SDPI Research and News Bulletin
Vol. 11, No. 1, January - February 2004
Twisted truth: Press and politicians make gains from
SDPI curriculum report
nayyar@sdpi.org
Over the years, many people have worried about the state of education in Pakistan and the need for reform has been emphasised in countless speeches by political leaders, in government reports, parliamentary debates, some books, scholarly essays and research, newspaper articles and editorials. But in all these years, there has never been anything like what has happened in the past few months.
During these months, the content of our education system has been passionately
debated as right-wing politicians and the right-wing press denounced and reviled a recent report by a
group of scholars, teachers and educationists about the many problems with the
national curriculum and text-books used in our public schools. They have also
attacked the government, accusing it of having made changes to the textbooks
under American pressure.
At the heart of the controversy is a report entitled The Subtle Subversion: The
State of Curricula and Text-books in Pakistan - Urdu, English, Social Studies
and Civics.
The report grew out of a study started in June 2002, when
SDPI brought together 30 experts on Pakistan's education system from around the
country to assess the problems with the national curriculum and textbooks and
to propose reforms. The goal of the study was to understand how the education
system was helping foster a culture of sectarianism, intolerance and violence.
The SDPI report was an attempt to see where our education system was 20 years
after General Zia's efforts, and to take up General Pervez Musharraf's promise
of supporting reforms that would find, in his words, "solutions to the
problem of sectarianism and extremism".
To these ends, the study group collected and reviewed the official curriculum
documents, that had been revised and published in March, 2002, and the
officially approved textbooks in Pakistan Studies, Social Studies, Urdu,
English and Civics covering classes 1 to 12.
The questions asked were: What is the religious content of textbook material in
subjects other than Islamic studies? What kind of hate material is in the
textbooks and how prevalent is it? What, if any, are the distortions, by
commission and omission, in the narration of our history? Which values and
personalities are projected? To what extent is militancy inculcated in
students? What gender biases exist in the learning material? And, lastly, what
role does the curriculum, prepared by the Federal Ministry of Education, play
in determining the content and character of the books published by the
provincial textbook boards?
We went through the books, line by line, section after section, chapter after chapter. We
hoped that our answers would give way to an informed national debate about what
our children were actually being taught.
Let me explain some of what we found, and then the storm we met. Take first the
case of teaching religion. We found
that Islamic teachings are a systematic part of the textbooks in Urdu, English
and Social Studies that are compulsory for students of all faiths. For example,
the report shows that on an average about one-fourth of the lessons in Urdu
textbooks published by the Punjab and the Federal textbook boards have
religious content.
The report also looked at the example of the integrated primary level course,
which is taught to all children. Since it is integrated, Islamiat is a part of
it. This is a clear violation of the fundamental rights guaranteed by the
Constitution. Article 22(1) of the Constitution of Pakistan says: "No
person attending any educational institution shall be required to receive
religious instruction, or take part in any religious ceremony, or attend
religious worship, if such instruction, ceremony or worship relates to a
religion other than his own". Are we to infer that the education system
works on the basis that only Muslim citizens of Pakistan send their children to
school?
The report brings out example after example of statements from textbooks on
Social Studies as well as Urdu which clearly seek to create prejudice and hate
against Hindus and India. One textbook says, "The religion of the Hindus
did not teach them good things"; another teaches the child that the
"Hindu has always been an enemy of Islam"; yet another says,
"the Hindus lived in small and dark houses"; and, as a final example,
consider the story used in an Urdu textbook that has a Hindu character explain
that "Hindus please the goddess Kali by slaughtering people of other
religions at her feet'.
On issue after issue, we found more than what we had
feared. There were the instructions to textbook writers to emphasize jihad
and shahadat; the obvious lies about history, even that which was within
living memory; the sustained focus on wars and military heroes rather than
peace and development and the countless people who have struggled for human
compassion, peace and justice; and the deeply disturbing representation of
women. Despite state rhetoric regarding women’s rights and the need to provide
them with equal educational and job opportunities, state sponsored textbooks
continue to reinforce gender-biased stereotypes. The report documents all of
this.
The report came to the conclusion that the curricula and the instructions
contained in them, and the Curriculum Wing of the Federal Ministry of Education
were the most fundamental source of the problem. It is the Curriculum Wing that
has the final authority to whet the books prepared by provincial textbook
boards. This conclusion was borne from a couple of more recent examples that
have come to light.
In December 2003, the Curriculum Wing rejected a proposed English language
textbook for Classes IX and X from the Sindh Textbook Board. The Curriculum
Wing raised two "serious" objections. One objection centred on a
lesson containing a letter by the Quaid-i-Azam's daughter Dina to her father;
it was considered unacceptable because she was not a Muslim. The second problem
was about a lesson that talked of a family where both husband and wife worked
and in which the husband was shown to share household chores with his wife.
A second, even more recent example shows just how little has really changed
since General Musharraf's regime came to power. In February, 2004, the
Curriculum Wing expressed its disapproval of a class IV textbook on Social
Studies because the book did not contain enough material on jihad. The
SDPI report has received extensive comments in the press both in the country
and outside. It attracted a great deal of support for its proposals for urgent
and sweeping reforms. It also met with hostile criticism from right-wing and
ultra-nationalist groups, and their like-minded commentators in certain
sections of the media. The government, despite being a military regime in all
but name, made a hasty retreat, and has failed again to take any kind of
principled position or action in favour of its’ much proclaimed reform agenda.
