Women say they can get better jobs if they have better public transport

Public transport is the most pressing issue of Karachi and majority of the working women are of the opinion that they can get better jobs if they have better public transport, a moot was told on Tuesday.

Arif Hasan, renowned writer and expert in urban planning, whilr addressing  a workshop on “The Challenge of Conflict Prevention in Pakistan: A Case study of Karachi” organised by Program on Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution, Department of International Relations, University of Karachi termed ‘increasing livelihood issues’ as a major problem of the city. ‘We don’t get technically skilled people because there is no institution to teach skills’.

Mentioning a survey conducted by his team in which women standing at bus stops were asked about transport problem, Hasan told the audience that 62pc women answered that they can get better jobs if they have better public transport in Karachi. “We decide according to availability of transport. Many women in our family don’t work due to lack of transportation,” he added.

“We need a serious dialogue not only to curb violent extremism but also non-violent extremism which is a cradle of violence.”

Former senator Javed Jabbar started his keynote address with the condemnation of assassination of Dr Shakeel Auj, Dean and Chairman of Islamic Studies. According to Jabbar, “Karachi is the youngest, fastest growing and most diverse city in the entire region”. Highlighting the key features of the metropolis, he also spoke about challenges that the city was facing. “A new form of citizen identification is needed in Karachi with inclusive democracy where everyone is allowed to vote,” he added.

Brigadier (r) Abdur Rehman Siddiqui, in his chief guest address, said

“Whatever is happening in Pakistan now has a link to what happened in 1947. In three months, 10 million people migrated in both countries and 1 million were murdered. Violence is deeply rooted in Pakistan.”

In the opening remarks of the workshop, Dr Mutahir Ahmed, Chairman Department of International Relations, told the audience that this workshop was a step towards understanding conflict resolution in Pakistan and its different regions including Balochistan, FATA and Karachi.

Session one with the theme of conceptual dimensions of conflict prevention began with the paper of Ms Maria Saifuddin, Assistant ProfNationalDefenseUniversity, Islamabad. Saifuddin presented conflict life cycle and types of conflict prevention. She talked about the different stages of conflict in a life cycle and also what measures could be taken once a conflict had started to manifest in violent forms.

Paper on “A multi-stake holder approach of conflict prevention” was presented by Dr Moonis Ahmar, Dean of Social Sciences, University of Karachi and Director Program on Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution. According to him, this approach is essential in achieving long-term and viable solutions to on-going conflicts. Prof Moonis expressed the view that success was less likely to achieve if conflict prevention was done single-handedly because every conflict was intrinsically multi-dimensional in nature. He sadly remarked that the problem in their part of the world was exclusion and marginalization of various groups and stakeholders from the process of conflict resolution which was absolutely wrong.

Aaranya Rajasingam, Programme Officer, RegionalCenter for Strategic Studies, Colombo, Sri Lanka, spoke about the relevance of multi-stakeholder approach in the prevention and peaceful resolution of conflicts. She presented the case study of Nepal and Sri Lanka and how multi-stakeholder approach helped in conflict resolution.

Nighat Saeed Khan, chair of this session, expressed that every conflict was unique. “You can take lessons but you cannot apply the same mechanism at each conflict.”

Dr Najam Abbas in the second session shared the findings of his research with the audiences. This research was conducted in Gilgit-Baltistan to discover various reasons as to how the youth of volatile regions in Pakistan fall prey to spoilers who exploited their energies to wage armed conflicts for certain vested interests. He opined that youth must be engaged in constructive activities that keep them away from engaging in violent conflicts.

Dr Arshi Saleem Hashmi, Assistant Professor from NationalDefenseUniversity, Islamabad gave a presentation on conflict prevention mechanisms in Pakistan. She identified various needs and requirements that ought to be inculcated in such mechanisms as these continue to emerge as least effective amidst the backdrop of rapid transformation that the nature of conflicts in Pakistan is going through. Speaking with reference to Pakistan, she said that our cure to political problems or conflicts has always been reactive rather than preventive. She emphasized on creating a national narrative based on human security as she deemed it vital to address the needs of conflict prevention in Pakistan.

Dr Naeem Ahmed, Assistant Professor of Department of International Relations, University of Karachi presented a detailed case study of Karachi and how the periodic violence and crime affected the economy. ‘Many conflicts in Karachi flourish under political umbrella. Increasing migration in Karachi changes the demography of the city’, he said. Four waves of migration were discussed by him. According to Dr Naeem, sectarian conflicts in Karachi are more pervasive. ‘Afghan war and Zia’s formation of Deobandi Medrassas in the city added a new chapter of violence. Later, Due to US war on terror thousands of Taliban sneaked into Pakistan and many made their way to Karachi and joined Deobandi medrassas’, he said. ‘There are reportedly 40 splinter TTP groups operate in Karachi and ISIS has also made inroads’, he added.

Nargis Rehman, Chairperson Pakistan Women Foundation for Peace, Karachi her paper highlighted the flashpoints of violence in Karachi and the sufferings of women in these areas. She said that the role of state is crucial and the youth bulge must be addressed to prevent conflicts.

Prof Dr Bernett Dean, Director, VM Institute for Education discussed the importance of education and institutions formed by Christians, Parsi and Hindus in the conflict prevention. ‘These schools were inclusive, provided access to all, built social capital and opportunities for general, technical and professional education which prepared young people for job opportunities’, she mentioned. ‘In present days, content of curriculum and text books are known to fuel violence. There is a need to change curriculum and improve teaching and learning process to avoid inequalities’, she added.

Prof Dr Fateh M. Burfat, Chairman Department of Criminology, University of Karachi, discussed the background and history of Karachi while presenting his paper on ‘Role of Youth’. “Zia regime was the first turning point when violence was introduced in KarachiUniversity. National Youth Policy 2008 was approved in February 2009 for first time in Pakistan which was abolished after approval of 18th amendment,” he added.

In the concluding remarks, chief guest Haider Abbas Rizvi of the MQM told the audience, “We lack a management mechanism to run Karachi. Effective mechanisms are needed to manage and resolve conflicts,” he emphasised.