There are advantages and disadvantages in the
exercise of ‘equality right,’ which is constitutionally available to each
member of society. The problem is the illiterate people in majority, who happen
to be unaware of their legal rights under the 1973 Constitution of the Islamic
Republic of Pakistan.
It would be worth mentioning here that right
after the military coup on October 12, 1999, General Pervez Musharraf reassured
the Pakistani nation that his was not an obscurantist (religious) agenda, and
he referred to the “Ataa Turk model”
as his inspiration in his mission to rescue the sinking country out of deep
trouble. He meant guaranteeing the EQUALITY with MODERNISM to all citizens
across the country. Around that horrible period of official paralysis and
mismanagement, the corrupt democratic governments of PPP and the PML (n)
mishandled the ongoing ‘governance crisis.’
Ironically, they were back and forth into power
democratically as well as through the legal recourse from the apex court level.
Though it’s discomforting to mention, yet the reality was none of the two
governments were able to prevent the economic decline.
In
1999, the national
exchequer had almost bottomed out with no hope of any ‘topping up,’ despite the Nawaz
Campaign of “dollar mangaao qarz
mukaao scheme.”
The incentive-package was attractive enough to
have lured some hard earned dollars of the Pakistani expatriates abroad. Even,
this didn’t work to rectify the menace. So the severe economic derailment
turned into chronic financial ailment to a point where all the dollar deposits
went missing without a trace unfortunately.
And, this actually led to a huge build up of
financial mess in the 1990s. Hence, main blame goes to the immature people of
that period who were clinging onto power despite their incompetence and the
inherent inability to deliver to the nation in terms of EQUALITY.
In
2014, we are still going
through the worst form of the economic scenario with even harsher ground
reality. With mega inflation, the poverty way below the poverty line, the
terrible energy crisis and the fear of terrorism 24/7 are the worries that are
responsible for jeopardizing the right to equality.
Nevertheless, modernism is still
intact, rather it’s on the rise.
Thanks to the enlightened moderation which has
curtailed and dented our religious rights of equality. Proxy war against Islam
and Pakistan is an ongoing phenomenon with no end soon in sight. Unless the
whole nation is on the single page to protect the writ of State and secure our
practice of Deen, the right of equality will be further deteriorated.
Though, the military dictator seemed to have
adopted the modern ‘secular’ & liberal credentials,’ yet his notion of ‘Enlightened-Moderation’ did adulterate
the social and religious norms of the Pakistani society. The said enlightened
moderation is here to stay as the internet access is there to facilitate the
youth; that’s how, the practice of his concept has almost turned into a
reality. On top of that, the young minds
are getting ruined by the sexually explicit material which is just a click or
so away, hand held devices including the mobile phones which are out of
parental control. This is a type of “Remote Control EQUALITY’ which is aimed at
nothing but corrupting the civil society as a whole.
Indeed, with this paradigm shift, several
sociological changes in the country are taking place. A strategic shift in ideological positioning
within the women’s movement has been noticed along with debate over religion
and secularism in relation to women’s political participation. However, there are understandings and
contradictions of “Islamic & secular
identity politics” in the women’s movement.
Like the most of other nations, the Constitution of Pakistan is
based on the concept of equality to all its citizens without discrimination.
Based on the required age and other pre-requisites, the document
on constitution of Pakistan (dastoor-e-Pakistan) offers all citizens: (a) an
equal opportunity,
(b) right to live in any part of the country, (c) have a profession
of their choice.
The grown up adults have the rights to contest elections and
select the leaders of their choice. Unfortunately, when it comes to politics,
there is too much violation of the document. The equal rights are smashed by
the power hungry powerful elite. There is a lot of rigging and ballot stuffing.
Especially, the village and the tribe culture directly hit the document of
‘Dastoor-e-Pakistan’ and the voters’ rights of voting are either stolen or
their votes are cast not by the rascals of the vested interests. This means,
these votes are taken care of by the interested rogues/agents of the
candidates. So the pressure tactics work
against the right to equality.
In the real sense, the concept of equality is good for
development of a sense of respect among
citizens.
Employee-employer
environment: As the equality is beneficial for
all, it’s vital. Yet there are organizations that fail to avoid discriminating
on the basis of caste, color, race and gender in a number of cases. This
attitude is injurious to the concept of equality; hence becomes a painful
reality suddenly.
On the other hand, if the employees are allowed
to enjoy equal opportunities, they have sufficient alternatives for
contributing towards the growth of the organization. They are more than willing
to work for maximizing their potential, thus leading to the targeted growth of
the company they work for.
Mental Satisfaction helps deliver immensely:
The feel of ‘being fundamentally equal’ brings a
lot of satisfaction and pleasure among the work force.
Furthermore, equality
leads to morality and justice, translating into an easy access of services
where workers are able to fulfill their potentials without any fear or apprehension.
Thus, the exercise and practice of equality will be providing fair behavior to
all while identifying that everyone is different.
The problem is our employers/organizations are hardly working on
the basis of equality. They are not very good at providing equal opportunities to
their employees indiscriminately. Thus, the dream, of an equal and fair access
to a variety of jobs, training and promotion, has not come true as yet.
Positive fact: Despite, the
difference of opinion among various quarters of Pakistani society, there is no
bar on women being in the workforce including the educational institutions and
even in various business sectors. Isn’t that great? Of course it is. WOW!
The female pilots (commercial or
military), the women legislators, female doctors, female engineers, female
judges, female lawyers, female professors, female teachers, female IT
specialist, female police officers, and the female members of the armed forces
and the list is unending. Pakistan even had a female prime minister.
So the women of today are far more
liberated than the previous generations. The constitutional rights of women are
becoming easier and easier to exercise day by day.
Compatibility and competition:
In fact, it’s competition which is
name of the game. Most of the credit goes to the constitution of Pakistan
whereby the rights of all individuals and institutions are guaranteed, yet one
has to deserve but prior to desire. Let’s be qualified enough to reap the
benefits of guaranteed equality regardless
of class.
Conclusion: A society that is blind to
gender, race and sexual orientation, color, creed and the ethnic background
will always choose the best person that is the most competent for the political
office or for employment in any industry in the private or public sector without
discrimination.
Equality goes hand in hand with modernism.
And, those who don’t go with the flow are always left behind.