Earlier this year, as the SDPI report began to attract public support for its
proposals for urgent and sweeping reforms in the education system, the Ministry
of Education created a committee to review the report. The ministry chose to
give the responsibility for hosting the review committee to the Curriculum
Wing, despite the fact that the SDPI report had recommended that the Curriculum
Wing be abolished.
In March, the Minister for Education informed the National Assembly that
following the review, her ministry had rejected the analysis and
recommendations of the report. The National Assembly was not informed that the
15-person review committee had, in fact, endorsed the SDPI report by a vote of
9 to 6, and supported its most significant proposals for reforming the national
curricula, textbooks and the ministry itself. Whatever side the minister is on,
it is not that of the report and its reform proposals.
Another part of the campaign has been to attack SDPI for being an NGO and to
suggest that it must have an agenda defined by its supposed foreign funders. The
same tactic is used against the government. Consider for example the following
newspaper claim, purportedly citing a statement by US National Security Adviser
Condoleeza Rice.
Columnist Irfan Siddiqui has quoted Rice as saying: "Educational reform in
Muslim countries is the top-most priority of the US government ... Reforms are
being introduced in Muslim countries, curricula are being changed. Pakistan's
education minister is a wonder woman. I had met her in Washington last year and
exchanged views on Pakistan's educational curriculum".
Condoleeza Rice's deposition is available in its entirety on the internet.
Search it for the word 'curriculum'; it is simply not there. Search it for the
word 'education', and there is only one paragraph, which is:
"One of the things that we've been very interested in, for instance, is the
issue of educational reform in some of these countries. As you know, the madrassas
are a big difficulty. I've met, myself personally, two or three times with
the Pakistani - a wonderful woman who's the Pakistani education minister. We
can't do it for them. They have to do it for themselves. But we have to stand
for those values. And over the long run, we will change - I believe we will
change the nature of the Middle East, particularly if there are examples that
this can work in the Middle East."
It is clear that Rice's statement refers to madrassas
and says nothing about the curriculum of the public education system. What is
more disturbing is that it is not just a columnist misinforming his readers.
Much of the Urdu press, including major columnists like Hamid Mir and Ataul Haq
Qasmi, also now carry the misquote. None of them ever bothered to check Rice's
speech. For many readers, a lie has now become the truth.
When some newspapers are willing to use their power to mislead public opinion
and to incite religious and national passions in this way, it is hard to
understand how we can have a serious, thoughtful and informed debate about the
fundamental character and content of our education system.
To Mr. Jinnah's point that "the importance of education and the right type
of education cannot be over-emphasised", we must add that there is equally
no doubt about the need for a free press and a press that takes seriously its
responsibility to inform and educate its readers. Without this, there can be no
democratic debate, and, without such debates, democracy cannot be made to work.
“The Subtle Subversion” in
the eye of the storm
This
report is the result of a study conducted by SDPI with the help of a number of
educationists and concerned citizens of the country in the year 2002. The study
looked into the then inforce curriculum documents and school textbooks as well
as those curriculum documents that were most recently formulated but had not
been implemented yet. The objective of the study was to identify complex
content in textbooks and to ascertain the curriculum that was the source of
such content. The subjects chosen were those which offer a greater space for
political and ideological manipulation.
States
quite often use formal education as a tool to disseminate and perpetuate their
political messages. In the Pakistani context, the use of education as a
political tool intensified after 1971 mainly due to the demands of redefining
Pakistan after the political crisis of East Pakistan and emergence of Pakistan
as a truncated country. During the late 70s, education was the first victim at
the hands of the military regime. Religious political parties became
enthusiastic partners in this quest. In the educational sphere, this amounted
to a distorted narration of history, factual inaccuracies, inclusion of hate
material, a disproportionate inclusion of Islamic studies in other disciplines,
glorification of war and the military and gender bias. Subsequent governments
either failed to check these harmful deviations, or willingly perpetuated
them.
This
study is by no means the first to point to these issues. The civil society of
Pakistan reacted almost immediately to the Zia government’s policies of
Islamization of education. A number of educationists wrote articles, research
papers and books highlighting the way the educational space was being usurped
by blatant indoctrination. The first question they addressed was regarding
distortions in history, and the contributions of Rubina Saigol, Pervez
Hoodbhoy, K. K. Aziz, I. A. Rahman, Mubarak Ali, and A. H. Nayyar were
noteworthy.
Why was
a new study on the curricula and textbooks needed? There were several reasons.
First, new textbooks are published almost every year, and it was essential to
check whether the most recent ones also contained the same objectionable
material both in terms of inaccuracies as well as pedagogical slant and style.
Second, the Curriculum Wing of the Ministry of Education was revising all the
curricula in the spring of 2002, and it was essential to analyse that too.
Third, none of the earlier studies appeared to have had any impact on the
government policies or the public discourse on education. Generation after
generation was being lost to bad education and provision of quality education
was never on the political agenda of the country. The problems needed to be
highlighted in their true severity to bring the issues into the domain of
public debate. Lastly, it was also deemed essential to make a collective study
in order to bring together the various perspectives from which individual
analysts had looked into the educational material.
