Changing Lives

There was a time when Pakistan was a pro in making sports equipment, surgical instruments, carpets etc. They made a considerable part of Pakistan's exports. But then, all of a sudden, the world realised that children contribute in making these goods as well and decided to ban them to protest against child labour. The footballs and carpets which once provided for thousands of families were boycotted, leaving many families hungry and jobless. The world thought these kids should be in school instead of helping their parents out and pulled away the money which brought them food. In short, to provide these kids education and a better life, they snatched away the meals that these families earned after their hard work.

My question is: why do these super champions of human rights interfere in everyone's lives without knowing their actual situation? People who live in rural areas of Pakistan usually have large families. Due to lack of education and awareness, they impose certain limitations upon themselves, one of which is the refusal to go for family planning. Everyone who has a rational head in this world will surely realise that it's hard for one person to provide for a large family. Everyone's contribution is required in order to earn three good meals a day. Help of wives and children make it easier for the family to survive in harmony. If these kids are pulled away from work they'll become a burden and would have to go through starvation or malnutrition and might even have to face physical abuse as their parents find no other way to vent their frustration than to beat their kids up.

Education is extremely important and it's everyone's right to receive it. But before throwing out suggestions one should consider the circumstances of the people whose lifestyles are being criticised. Either they arrange charity programs so the children can go to school for free instead of working, not realising that by doing so they are completely crushing the self-respect of these little angels, or they boycott their hard work and lead them to starvation. If they are so concerned about the welfare of children maybe they should consider more practical solutions like....I don't know...increasing their wages so they can save enough to send their children to school? Or maybe, since they are so charitable, they can build up schools which can provide employment to children by honing their skills along with providing them basic education? By stopping the children from working altogether, they are wasting their skills as well as their income. Kids in rural areas are not interested in education unless they are provided with oppurtunities  to earn for their family. Banning them from work is not the solution. Their lives can be changed by providing them oppurtunities to specialise in their skills, so they can adopt it as a proper career and their children won't have to work to support them in future. Change comes gradually. Sudden change is always destructive and short termed. Patience and hard work is the only key when it comes to changing lives.

Who is my next Leader?

Imran Khan's rally on Sunday was a big success. Its success seems more magnified because of its unpredictability; few people (the political fortune-tellers), expected PTI to attract this many people and gather so much support. The fact that Imran Khan has always had youth's support is well-known but no one expected these potential voters to actually come out to show their acknowledgement and support so clearly. The enthusiasm of the crowd was unnerving and revitalising at the same time. The time has come, it seems, for Imran Khan to reap the fruits of his 16 years' struggle. He is finally being recognised as a political entity. But does this recognition really make him a politician? This question is constantly being raised by many people.

True, Imran Khan has many thinking minds as his supporters. That is, undoubtedly, his strength. But how long will he be able to hold them in? He has many goals, but few political ways to achieve them. Imran Khan's personality answers many questions about his strategies in future. He is an honest person who is inexcusably blunt and straightforward. This attribute alone ensures that he has a lot of public interest. But how much political support will he gather in order to satisfy the needs of his voters and work in the interest simultaneously? His blunt criticism is capable of warding off many important political supporters who are already itching to join him. It's an open reality that Imran Khan needs all this support that is being offered to him since he has no experienced candidates who can represent his party on different forums and team work is rarely seen. One can only hope for Imran Khan to be diplomatic.

Most of the policies, which he discussed in his rally, were too simplified. This implies that Imran Khan has not yet been successful in carving out more focused, centralised goals out of his vague ideologies which he has discussed countless times on different occasions. His take on America, his counter-terrorism policy, his anti-corruption movements, criticism on present government etc. have been heard several times with little editions in his speech and no changes in his tone. This, by no means, imply that the man is devoid of a vision. He can see his future clearly, but the measures he'll take to get there are still vague. His determination and abilities, however, prove him to be trustworthy. He has achieved goals which were thought to be impossible, like winning the cricket world cup, building Shaukat Khanum Hospital etc. Running a country is different from building a hospital or playing cricket, of course, but these achievements potray him as a determined, ambitious man who can give up anything to get what he has set his eyes on, in this case the welfare of Pakistan. I haven't seen any political leader playing Pakistan's national anthem in their rally, or addressing the whole nation while discussing their strategy instead of one province or ethnicity. No political party ever puts up images of Jinnah or Iqbal while they declare themselves leaders of Pakistan. Imran Khan is the first in a long time to take care of these subtleties. His plans are for Pakistan, not Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan, KP or FATA. He is not trying to divide the country while dividing his policies for every sector of the population. Instead, he is formulating his strategies such that they lead to the unity of all provinces. This is what most of the masses have been waiting for: a leader who recognises them as Pakistanis instead of associating their identities with their religion, province or ethical background.

