KARACHI: Adviser to Sindh Chief Minister on Media Sharmila Farooqui has said that the present democratic government was firmly committed to empower the women and to give them their due status in the society.

Talking to a delegation of women at her residence, Farooqui said that marriage of girls to Holy Quran, exchange marriages and marriages of under-age girls will be banned and legislation in this regard was being finalised.

She said, being a woman the posting of Sherry Rehman as an Ambassador to the United States and Speaker of National Assembly Fehmida Mirza was the result of President Asif Ali Zardari's vision.

"PPP is a preacher of women's rights and it is the part of PPP's manifesto to award all social, moral and economic rights to the women as granted by our religion, constitution and United Nations Human Rights Charter," she added. 

Marriage to Holy Quran, to 'Vani' the girls and marriages of under-age girls were dirty marks on the face of our civilised society and present democratic government wanted to improve the image of Pakistan internationally, she added. 

She sought the cooperation of the members of civil society, non-governmental organisations and media persons in this regard to create awareness among masses.

Farooqui said Islam has given judicious rights to women and they can perform their duties following by the prescribed parameters of religion and constitution appointments of women at decision making places is clear proof that the government wants to empower women.

Without the cooperation of the women no society could make comprehensive progress. It is high time to play our role for the progress of the country, she added.  

 ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has declared a proposed move of the federal government to wind up the Basic Education Community Schools (BECS) project as unlawful and in violation of various constitutional provisions, which guarantee provision of basic education to the citizens. A three-member bench of the apex court comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Tariq Parvez announced the verdict (earlier reserved) after hearing a set of identical pleas against the proposed closure of the BECS project. The petitioners had sought the apex court order against the proposed closure of 15,101 BECS having 561,000 enrolled students across the country.

The verdict authored by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry allowed the petitions and the National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) to carry out the project to perform functions of providing the basic facility of education to the citizens.

The project, running all over the country with 15,101 BECS and 561,000 students, was launched under the National Education Foundation project. After passage of 18th amendment, the federal government initially handed over the project to the provinces, but decided to close it down after the provinces refused to own it.

During the hearing of the pleas, Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq had informed the court that a final decision had not yet been taken about the future of these schools. He had submitted that the federal government after realising that the issue was not resolved after provinces' refusal, had constituted a high-powered cabinet committee to look into it. Appearing on notice, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman Salman Siddique had told the court that from 1984 to 1994, a total of Rs66 billion was collected under Iqra Education Surcharge. Kamal Azfar, counsel for NCHD, had stated that the government could not abdicate its constitutional responsibility under Article 25A to discontinue formal or informal education.

 

 ISLAMABAD: Around 90% of girls in rural Balochistan are deprived of schooling, said rights activist, educationist and veteran politician Fazila Aliani.

A former member of the Public Service Commission, Aliani said that the insurgency is the key reason, while a lack of necessary funds, absence of a well-defined education policy, lack of girls' schools, acute shortage of teaching staff, and poverty are other factors which contribute to the backwardness in her province.

But Aliani, who has been struggling for women's rights for around 40 years, is still optimistic about change in the "poor and pathetic state of affairs of Balochistan's girls."

She she said that except for provincial capital Quetta, educational institutions are non-existent in Baloch-dominated areas of the province. "You will not find any school from Mastung to Gwadar."

Most neglected parts of the province where Baloch girls are not educated are Buleda (Makran), Kharan , Bolan and Marri and Bugti tribal areas.

"There are government-run primary schools in other parts of the province, but high schools have not been established so far. A primary level school that was established in the remote area of district Khuzdar at NAAL in 1975-76 is still not upgraded by the provincial government, despite repeated demands by the people." Bureaucratic hurdles and financial corruption are also other major factors that have destroyed the future of thousands of girls, Aliani said. "Many religious schools established in mosques and madrassas have filled the vacuum of schools, but such religious schools are only imparting religious education." Aliani is also running a high school for underprivileged girls in Quetta. She does not agree with the notion that tribal sardars and nawabs are opposed to the establishment of educational institutions in Balochistan.

Some foreign countries are interested in helping build schools in the province, but their experts and diplomats are not being allowed by Islamabad to visit Balochistan due to security concerns. "I was told by the ambassador of Norway that his country was interested to help the education sector in Balochistan, but authorities had denied him permission citing security problems." She suggested that the Pakistan Army should expand its education network in the province. Army-run schools are providing better educational facilities in the most backward tribal areas of Marri, but the military should also set up schools in other parts of the province where non-Baloch teaching staff is not willing to serve. "It is very unfortunate that most teachers of Punjabi origin are not willing to serve in the Baloch-populated districts of the province after the killing of several teachers by the insurgents during the past many years."

 

 

ISLAMABAD: As many as 97, 900 people died annually due to poor water and sanitation in Pakistan, said a report released here by an international charity. 

The report by WaterAid titled: "Off-track, off-target: Why investment in water, sanitation and hygiene is not reaching those who need it most", was released by the WaterAid`s Country Representative in Pakistan Siddiq Khan on World Toilet Day being observed on November 19 globally.

It said that 48 million Pakistanis defecated in the open and basic toilet was a distant dream for them.

Pakistan had committed under Millennium Development Goal to supply safe water to 93 per cent and adequate sanitation facilities to 64 per cent of the population by year 2015.

Yet, according to the report, only 45 per cent people used improved sanitation facilities in Pakistan. At current rates of progress the water target would be missed by 7 years (2022) and the sanitation target by 13 years (2028).

The report quoting figures from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Unicef estimated that in Pakistan 54,000 children under the age of five died from diarrhea caused by contaminated water and sanitation every year.

The report said that unless urgent action was taken, the Pakistan Government would fail to meet the MDGs including the pledge they made to halve the proportion of people without sanitation by 2015. This had massive consequences for child mortality in the country.

WaterAid`s Country Representative in Pakistan Siddiq Khan said the government also must increase the level of spending on water and sanitation, and donor governments increase the share of aid they spend on water and sanitation, so that the situation could be turned around.