The
initiative at SDPI was taken by A.H Nayyar and Ahmed Salim and joined in by
Mohsin Babbar, Ayesha Inayat and Aamna Mattu. A research project was developed
and such educationists who had expressed their opinion on the issue were
invited to be a part of it. They were university professors, school and college
teachers, and members of civil society organisations in the private sector. Two
2-day workshops were held. In the first workshop, ideas were formulated, areas
of focus were defined and tasks assigned to the program participants to take
home and bring back their studies in the second workshop three weeks later. It
was also decided to focus only on the subjects of Social Studies, Pakistan
Studies, Urdu, English and Civics. Most of the participants brought their
in-depth studies of the learning material in the second workshop. Their
contributions, which were scrutinised and discussed in detail have become the
source of the content in this report.
Indeed not all the material
pointed out by the participants was new. Since much of the material in
textbooks is repeated in newer editions, there was to be an inevitable overlap
with earlier works on the subject, particularly because many of the
participants had themselves written extensively on the issue. Similarly,
although the group looked into the most recent curriculum documents, there was
to be an inevitable overlap between the problematic material pointed out in
earlier studies and the one in this report.
After completion, the first
draft report was shared with some friends for review and improvements and the
draft report was released on 16 June 2003.
The report has been widely commented on in the Press in Pakistan, India
and elsewhere. The extraordinary attention this report has received as compared
to more scholarly works earlier may have been a result of the special
circumstances Pakistan is facing since September 2001. Hopefully, our findings
and suggestions will help improve the
educational material in Pakistan.
abid@sdpi.org
SAFTA
is supposed to open a new vista of regional economic cooperation and
integration. There is no phenomenon such as Common SAARC position in WTO as the
trade interests of WTO members from South Asia vary a lot. The SAARC trade
ministers could not manage to meet even once between the Doha Ministerial and
the Cancun Ministerial Conference of WTO. Adoption of South Asian Free Trade
Agreement (SAFTA) during the SAARC summit of January 2004 in Islamabad in this
backdrop is a landmark decision. SAARC member states seem to have, to some extent,
set aside their parochial interests and apprehensions and move forward with an
open mind towards creating a free trade area. First, the sense of urgency for
SAFTA is laudable. Second, the normalisation of India-Pakistan relations
becomes very critical for the operation of the free trading regime in its true
sense.
SAFTA
is slated for launch in 2006, with a 10- year period for full-fledged
implementation. The treaty has taken up some of the issues with very clear
provisions. Such areas include those on tariff reduction and the procedural
aspects of the application of Balance of Payment and Safeguard measures, as
well as Dispute Settlement Mechanism. The treaty has clearly stipulated the
actions that Contracting States can take while facing Balance of Payment
difficulties, during import surges or in the case of disputes. Likewise, the
treaty has also laid down a clear path for tariff reduction, which spans 10
years, beginning 2006.
This
meeting also took environmental issues as a priority area. In the Islamabad
Declaration adopted at the meeting, ministers recognized the need to
"undertake and reinforce regional cooperation in the conservation of our
water resources, environment, pollution prevention and control as well as our
preparedness to deal with natural calamities". Ministers also encouraged
the establishment of a Coastal Zone Management Centre in the Maldives. Five out
of seven SAARC members have long coastal zones and this management centre would
study the nature of problems such as tidal surges, cyclones and the greenhouse
effect. Ministers furthermore "stressed the early submission of the State
of the Environment (SOE) reports to expedite the preparation of SAARC State of
Environment report and the commissioning of the work on drafting a Regional
Environment Treaty". Here it is pertinent to mention that a “State of
Environment of Pakistan Report”, was prepared by SDPI for the Ministry of
Environment (MOE) before the World Summit on Sustainable Development. However,
this report didn’t get approved from the MOE, apparently due to the critical
analysis presented in it. One wonders what reaction such reports for SAARC
would our relevant environmental ministries show. Anyhow the good news is that environment is on the SAARC agenda
now and it may help in alleviating the fate of poverty-ridden common masses.
Despite
the historic adoption of the SAFTA treaty, the treaty itself does not
incorporate all components that are essential for the effective functioning of
a free trade regime. There are some associated apprehensions that need to be
immediately addressed. These apprehensions arise due to the fact that the SAFTA
treaty has some confusing provisions and gray areas. Besides, many issues that
should have been addressed in the initial treaty itself are lacking. It seems
that the negotiators have not learnt any lesson from the failed South Asian
Preferential Trade Agreement (SAPTA). The flaws in SAPTA such as the issue of
“rules of origin” and “Non tariff trade barriers’ need to be meticulously
looked into for the purpose of realizing true benefits from SAFTA.
Some
more important issues lacking in the SAFTA treaty are the inability of the
member states to draw concrete consensus on certain issues – namely, revenue
compensatory mechanism, rules of origin, sensitive list and technical
assistance for least developed members. Moreover, rules and regulations for the
effective implementation of the Trade Liberalization Program and granting of
Special and Differential Treatment to LDC members (four of the SAARC members
i.e. Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives and Nepal are LDCs) have not been clearly
spelled out. These issues form the crux of the treaty and there is likely to be
good mooting on them. Until and unless concrete and constructive negotiations
are concluded on these issues, the future of SAFTA would remain uncertain.
Many of the issues highlighted above have been left for future negotiations and
finalization. However, deadlines for completion of negotiations have not been
mentioned in most of the cases. The only case in which a deadline has been
specifically mentioned is in Article 11(e) that relates to the rules and
regulations in regard to Revenue Compensatory Mechanism for the benefit of the
LDCs. The rules and regulations are to be finalized before SAFTA is formally
launched in 2006.
