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.
Freedom of expression
Freedom of expression or speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship or legal sanction. It is globally recognized as the foundation of human rights. In other words, freedom of expression is an assurance to citizens to participate effectively in the functioning of democracy.
Media today is seen as a very crucial affected element in Pakistan’s social and political discourse. As per the respondents, media in all its forms, was categorized as an important influencer on the situation of human rights across the country.There are restrictions on the freedom of expression despite having its provision in the Constitution. Mainly it is restricted through tactics that include censorship, legislation, harassment, killing of journalists, human right activists and others who voice their opinions.
Since the freedom of expression is a basic human right, it should be exercised with its full spirit. However, this freedom should be within certain boundaries. To ensure this, PAMERA’s code of conduct should be strictly enforced to avoid use of free speech by media as a medium of defamation of certain individuals and groups. Furthermore, Urdu media should also be encouraged to highlight human rights violations and raise awareness.
SADIA SHAKEEL
Lahore
Gender disparity in education
This is no news that society has assigned gender biased roles to both males and females. And due to deeply rooted patriarchy women have been deprived of their basic rights since long. Right to education is one of them and this has been one of the root cause of hampered socio-economic growth of our country .
The global gender gap index 2021 , published by world economic forum ranked Pakistan at 153 out of 156 countries. The index implies that Pakistan is the fourth worst country in terms of gender disparity. In contrast to global female literacy rate data, cited at 71% , only 51% of Pakistani women are literate. Gender gap is largest in Balochistan province (27%) followed by KPK , Sindh etc. All children regardless of their gender, socio-economic status, remote locations and under privileged circumstances should be able to exercise their right to education. In case of women their education is halted due to certain social practices such as child marriages, teen pregnancies and unequal domestic responsibilities.
In order to resolve this issue, cooperation of Government, relevant authorities and citizens themselves is needed. We need to educate people and invoke the idea that it is not a taboo to let women out of their homes for the sake of learning and education and that women are inherently equal to men as human beings. Only then we will be able to stand tall in front of other nations in term of progress.
AYEZA ASGHAR
Lahore
Do ‘Abide
with me’
Mahatma Gandhi believed that it is the duty of every human being to study and respect every religion. In pursuit of this, he studied the holy scriptures of every religion. All his life, in all his ashrams in South Africa and in India, prayer services were held every morning and evening. In them, prayers from all religions were included and given equal importance. The hymn ‘Abide with me’ was one of his favourite hymns and would be sung many a time. After independence, when India became a Republic, the Republic Day commemorations would end up with the Beating Retreat ceremony on Rajpath.
Marching bands of all three services performed several songs. ‘Abide with me’ symbolises the syncretic culture of our nation where all religions are given an equal status and respect. This year inexplicably, the hymn was not sung for reasons unknown to us. It was hurtful more so because the next day, January 30, was the day Mahatma Gandhi was martyred.
My appeal to all churches in India is to sing the hymn as often as they can during church services as a tribute to the Father of the Nation. Let us all make the singing, reciting or playing of the hymn our reply to the hate prevailing in the country today.
JUBEL D’CRUZ
Mumbai, India
Non-Muslims embrace Islam
Certainly, the Ameer of Ahl-e-Sunnat, Maulana Ilyas Qadri’s teachings of Quran and Sunnah are spreading in every corner of the world. We witness Dawat-e-islami has been continuously striving to reform not only the Muslims but also the non-Muslims. A few months back, they have built a mosque named Jamay Masjid Faizan-e-Ali Al Murtaza in Wesselsbron, South Africa. While delivering the speeches, they have invited non-Muslims to embrace Islam. Consequently, more than two hundred people have reverted to Islam, including children and women. Undoubtedly, it is a beautiful opening of the mosque in South Africa.
It would not be wrong to say that people want to embrace Islam, but because of lack of facilities and guidance, they are reluctant or unaware of the Islamic teachings. People need guidance and certainly, they would love to hear about Islam. Therefore, we all should work collectively to spread Islam and fully support this Islamic organization. As per Hadith: “if the Almighty guides a person through you so it is better for you than all that is on the earth.”
KHALID FARUQI
Karachi
