I am replying to an article in The New York Times by columnist Nicolas Kristof, titled “A Girl, A School and Hope”, in which he made the following statement:
“The United States has provided $18 billion to Pakistan in aid since 9/11, yet Pakistan’s government shelters the Afghan Taliban as it kills American soldiers and drains the American Treasury. Meanwhile, only 8 percent of Pakistanis have confidence in President Obama, according to the Pew Research Center. That’s not even half as many as express confidence in bin Laden…. Meanwhile, Pakistan seeks post-flood aid from Western taxpayers, yet barely taxes its own affluent citizens at home. And its feudal landholders have historically opposed good schools, for fear that poor Pakistanis – if educated – would object to oppression.”
This kind of assessment predominates in the American media and Euro-American views of Pakistan. I find it troubling and deeply disturbing that Kristof and other western observers impose conditions for educational development on a country that has seen far more violence and implemented far stricter anti-terrorism regimes than any western nation. Superficially at least, Kristof’s linkage defies common sense and factuality. Pakistan has done more than any other country to stem the growth and recurrence of religiously-motivated violence and to identify not only its sponsors but it sources in the social fabric of Pakistani society.
Underlying Kristof’s complaint, however, are some hard statistics: for example, a kindergarten child in this country has only one percent chance of reaching the 12th grade, according to the Pakistan Education Task Force. The average Pakistani child is significantly less likely to be schooled than the average child in sub-Saharan Africa. Yet the West and the United States in particular insists on propping up generals and their anti-terrorist machine while ignoring important justice movements such as the Lawyers Movement for Democracy.
The media needs to focus on Pakistan’s positive movements for change as an incentive for a pro-democracy culture that values education for all segments of the society. Without such focus, it is far too easy for the West to concentrate its attention on violence and financial corruption, which are surely part of the story but not the whole story. Fairness, accuracy and balance of coverage should be Pakistan’s strong suite in this discussion.
HIRA SALEEM
LUMS, Lahore