In other cases, such as harmonization of legislation, identification of special
needs of the LDCs, the number of products under the sensitive list, areas of
technical assistance for LDCs and rules of origin, the treaty makes no mention
of deadlines. This is likely to create complications in the actual
implementation of the treaty, unless of course the proposed actions are
completed before the implementation of the Trade Liberalization Program.
Likewise, there are some ambiguous provisions in the treaty. These need to be
reduced because the treaty is a legal and binding document, and such
ambiguities have no place in a binding document. For example, Article 3(2)(f)
states that the special needs of the LDCs would be clearly recognized by
‘adopting concrete preferential measures in their favour on a non-reciprocal
basis’. Due to lack of deadlines and concrete plans for the identification of
the special needs of LDCs, this provision is ambiguous.
Besides, the treaty has hardly any provision relating to anti-dumping,
subsidies countervailing duties, technical barriers to trade and sanitary and
phytosanitary measures. These issues are pertinent while a region moves into a
free trading arrangement.
It
is a fact that all over the world, trade between neighbouring countries is
highest, with the exception of South Asia. The trade within NAFTA is 60 percent
of their total trade; similarly 55 percent of the total trade of EU is within
the EU region. This figure is 30 percent for ASEAN, whereas it is only 5
percent for SAARC region. SAFTA has the potential to increase the regional
trade manifold, however, in order to reap these benefits we would have to push
our political leaders to make SAFTA stronger. We have to work for:
·
Free movement of people. Movement of capital and goods would be useless
unless there is free movement of people. Hence our leaders would have to work
for a regime where obtaining visa for SAARC countries would not be difficult.
·
Trade in Services. Service sector’s contribution in South Asian GDP is
increasing. One must aim at increasing trade in services.
·
Improved physical
Infrastructure: An increased
movement of goods/services/persons would require an improved physical
infrastructure if we want to derive the expected results.
·
Need of
Harmonization: For us to gain
benefits from SAFTA, harmonization of custom, banking (LC system understandable
to bankers, and LC acceptable to the businessmen in the region) and insurance
systems is necessary. Moreover, we would have to harmonize our quality
standards within the SAARC region.
Finally one must not forget
that trade follows investment. Trade volume cannot increase in the real sense
if there is no investment. Hence for SAFTA to be meaningful, we need to work
towards a regional agreement/framework for promotion as well as protection of
investment.
Critically speaking SAPTA did
not lead to any real gain. For years we were fooling ourselves by giving
concessions to neighbouring countries in commodities which they don’t
produce/trade at all. Now SAFTA must
try to make it successful. Who knows, increased trade and investment in the
region may be the key to lasting peace!
It is time for all of us
to conduct empirical research on the pros and cons of implementing SAFTA to
make it a win-win situation for all.
The WTO watch group, a network of civil society organizations in
collaboration with SDPI has already started studying these aspects. One hopes
that with similar studies from other voluntary sectors the shortcomings in the
treaty would be identified and our policy makers would be ready to rectify them
in order to move smoothly towards a free trade regime.
Moeed
Yusuf
moeed@sdpi.org
Pakistan and India have commenced on yet another effort
for settling their outstanding disputes. An unprecedented level of optimism has
surrounded the latest initiative. Official statements from both sides and
comments from most analysts suggest that there is something unique about the
current lot of white doves being released from both sides; it is likely that
this time the two sides will move past the deadlock. Both parties are being
credited with a change of mindset in the desired direction. Great hope has been
generated by India’s upfront acceptance to discuss Kashmir, Musharraf’s
four-step proposal, and the ceasefire along the LoC. Unfortunately, much of
this optimism is unwarranted.
It is
agreed among South Asian analysts that any peaceful solution to Kashmir can
only come about if both sides alter their traditional maximalist positions on
the issue. There are few, if any, who deny that the current stance of the two
sides on Kashmir renders the issue irreconcilable. It would follow from the
above that if both sides continue to hold fast to their inflexible claims,
there is little hope of breaking the deadlock. However, despite the fact that
there is no indication of any flexibility from either side, there is a strong
sense that the current impetus might lead to a peaceful end.
Pakistan’s
unchanged position is obvious from the recent official statements, which have
made it clear that peace between the two South Asian neighbours remains linked
to a compromise on Kashmir. Musharraf’s four-step formula is very reasonable,
but only if one examines it from the Pakistani perspective. His proposal
necessitates a compromise on the status quo, an outcome that New Delhi is not
even willing to consider. And Pakistan’s acceptance of a ceasefire along the
LoC is also inconsequential, given that it only addresses the shelling across
the LoC. Pakistan’s willingness to accept any solution other than transforming
the LoC into a permanent border has been revealed time and again in the recent
past. Present Pakistani overtures are not inconsistent with this position. In
fact, they only reinforce Pakistan’s demand to compromise on the status quo.
New
Delhi remains equally entrenched in its traditional stance on the issue.
India’s efforts to take advantage of the ceasefire by stepping up the
construction of the fence along the LoC will only dim the prospects of an
acceptable compromise. An erected fence virtually means that any option but
turning the LOC into an international border would no longer remain in the
pipeline. For only the utopians could imagine India softening its traditional
stance and bringing down the fence after having erected it if a compromise
necessitates such an action in the future.
Furthermore,
contrary to recent press reports that seem to indicate that both states are
exhausted because of their involvement in Kashmir, personal conversations with
some Indian intellectuals suggest that New Delhi believes it is within reach of
subduing the insurgency in Kashmir. It is hard to imagine India agreeing to
shimmy down from its maximalist position on the conflict amid such a mindset.
