The two mosques on either side of the Aga Khan Shahi Polo Ground in Gilgit have created uproar over the women’s sports gala on October 5. Otherwise at loggerheads with each other for years, the clerics of the two mosques have joined hands in this ‘noble’ cause of stopping girls from having fun.
Agreed women should play in full dress and entry of men inside the sporting arena be not allowed, I find the clerics’ stance very perplexing. They have been critical of women's education, especially co-education, and workingwomen in the past. Clearly, they are not accepting that keeping pace with the changing times is the only viable option for progress.
The culture brigade is active in Gilgit Baltistan (GB) as in the rest of the country. They present themselves as protectors of the culture. They have created the ‘they versus us’ dichotomy. They have become the champions of fascism. Perhaps, their attitude has pushed the locals to accept the use of drugs, street harassment of women, rape of children, and sectarian conflict as their culture. Unfortunately, sportswomen couldn’t qualify to be on this essential list of cultural dos.
It is important to understand what constitutes culture. Is culture a rigid or an evolving phenomenon?
The conservative section of the society imposing its sense of morality as a universal truth is deplorable and the government's incompetence to appropriately deal with such miscreants is depressing.
The educational supremacy of Gilgit Baltistan as propagated in the media is not a myth but a farce. The presentation of the region as a hub of education only furthers the government's inability and ineptitude to improve the standard of education. The results of government schools in grades 9th and 10th board exams, especially in the Diamer region, where the passing percentage was 10 to 15 percent in most of the government schools, exposes the standard of education in the area.
The high literacy rate is indeed a statistical fraud. It may be marginally better than in other parts of Pakistan (62-63% as compared to 57 in Pakistan). But demographically the situation is alarming -- as some regions in GB have the worst literacy rate in Pakistan. The educational standard at the Karakoram International University, the only university in the region, is below par. The lack of permanent trained staff and incompetent visiting daily-wage lecturers have made the university a joke.
The severe lack of quality education institutes in GB forces college students to flock to big cities, where they spend millions in tuition fees and living expenditures, only to be unemployed in the end.
Rather than investing time on limited constitutional rights, political prisoners, weak infrastructure, shoddy internet connections, the people of GB are spending their energies on what the narrow-minded clerics are propagating.
Presenting GB as a beacon women’s empowerment on social media is yet another farce. Showing women playing sports in Gojal, Hunza, as a true depiction of GB life is utterly erroneous. Gojal is just one of 27 tehsils of GB. Gojal cannot be representing the entire area. However, the condition of women Gojal is not the best. Their access to education, the right to choose a spouse, and property rights remain compromised. This purported heaven on earth is a product of creative imagination. It does not exist in reality.
The media depicts GB as serene with high mountains, gushing streams, lush green pastures and mesmerizing valleys. It fails to capture the predicament of the GB people. It may show a group of boys and girls dancing to a Shina tune, wearing traditional Gilgiti dresses and caps, not the constitutional and political deprivation, the deplorable state of educational facilities, and the excessively powerful yet demeaning role of the clerics in the region. The media must show the true picture of gross injustices in GB.
Agreed women should play in full dress and entry of men inside the sporting arena be not allowed, I find the clerics’ stance very perplexing. They have been critical of women's education, especially co-education, and workingwomen in the past. Clearly, they are not accepting that keeping pace with the changing times is the only viable option for progress.
The culture brigade is active in Gilgit Baltistan (GB) as in the rest of the country. They present themselves as protectors of the culture. They have created the ‘they versus us’ dichotomy. They have become the champions of fascism. Perhaps, their attitude has pushed the locals to accept the use of drugs, street harassment of women, rape of children, and sectarian conflict as their culture. Unfortunately, sportswomen couldn’t qualify to be on this essential list of cultural dos.
It is important to understand what constitutes culture. Is culture a rigid or an evolving phenomenon?
The conservative section of the society imposing its sense of morality as a universal truth is deplorable and the government's incompetence to appropriately deal with such miscreants is depressing.
The educational supremacy of Gilgit Baltistan as propagated in the media is not a myth but a farce. The presentation of the region as a hub of education only furthers the government's inability and ineptitude to improve the standard of education. The results of government schools in grades 9th and 10th board exams, especially in the Diamer region, where the passing percentage was 10 to 15 percent in most of the government schools, exposes the standard of education in the area.
The high literacy rate is indeed a statistical fraud. It may be marginally better than in other parts of Pakistan (62-63% as compared to 57 in Pakistan). But demographically the situation is alarming -- as some regions in GB have the worst literacy rate in Pakistan. The educational standard at the Karakoram International University, the only university in the region, is below par. The lack of permanent trained staff and incompetent visiting daily-wage lecturers have made the university a joke.
The severe lack of quality education institutes in GB forces college students to flock to big cities, where they spend millions in tuition fees and living expenditures, only to be unemployed in the end.
Rather than investing time on limited constitutional rights, political prisoners, weak infrastructure, shoddy internet connections, the people of GB are spending their energies on what the narrow-minded clerics are propagating.
Presenting GB as a beacon women’s empowerment on social media is yet another farce. Showing women playing sports in Gojal, Hunza, as a true depiction of GB life is utterly erroneous. Gojal is just one of 27 tehsils of GB. Gojal cannot be representing the entire area. However, the condition of women Gojal is not the best. Their access to education, the right to choose a spouse, and property rights remain compromised. This purported heaven on earth is a product of creative imagination. It does not exist in reality.
The media depicts GB as serene with high mountains, gushing streams, lush green pastures and mesmerizing valleys. It fails to capture the predicament of the GB people. It may show a group of boys and girls dancing to a Shina tune, wearing traditional Gilgiti dresses and caps, not the constitutional and political deprivation, the deplorable state of educational facilities, and the excessively powerful yet demeaning role of the clerics in the region. The media must show the true picture of gross injustices in GB.