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.
The changing dynamics
and US
While I was planning to write, there was a plethora of thoughts going parallel in my mind; from where to begin, where to end, whom to include, whom to exclude, what to write and what not to? The sands are shifting everywhere from Kamala Harris (US Vice President) to Bina Asif (Careem Captain), women around the globe are breaking the ceilings. They are proving their grounds and paving the way for others. Mind you not every girl is born with a silver spoon. In an equally bitter, patriarchal and partisan world it takes every bit of a girl (especially) to prove what she is capable of.
I have seen brilliant minds sacrificing their excellence just to hone the gol rottis, phenomenal imaginations succumbing to societal pressures, early marriage just because after certain age you won’t get a good rishta (spouse) and there is much more to write but the word limitation doesn’t allow me to do so… I know we are laggards, we are loath to change but will anybody bother to answer how many of us have to be the scapegoat for our predecessors long held beliefs and values and for how long? I guess no one… All we want is let us LIVE, BREATHE and EXPOLRE. Let US decide what is right and what is wrong for us of our OWN.
SOBIA WASEEM
Karachi
Reforming recruitment system
For a visible change, you need to take some extra-ordinary measures. Our current recruitment system has been designed in such a way which favours a particular class of citizens. With an unnecessary emphasis on proficiency in English language, a handful of candidates with elite schooling get the upper hand over a large pool of citizens having lower-middle background. These administrators are often blamed for poor performance. Poor performance leads to poor service delivery and bad-governance.
To get things right, an overhaul of the system is needed. Start must be made from recruitment system. Instead of taking citizens from a particular class, the other-large must also be tested; at least on experimental basis. Candidates must be tested for their knowledge instead of language proficiency. There must be no bar of language. Candidates must be allowed to express themselves in any language they are good in. This will not only help the now-deprived lower-middle class in keeping pace with the elite class but a new class will also be added to the system with a better likelihood.
SHAHID ALI KHAN
Bajaur
Sindh needs libraries
Education for any nation is a key to open the doors of bright future and prosperity and libraries have a very significant role in educating the nation. It is the place where man of any age, qualification or financial status can come to seek education. Sindh having a population of more than 40 million has extremely few libraries in its cities. Hyderabad, the second largest city of Sindh having a population of 17,32000 and Larkana city with a population of 78,000 have only one library respectively.
Mirpurkhas city having a population of 2,33000 has only one functional public library in it while Kashmore city having population of 56,000 has no library in the city. Students for many years have been protesting for construction of new libraries yet government seems to be heedless with regard to this issue. Students across the province demand Government of Sindh to pay attention to this issue.
SHAHZEB ALI
Islamabad
Water scarcity in Gwadar
Gwadar, rightly called the CPEC city, has begun to develop so rapidly owing to the projects generated through China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which include building the seaport, GD hospital, road infrastructure and many others. In recent times one more project has been added as marine drive the work of which is under the process.
But to note and highlight, it has certain problems and lagging basic facilities such as the lack of hygienic water tops the list of grievances of the city. The people rarely get any water to use; and when they get, they do not care if the water is hygienic or not. However, it carries with it multiplied side effects, diseases, lung cancer and to name a few.
Furthermore, the residents are suffering a lot and mostly getting ill day by day. About 20% of whole population of Pakistan has access to safe drinking water, whereas, the remaining 80% of population is forced to use unsafe drinking water due to scarcity of safe and healthy water. Unfortunately, this problem has been neglected since multiple years. It is estimated that in Pakistan 30% of all diseases and 40% of all deaths are due to poor water quality. Infant deaths are caused by water-related to diarrhoea are 60% in Pakistan. So, I request the concerned authorities to focus on the issue(s) and try to facilitate the people with fresh water as soon as possible.
NAZEENK KHURSHID
Turbat
No difference
There is no difference between the Mumbai/Punjab Police and the Scotland Police. Both are thugs, belonging to the same family of criminals. The Mumbai police only support criminals and drug addicts like Rhea Chakraborty and Showik Chakraborty and no one else.
*****
Religious donations
I live in a locality where majority of the people are Hindus and it is disgusting to find them asking for vargani (donations) for every festival of theirs. The people of the neighbourhood are forced to make donations of no less than Rs 101 per festival, be it Ganesh Chaturthi, Navratri, Holi or Shivaji Jayanti. If they do not contribute, they are beaten up. On the other hand, shopkeepers are forcibly made to contribute Rs 1,000 per festival. If they do not contribute, their shops are looted and broken.
Complaining to the police does not help, as the police themselves are mostly Hindus and are hand-in-hand with the locals. Is there any law to stop this goondagardi? Christians and Muslims do not go house to house asking for donations for their festivals. Then why do a section of Hindus do it?
JUBEL D’CRUZ
Mumbai, India
The back camera heroes
With the second and the severe wave of coronavirus we are at the brink of yet another lockdown. With the economy at its deepest low some are struggling, some are surviving and yet some have hankered down not by choice but in despair. Among them is our unrecognized heroes; Our Teachers. With the exception of a few many small and large private and public sector schools have fired a noticeable number of teachers and have left them at the mercy of circumstances.
Who is going to announce a relief package for them? Who is going to cater this fraction of a society that has been building nations since generations? Who is? There are teachers who are doing extra efforts and helping students in overcoming this digital classroom debacle, they are not just assisting them but also providing free tuitions and other educational help. In fact, some are learning how to operate these technology based medium in order to make both ends meet. If they are going an extra mile, then why should not we? It is high time that we pay attention to the needs of our true HEROES before it reaches an alarming situation.
SOBIA WASEEM
Karachi