Hence,
the spontaneous acceptance of both sides to engage in another peace dialogue
must be a result of international pressure where an aversion to peace talks
would have provided a diplomatic victory to the other side. As for the
widespread optimism on the sidelines, that is something, which is witnessed
every time such an effort is made. For even an agreement to talk is more than
what the two sides have managed for most of their history.
But
such optimism is counterproductive in that it raises hopes of an outcome that
is nowhere in the making. Consequently, it makes inevitable a post-negotiations
blame game from both sides, as they attempt to pin down the culpability for
shattering the masses’ hopes on the adversary.
Any
Pakistan-India peace initiative that is held hostage to negotiations on
Kashmir, as this one is, must be preceded by lengthy drawn-out groundwork to
prepare the masses for a solution in which both sides meet the other halfway.
Current political realities simply do not allow governments in both countries,
whether civilian or military, to alter their respective traditional positions.
Until and unless a concentrated conscious effort is made by authorities on both
sides to remove the deep-rooted mistrust between the two nations, one can
expect little from the peace efforts.
Expecting
the current initiative to result in a historic breakthrough is wishful. What
can, however, be achieved from this opportunity is for both sides to agree to
developing a constituency among their respective citizens that will accept a
mutually agreeable compromise on the issue. Restoring air and road links, and
cricketing ties will help. But far more important is the need for both parties
to attempt to remove the bias in the state-controlled media and school
textbooks, and to alter the threat perception of the other side that the
authorities in both countries are responsible for creating in the first place.
The
above is a necessary prelude to a step-by-step process that could actually lead
to lasting peace. Only after such an effort has been successfully undertaken
can one really expect political realities to favour a genuine compromise that
takes into account the interests of Pakistan, India, and the Kashmiri people.
The next step ought to be Track-II diplomacy between designated officials,
similar to the one conducted after the Lahore Declaration.
However,
to conduct any such negotiations before developing a constituency willing to
accept compromise as the Lahore Process allegedly did, would inevitably fail.
Musharraf’s four-step proposal could then conceivably be applied to the
Track-II stage to find a mutually amenable solution, which when supported by
the masses could bring the two sides to a workable compromise.
What I
have suggested here is a long-term plan. But as the situation stands today, a
lasting solution will necessarily require extreme patience. Taking the time to
till the soils for a lasting solution ought to be preferable to grabbing every
chance to be involved in a peace dialogue whose outcome is inevitable from the
onset.
Until
the two sides alter their traditional stance, the Kashmir issue will remain
irreconcilable. And neither of the two parties can be realistically expected to
give up their positions unless their country’s populace is amenable to such a
switch. That, in turn, can only be achieved by a conscious effort of the
authorities to transform the general sentiment. The emphasis should be on
changing the terms of the negotiations so that the Kashmir question does not
remain diametrically opposed. For history has shown that irreconcilable issues
are seldom resolved, but through an all-out war. Every failed Pakistan-India
initiative only propels us closer to that dreaded threshold.
Huma Nawaz Syal
huma@sdpi.org
1. Introduction
One
of the most controversial arguments in the developing world today is that of
the inclusion or exclusion of labour issues in the WTO agreement. These issues
cover items such as labour rights and possible sanctions for failure to comply
with these regulations. The WTO is a global entity, which is based on the
multilateral trading system, through which the agreements are drawn. These
agreements set the legal framework under which international commerce operates.
Those
in favor of universal labor laws advocate that weak labor standards could give
exporters a comparative advantage.
Conversely,
the critics such as labor organizations are hesitant due to their belief that
the WTO rules encourage labor exploitation, do not preserve the environment and
do not restrict the growing power of MNCs. Munir Akram, ambassador to the WTO
suggests that ‘including labor issues in the agreements will have little
effect on human rights, instead the inclusion will act as a barrier to
competing goods from low-cost developing countries’. The fact that since
exports from the developing countries are labor extensive together with the
fact that these countries have weak or non-existent labor standards, provides a
criteria to restrict these exports on the basis of the labor standards; thus
limiting their access to the markets of the developed world.
2. Legal framework
Pakistan has committed itself
to domestic labor policies, however, upon examining closely, one finds many
gaps and discrepancies within the policy framework, even in the definitions
used. As far as women are concerned, the coverage of these policies is crucial,
as they do not cover the informal sector, where most of Pakistani women are
employed. Pakistan’s labor laws do not cover women in the informal sector, thus
leaving a vast majority of the labor force unprotected and vulnerable to sudden
changes in global trade movements.
Although they play an
active role in the Pakistani economy, the efforts of these women are almost
always not recorded officially nor recognized by their families, community and
state at large. There exist a variety of reasons behind the invisibility of
women workers: the roles allocated to women from social perceptions and man-made
divisions are believed to be unimportant and thus not included in national
statistics and indicators. Although there have been attempts at modifying the
definitions used in the LFS, there still remains the element of gender-bias.
Also the male members of the household feel ashamed of acknowledging the
economic contribution of women, as they represent their honor.
3. Agriculture
The rural
women are treated as symbols of honour, they are not educated for fear of
rebellion, and hence remain unaware of their religious and legal rights. They
know very little of life beyond the household. Entrenched in such a complex
trap, there is ample opportunity available for the men to completely achieve
control over women’s labour power.
The
FAO fact sheet suggests that a woman works 12-15 hours a day on various
economic activities and household chores; carrying out a variety of tasks, from
crop production to post harvest operations. Their agricultural duties are
termed as household duties and hence their efforts are not recognized as work.
