in short period of one month. The School already had two teachers teaching Islamiat (Islamic Studies) and now five… These new teachers brought with them some closed ideas about the role of education in the emancipation of Christian girls, stating ‘And who is going to clean our houses and wash our clothes if these girls study and do exams.’”
Orders for Denationalisation:
In 1979, the then military government announced that there will be no further nationalisation of educational institutions. In fact, the authority of the denationalisation was given to provincial governments.
On 1st April 1985 Sindh government notified conditional denationalisation of 14 Christian schools. However, the notification remained a piece of paper for many years.
Conclusion:
Indeed, the nationalisation of the educational institutions resulted in retardation of the education milieu of the country. According to the data collected by CSJ, out of 118 nationalised Christian institutions, still 50% have to be denationalised.
Those, which are still under government´s dominance have 16% strength of non-Muslim students and 9% of Non-Muslim teachers. Nevertheless, the orders for denationalisation is still a ‘pie in the sky’ for the churches and the education sector of the country.
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