There have been more criticism on Imran Khan, he has faced more accusations and all has been done to defame him. Still, I think he should be supported for the sake of this country. We have tried trusting the polished, experienced politicians. What have we got? Crisis on every level of every sector. I don't think there can be any harm in trying to trust a well-proven administrator who is educated unlike most of our politicians, clean of corruption charges and is determined and devoted to his cause. Who knows, we might even gain something. A person who has pulled the middle-class thinking minds out of their houses can be expected to 'do more' in the sole interest of this country. Whether he is a politician or not, Imran Khan is, without a doubt, a charismatic leader who have the power to make people follow him unconditionally.

(These opinions are solely those of the writer which she has formulated after listening and reading different analysis etc. These opinions, therefore, might be derived but are surely not copied. Thank you.)

Tolerating Intolerance

(I'm posting it really late because I was hoping it'll get published somewhere else. But I suppose newspapers, nowadays, don't have any taste LOL. They'll publish completely nonsensical articles but not that of the future pioneer of journalism! ME! Anyway that was a sour loser's speech, stop laughing and read on, thanks.) 

When I decided to attend this seminar, I wasn't really interested in the concept behind its topic. I only wanted to go because I thought that it'll be a different experience, and the fact that my classmates were also planning to show up strengthened my resolve to attend 'No Tolerance for Intolerance'. For me it was just another talk-talk seminar where speakers repeat what we hear all the time. But suprisingly, the discussion actually led me to form new opinions as I disagreed with the views of more than one speakers.

Sheema Kermani, Hina Khuaja Bayat, Ghazi Salahuddin, Faheem Siddiqui, Uzma Alkarim and Ruhana Iqbal attended as speakers and each gave their own version of the topic. What really ticked me off was Faheem Siddiqui's claim that intolerance often leads to solutions of problems as well. So far it's not disputable. Tolerating injustice doesn't lead us anywhere and at that point protest becomes important. But he said that the fact that media encouraged the masses to protest on streets and burn tires, ensuring them that their protest will be covered is what made the government listen to their demands. He supported the idea of violent protests. And the great Sheema Kermani followed him saying that she believed in armed struggle and protest and that burning cars, tires etc. is completely justified. Moments before the same woman was talking about civilised societies and how our society is not one of them. Seriously? She believes that asking someone about their religion is uncivilised and ill-mannered. But burning other people's property is not? With pioneers like these, no wonder our society is going wayward.

I'm not trying to imply that protesting is wrong. But there are other, peaceful ways of protest and they are practiced by civilised societies and get noticed as well. Which part of the world doesn't protest? But rarely have I heard that they smashed someone's car or burnt flags or tires or blocked traffic for long hours(I'm talking about 'civilised societies' here). On way to achieve something, we lose so much more. So many people lose what they achieved after years of hard work  and saving. Miss Kermani might think it's justified because nothing of this sort has ever happened to her. I don't think she considered the feelings of the people who are deprived of their most precious assets in one blow. How is a middle-class, honest and hard working man responsible if the government is performing poorly or if there is no electricity at your place? Aren't there any other ways to convey your frustration? Most of the people who come out on the roads chanting against the government are people who cast votes. Why vote for such corrupt people in the first place? The said speakers told us that intolerance is good. I wish they could tell us how to display it as well.

When they saw that none of their elders aren't doing the job they ought to be doing, they decided to take up the responsibility themselves. It didn't really start off as a social movement; they were inspired by a few other pages and decided to make one page of their own. But what had started out as a joke has matured into a movement, uniting thousands of people at home and abroad.

KarachiTips, a Facebook page created by three innovative individuals: Baakh Nusrat, Mohammad Abdullah and Bilal Khan, has made thousands realise the beauty of the city they live in. Their one-line tips literally describe the daily life of Karachi in a comical and light-hearted manner. The page, which was launched on June 2 had hit 10,000 fans by june 9th. In 4 months the page has crossed 22,000 fans. The tips touch every thing from the unique life style, to the socio-political situation of the city of lights. Anyone who lives or has lived in Karachi can relate to these one-liners; anyone who has never been to the city of lights can get to know this hub of various ethnicities. In an era of confusion, where we all look for reasons to fight, these tips make us accept and laugh our differences off as we realise that we all face the same problems and think the same way.

The reason I'm writing is this is not their promotion. To be frank, they don't need it now. They've been invited to several radio shows, social events and have been featured in many blogs in their early days. They've already launched their t-shirts and other such merchandise successfully. So they are past the 'promotion-needed' stage.  I just think that, being a blogger from Karachi, I think it is important to highlight the fact that such awesome people exist here in this awesome city. People who highlight the light and good aspects of Karachi life. People who bring others together.