Under
the male domination set up of Pakistan, it is actually the man who owns the
land, it is the man who sells the output in the market, hence it is the man who
is visible in the national statistics, who actually worked on the land is
conveniently omitted.
Agriculture supports nearly
75% and is the main female employer. The Agreement on Agriculture (AoA)
advocates a reduction in tariffs (thus enhancing market access) as well as a
reduction in the level of subsidies offered both for imports and exports. The
reduction in tariffs has two effects. Firstly, if this injection were reduced
then this would push the government into a fiscal deficit. Secondly, by having
its exports reduced, Pakistan’s rural economy will shrink and thus lead to a
rise in unemployment. Women, as workers will be the first to feel the effect,
especially since they are inadequately protected by the legal system. With no
income and consequent rising inflation, these women will have difficulty in
managing their domestic budget.
The AoA has changed the
orientation of agriculture to cash crop production; providing access to cheap
imports. Consequently, the women have to work long hours to support their
families; when food security is threatened almost always the woman feels the
effect the most.
In
the textiles sector, women’s role is limited to performing menial and dead-end
jobs that are ill paid, repetitive and have poor career prospects. Typical
working conditions that these women face take the form of exposure to toxic
substances in the workforce, financial worries due to low wages, that are also
irregular; vulnerability to sexual harassment, due to low-job security, which
further increases their vulnerability. They also face limited occupational and skills
mobility, thus they remain stuck in their jobs.
The
laws specific to the textiles sector cover most of the activities of the
workers and labor-management affairs, but do not provide substantial legal
cover for child labor, contract labor and the informal sector.
There
exist no trade unions, which can serve the interests of these unprotected
women, there is no concern in protecting these women by factory owners and key
decision makers; moreover the women themselves lack the capability to organize
themselves as a sole entity which is assertive enough to both raising and
solving important issues.
The
Multi-Fibre Agreement (MFA), a key area of the WTO, governs global trade in the
textiles sector. Pakistan is heavily dependent on its textile sector for export
earnings. Although it represents nearly 53% of Pakistan’s export portfolio, its
share in total global exports is a mere 3%.
Research
undertaken by the Working Women Worldwide organization suggests that ‘the
changing rules of world trade means less state regulation and more power for
multinationals’. This is especially problematic if the states involved are
weak institutionally or lack the capacity to protect their country from
exploitation, more so if they lack the willingness to protect their country.
The MFA phase out will provide the MNCs greater freedom of movement between
countries, more so they can move to countries where there exist cheap raw
materials, low wages and lack of trade union rights, in essence their
feasibility lies in countries which are unable to protect their workforce.
Although they represent more
than half of the work force in the textiles sector, women are unequally paid,
they work in hazardous conditions with no concern for their health, they are
not provided women-friendly working conditions and are often stuck in menial
jobs, they may also face harassment at work by their employers or colleagues.
There exists ample scope for exploitation by the MNCs, as the process of
globalization ultimately transfers the power making ability to the MNCs from
the governments of the LDCs. When these powerful MNCs decide to quit operations
in a country for another on the basis of cheaper labor with less state
intervention, what will happen to the women workers? For those women who have
left the traditions of their families and castes in favour of working in the
factories, will they be able to return to their families after losing their
source of income? What will become of the female-headed households who will
lose their only source of income? Pakistan needs to seriously address these
issues as only those countries who have addressed these questions and protected
their workforce that can reap the potential benefits of globalization.
Possible
solutions
There is an urgent need for
the recognition and inclusion of the informal sector in national statistics and
legislation, without which the efforts of the women are not acknowledged.
Women’s real economic contribution and productivity needs to be included in
national economic indicators in both the formal and informal sectors. Women
working in the rural and informal sector need to be recognized and treated as
workers and they should be provided with safe and healthy working conditions.
Final
thoughts
On
the 6th March 2003 a seminar on "Rights of Women under Labour
Laws" was held by Sindh Employees Social Security Institution in
collaboration with Association of Business, Professional and Agriculture Women.
In his concluding address, Secretary Labour, Raja Muhammad Abbas, informed the
participants that Government of Pakistan has ratified the ILO Conventions for
women rights which include Convention 111 about discrimination against women,
Convention 103 about Maternity, convention 156 about domestic and work affairs,
etc. Only the future will determine whether these efforts for change actually
do translate in the desired changes and improve the lives and working
conditions of Pakistanis. With so many vested interests from political, feudal
and foreign groups, this will prove to be a challenge.
SAARC Summit- Gains and Losses
The seminar on “SAARC Summit-
Gains and Losses” was organized by SDPI on January 12, 2004. Brigadier (R)
Shaukat Qadir chaired the seminar. He was of the view that since borders of no
state in the SAARC region touches each other except India therefore there must
be resolution of issues on bilateral level rather than on multilateral level.
PPP Senator Mr. Farhat Ullah Babar was of the view that
his party welcomes the initiation of peace process in the region because of
tension between Pakistan and India, which is a major cause of over grown
military establishment in Pakistan. One of the concerns his party had regarding
the peace process was its fragility, since it was not backed by political
consensus in the country.
MMA Senator Professor Khurshid Ahmad briefly highlighted
upon the history of SAARC, that the organization though was established for
economic cooperation but it didn’t work very well because it tried to look at
the economic issues in isolation while in reality economics cannot be separated
from politics.
