Articles and letters may be edited for the purposes of clarity and space. They are published in good faith with a view to enlightening all the stakeholders. However, the contents of these writings may not necessarily match the views of the newspaper.
NIHCR in dire financial straits
The National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research has been deplorably facing financial crunch created by the HEC for the last over five years at the one pretext or the other. The NIHCR authorities have repeatedly been bringing the matter of financial constraints to the knowledge of HEC high-ups and Ministry of Education and Professional Training to help out NIHCR financially but to no avail. Ironically, due to apathy of all these stakeholders, salary as well as pensionary benefits of NIHCR staff are accumulating for last five years.
Due to indifference of the HEC authorities, NIHCR staff was paid for the month of July 2022 on August 22, 2022; for the month of August on 13 September 2022 and God knows when the salary for the month of September would be paid.
The NIHCR faculty and the staff had pinned hopes on the Ministry of Education in general and the HEC in particular for a bailout package to clear the backlog and higher budget allocations for the year 2022-23 2023-24 to tide over the situation following huge increase in deficit. It is feared that the coming months could be even worse if immediate steps were not taken to improve the funds flow to the NIHCR.
It is shameful that academic research institutions are not being provided sufficient funds to cope with the routine financial matters. The NIHCR should be provided the desired funds by the HEC without any delay so that it could regain its financial stability. The HEC authorities should sit and chalk out a plan of payment to reinvigorate NIHCR’s financial health by releasing liberal grants. Hope concerned authorities would take cognizance of the prevailing financial situation in the NIHCR.
AHMAD HUSSAIN
Islamabad
Transgender Act & identity
A lot of terms are used in their own sense. The matter has become complicated. There is huge difference between gender and sex according to law. Transgender is a general term that describes people whose gender identity, or their internal sense of being make female, or something else does not match the sex.
Sex is usually categorized as female or male but there is variation in the biological attributes that comprised sex and how these attributes are expressed. Gender refers to socially constructed roles, behavior, expressions and identities of girls, womens and gender diverse people.
In 2018 the national assembly passed the transgender persons (protection of rights) bill cities including religious leaders claim that law is against the principles laid out in Sharia. When act is passed, the government would send it to virtuous university scholars and professors for verification and protection but they didn’t in this act. It seems they didn’t take it seriously.
In 202, Senator Mushtaq, a vocal opponent of the bill, tabled an amended bill in the Upper House of Parliament. The amended bill seeks the creation of a medical board which would decide if a person’s gender should instead of them seeking a reassigned on the basis of their self perceived statement of objectives and reasons of intersex person protection of rights. Amendment Bill-2022 is to ensure welfare of a transgender person.
As per the bill, intersex person will have the rights to get education, healthcare, employment and other opportunities as enjoyed by a normal human being in society. The bill recommends the formation of such boards at the district level after the approval of the PM. Each board shall include a professor doctor, a psychologist, a male general surgeon and chief medical officer.
ASAD SAJJAD
Jacobabad
Book reading pays dividends
A good book has the power to change the way we think, talk and analyze things. There are numerous books written in several genres such as fiction non-fiction, novels, drama, thriller, suspense, science, fiction, etc. Every book comes with its own unique perspective. If you are an avid reader you will get to create your own perspective, one which help you stand apart from others. Reading gives as an advantage of analyzing different environments which push our mind to be coming observant.
Books help in developing presence of observational skills, thus illuminating on the importance of book in our life. Reading one book actually increase one year of wisdom in your actual age. I would at least suggest to read as many books as someone could as books increase once wisdom.
MAGSI BALOUCH
Karachi
Women empowerment
Man and women are two wheels of the same vehicle and mismatch between the two wheels disturbs the smooth running of the vehicle. The importance of women in any society of the world cannot be denied. Women as mothers have everlasting impact on the human generations.
No nation could flourish without developing the woman of its society. The notion can be further strengthened through the genuine expression of Quaid-i-Azam as:”I have always maintained that no nation can ever be worthy of its existence which cannot take its women along with men”. Quaid-i-Azam was fully aware of the importance of women in nation-building but, unfortunately, Pakistani society has remained male-dominated society.
Past seventy-four years of Pakistan have witnessed only two ladies – Fatima Jinnah and Benazir Bhutto renowned at the national and international levels. Women have been deprived of their due right in majority of the cases and that is the very reason for miserable plight of Pakistani women and the nation alike. There have been various factors involved in keeping woman away from the national mainstream like low literacy rate, low political representation misunderstanding of religion etc. It all affected almost all walks of Pakistani society.
MUSKAN DAHANI
Karachi