Senator Tariq Azeem from the ruling Muslim League was of
the view that SAARC summit was a positive sign as its article 10 closes door
for bilateral issues but bilateral issues were discusses which was welcomed in
the region as well as in the west.
The Role of Transnational
Corporations (TNCs) in Development –The case of Zamzama Gas Field
The seminar
on “The Role of Transnational Corporations (TNCs) in Development-The Case of
Zamzama Gas Field” was organized by SDPI on January 19, 2004. Mohsin Babbar from SDPI chaired the seminar.
The
discussion was bas3ed on a study conducted by SDPI. Ali Abbas Qazilbash from
SDPI was of the view that BHP Billiton the multinational company working at
Zamzama gas fields in Johi Taluka of Dadu District has not taken steps for the
socioeconomic uplift of the local community and not implemented the
recommendations laid down in its own initial Environment Examination report. He
was of the view that despite promises made by the company enacted in an
agreement three years ago, had failed to allocate one percent of the profit for
the uplift of the local community and help them in health and education areas.
Sawan Khan
from a community-based organization from Taluka was of the view that the
company has given rise to a culture of ‘dadagiri’ in the area and acquires land
through fraud. He also accused some NGOs of siding with the company.
The seminar
continued for about two hours.
ROZ-E-QAZA: Hibakusha ki
Aapbiti-a docu-drama based on a true story of an atom bomb survivor
A Films D’Art Production with
the support of Japan Foundation (Special Seminar)
This special
seminar “ROZ-E-QAZA: Hibakusha ki Aapbiti-a docu-drama based on a true story of
an atom bomb survivor” was based on a docu-drama shown on a big projector
screen. Kiran Nazir from SDPI chaired it.
The
documentary drama produced and directed by Aiysha Gazdar introduced her
documentary and the purpose for its development. It mocked the glorification of
Pakistan and India’s Nuclear Blasts by their people and leaders by contrasting
it with the horrifying scenes of death and disaster in Hiroshima and Nagasaki
caused by the US made ‘little boy’ at the end of the second world war. Aiysha has based her docu-drama on the
experiences of Miyuki Kamezawa, a writer, peace activist and a survivor of an
atomic bomb (Hibakusha). Aiysha in her film has skillfully shown the horrors of
the nuclear blast by choosing a local abandoned location, and with the help of
best make-up and nuclear blasts effects.
According to
Aiysha Gazdar, this docu-drama was an attempt to warn people against the
horrible effects of the atom bomb and what could happen if the atom bomb was to
be used.
The
documentary lasted for 40 minutes followed by the encouraging comments for the
documentary by the participants.
Electricity Tariff Regulation
in Pakistan
The seminar
on “Electricity Tariff Regulation in Pakistan” was organized by SDPI on January
26, 2004. Fahd Ali from SDPI chaired the seminar. He was of the view that how
can hearings that are only conduced by the authority in the federal metropolis
be useful when affected people live at far away places. NEPRA must set up regional offices.
Hussain A
Babur, director privatization of NEPRA said that the prices were determined
after taking into various factors like costs, transmission losses, distribution
overheads and managerial expenditure.
Mirza Hamid
Hussan, Chairperson Prime minister’s task Force on Power Tariff said that the
power costs were unbearable for a common man. He was of the view that the task
force was formed to suggest measures that could bring down cost, improve
efficiency and decrease the prices.
Mukhtar
Ahmad, executive coordinator of the consumer rights commission of Pakistan said
that the reforms in the energy sector were not conducted according to the
indigenous strategies but were donor driven which has resulted in fruitless
efforts.
In the
question hour session one of the participants lamented that outstanding power
bills of the president house, the chief justice and the senate chairperson’s
offices amounted to more than Rs. 15 Million he also lamented to the
appointment of a non technical person from military made the head of the NEPRA.
Women Struggle Against Unjust
Laws
The seminar
on “Women Struggle Against Unjust Laws” was organized by SDPI in context of
national Women’s day February 12, 2004.
Shereen Rahmat Minhas from SDPI chaired the seminar.
Sherry
Rehman, MNA, PPPP was of the view that the military government could have
brought legislation on women rights as it has done in many cases but when the
bills were tabled in this respect, it was never put on National Assembly’s
agenda for discussion. She said that even when the women MPs had been given 30%
of the seats in the assembly they were not even given 30% of the time to speak
in the assembly.
Dr. Farzana
Bari, acting director of the women’s study center, Quaid-e-Azam University
traced the history of the struggle of women against unjust laws. She was of the
view that though women have the right to be treated equally before the laws but
hierarchy existed in our country and the women are discriminated against. She
asked the women’s rights organizations to develop a popular base as only this
could ensure achievement in their long struggle.
Naeem Mirza
from Aurat Foundation was of the view that political expediency brings in many
difficulties in the enactment of pro-women laws. He referred to new freedoms
media was enjoying in capturing these issues.
The seminar
lasted for around two hours.
“Two Decades of Unjust Laws…and
the struggle continues”
SDPI under Mubariza network
participated and was part of the organizing committee in organizing a program
on February 12, 2004, celebrated as a national women’s day in Community Center
Aabpara. February 12th, 2004 marks the 21st anniversary
of the notorious police brutality and illegal action against a group of unarmed
women activists demonstrating peacefully against Qanoon-e- Shahadat (Law of
Evidence) outside the Lahore High Court during the Martial Law regime of
Zia-ul-Haq in 1983. It makes woman witness as half of a male witness.
This
year on Pakistan Women’s Day February 12th, Mubariza, Joint Action
Committee (JAC) and Women Action forum (WAF) organized a seminar especially
targeting youth to reiterate their call for justice against all unjust laws
including discriminatory employment laws.
The program consisted of the 12
February event narration by Samina Omer, Principal Program Coordinator Crafts
Program, Sungi. Legal perspective was presented by Shehla Zia, Executive
Director, Aurat Foundation. The program included a poem by Kishwar Nahid,
Executive Director, Hawwa Craft Centre. Nasreen Azhar, Manager Social and Legal
Rights, Action Aid presented on the Civil Society Struggle Against
Discriminatory Laws. The program ended in a skit coordinated by the Aagahi
Theater Group of SACHET.
“Greater Provincial Autonomy”
SDPI held a seminar title
”Greater Provincial Autonomy” on Feb 24, 2004.
The speakers included Mr. Asfandyar Wali, Senator, ANP, Mr. Akhtar
Mengal, former Chief Minister, Baluchistan, Mr. Abdul Majeed Kanjoo, President
Seraiki Nationalist Party and Dr. Qadir Magsi, President Sindh Taraqqi Pasand
Party. Chairman National Reconstruction
Bureau Mr Daniyal Aziz chaired the seminar.
Opening the seminar, Mr. Aziz presented the salient
features of the devolution plan and shared some of the achievements of the
NRB. He welcomed all the stakeholders
to engage, discuss and refine the devolution plan.
Speaking on the occasion, ANP Senator Asfandyar Wali said
when Gen Pervez Musharraf assumed power and presented his seven- point agenda,
there was a little hope as it contained the issue of provincial disharmony.
However, he said, the devolution plan presented by Lt-Gen (retired) Tanveer
Naqvi even snatched a little bit autonomy which the provinces had been
enjoying.
He said the devolution should be from federal to
provinces and then from provinces to districts. By putting the districts
directly under the federal system for six years, the provincial governments
have been made post offices and the chief ministers should be called
postmasters general, he added.
The ANP Senator said he was unable to understand the
criticism to the demand of renaming the NWFP.
He said if the names of Layallpur and Lawrencepur could be changed then
why the name of a province could not be changed. He said Pukhtoons were not
demanding separation, they only wanted representation on the country's map.
He opined that the country needed a new political and
social contract in order to remove sense of deprivation among the people of
smaller provinces and added that the rulers must realize that perceptions are
stronger than the facts.
Akhtar Mengal regretted that the issue of provincial autonomy
had been ignored for the past 56 years.
According to him, federating units surrendered their autonomy in the
name of religion and now the people demanding genuine right for provinces were
being termed as ‘Mulk Dushman’ and ‘Islam Dushman’.
Mr. Abdul Majeed Kanju, from Seraiki Nationalist Party
said that provinces should be called national states, as Pakistan was a
multinational state. He suggested
demarcating the provinces on nationality basis and letting the people living in
those provinces to decide about them.
He was of the view that the federation could only be saved by
strengthening the federating units. He
further suggested that federal government should only be taking care of
currency, defence and foreign affairs and rest should be vested in the
provinces.
Dr Qadir Magsi said the president and the prime minister
were themselves terrorizing the people by saying that the country could be
attacked anytime. "Does it happen in any independent and sovereign
state," he questioned.
He said when Sindh Assembly passed a resolution, it
became a part of Pakistan and when the same assembly was passing resolutions
against construction of Thal Canal and Kalabagh Dam, Islamabad was not ready to
listen to them. He claimed that the 1973 Constitution did not provide as much
autonomy to the provinces as provided by the 1935 Act.
This was followed by a brief question & answer
session. The questions about rigging in
the general election, about relations between the establishment and Nazim of
Khairpur district and converting provinces into divisions were asked by the
participants.
Mr Aziz, while summing up said that the government
was ready to listen to the people of smaller provinces and would take steps to
remove their apprehensions. He said
though the nationalist parties did not have the people's mandate as they lost
in the last elections, the NRB was ready to hold consultations with them to
bring provincial harmony. He extended his support by offering to arrange a
dialogue on the devolution plan. He called
for finding out a political solution to all the issues.
Role of NGOs in basic / primary education in Pakistan
sajid@sdpi.org
The NGO Pulse of the Social Enterprise Development
Programme (SEDP) at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) held a
Stakeholders’/ Key informants’ Workshop on April 17, 2004 on the “Role of NGOs
in basic / primary education in Pakistan”.
The purpose of this consultative workshop was to elevate
understanding about the nature of NGOs’ involvement in Pakistan’s basic primary
education, identifying challenges facing basic primary education in Pakistan
and the role of NGOs vis-à-vis the private and public sector. In the workshop it was debated whether NGOs were capable
enough to be considered a viable alternative to the government as far as the
provision of education was concerned.
Academic and NGO experts participated in the workshop. The participants deliberated upon the
following topics.
·
Origination and evolution of the role of NGOs in
education
·
Factors responsible for NGO involvement
·
Current and future role of NGOs in education
·
The ways in which NGOs are addressing social needs in
primary education
·
Why public-civil society partnership is needed?
·
Major challenges in forming such partnership
·
Useful lessons from various NGO model in education sector
The NGO Pulse is an essential component of SEDP, which is
aimed to build LUMS’ capacity in assisting NGOs in a variety of ways listed in
the enclosed brochure. It is charged with producing an annual publication based
on an annual survey and other data sources on a selected theme. The theme for
this year is education.