The Census of 2017 a Ray of Hope for Pakistani Minorities

The minority groups expect from the present government to publish their true statistics of the census conducted in 2017. And on the basis of that statistics increase minorities representation in Parliament, allocate equivalent resources and increase employment quota in all areas of development. The employment quota should not only be administered for menial positions but for all positions.

A Census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. Census is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. In Pakistan five Censuses have been conducted since 1951 to 1998 and this is the 6^th Census being conducted in 2017 from March 15 to May 25, 2017. The first census was conducted in 1951, the second in 1961 and the third one was conducted in 1972 due to the political environment in the country and war with India. The fourth census was conducted in 1981, the fifth in 1998 and now the sixth is being conducted in 2017 after 19 years.

The population and housing census is important because it ensures an equal distribution of economic resources among people, to form right constituencies on provincial and national assembly level, to analyze resources besides counting people, to know people’s present standard of living and education, for provision of employment quota at provincial and federal level, to know the status of minorities, marginalized communities including transgender, disabled, women and children. Moreover, the seats in the National Assembly are allocated to each province/FATA and Federal Territory on the basis of the population in accordance with the census, for example the present seats in the National Assembly are allocated in accordance with the last preceding census officially published under Article 51 (3) of the constitution.

According to the last (5^th) Census (1998) the minorities constitute 3.73% of the total population of Pakistan and the majority (Muslims) constitutes 96.28%. The 3.73% represents Christians’ as 1.59%, Hindus as 1.60%, Qadiani (Ahmadi) as 0.22%, scheduled castes 0.25% and others as 0.07%. The figures indicates Hindus as the second largest community in Pakistan and the Christians the third largest community. Before the 5^th Census Christians were the 2^nd largest community in Pakistan but they have fallen to the third level because of incorrect registration or not registering themselves seriously. The largest number of Christians reside in Federal Capital Islamabad (4.07%) followed by Punjab (2.31%), Sindh (0.97%), Balochistan (0.4%) and KPK (0.21%).[1] However, according to Albert David, a Christian Politician the Church estimates population of Christians as 13% of the total population.[2] Hindus are counted as the 2^nd largest nation in Pakistan and so they get more resources. It should be noticed that the number of Christians, Hindus or other religions is directly related to the rights they fight. We can say that right statistics of a religious or minority group will lead it to gain its social, religious, political or economic rights in a country.

The census figures carry important implications for the allocation of resources for the minority groups in a country. We can say census is an opportunity for the minority groups to have the same rights the majority group is enjoying. So, to get equal rights, it is important for individuals to correctly register themselves in   census because their true figure is directly related to the seats they get in the parliament. Currently there are ten reserved seats for minorities in the National Legislature Assembly and proportionate minority seats in the provincial assemblies. Since then, ten selected minority members belonging to majority political parties share their political representation. In 2008, the National Assembly seats were raised up to 342 whereas the number of minorities’ seats was never revised or increased. Asia Nasir, JUI-F nominated Christian Member of the National Assembly, tried time and again to get the minorities seats increased but could not succeed. Recently, her effort was turned down by the standing committee with the plea that minorities’ seats increasing bill could be moved after the national census in 2017. Asia Nasir has presented two bills after 2008, the first bill was to amend constitution article 51 to revise seats in the National Assembly which was after a two years struggle was referred to the Law Ministry by the Speaker. She also wanted to make increase in the provincial seats simultaneously, and the standing committee directed her to move another bill for Provinces which she moved to amend article 106 of the constitution, but this time, surprisingly, the committee rejected the minority seats increasing bill in the National as well as Provincial Assemblies on the grounds that the bill could only be considered after census, but she argued that since the majority seats were increased without census in 2008 that justifies her plea to increase minorities seats.

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The minority groups expect from the present government to publish their true figures of census conducted in 2017. And support minorities to come out of their severe poverty zone by increasing quota in the government jobs. The hiring should not only be done for the menial jobs such sweeping but also for the higher official positions. This action will alleviate poverty as well as prevent conflict.

Therefore, to avail greater opportunities and uplift minorities status in the country, the minorities must enroll themselves correctly. They need to ensure their names are spelled and recorded correctly. The government should also play an important role to duly inform people about the indispensable importance of a census in national life. According to an estimate, this census will cost Rs 18 billion. It is not just about statistics, the political status quo stands to be challenged; rather the census will have a profound impact on the distribution of federal resources and the allocation of legislative power in the National Assembly. It will give insights into urbanization trends and can be very effectively used for devising law enforcement strategies, security infrastructure and better local governments. All political parties should be prepared to let go and work with new ground realities. The provincial governments should participate in ensuring a credible consensus. They are now stakeholders. Blame game should be avoided at all costs. This census should be transparent and its data should be released immediately and be available to research communities to shun doubts and confusions.[4]

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[1] Pakistan Bureau of Statistics: http://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files//tables/POPULATION%20BY%20RELIGION.pdf

[2] http://www.christiansinpakistan.com

[3]  Daily Times: Minorities census — importance and significance, by Kaleem Dean (http://dailytimes.com.pk/opinion/26-Jan-17/minorities-census-importance-and-significance

[4] The Nation Newspaper: The Importance of Census, by Hammad Ahmed, http://nation.com.pk/columns/02-Apr-2017/the-importance-of-census

International Women's Day 2017

The International Women’s Day is celebrated in many countries around the world to recognize and celebrate the social, cultural, political and economic achievements of women at national and international levels. Every year a theme is selected to focus on women empowerment by United Nations, organizations and individuals. This year (2017) the International Women’s Day theme is “Be Bold For Change”. The theme is selected to take innovative action that truly drives the greatest change for women. Last year, organizations and individuals around the world supported the “Pledge For Parity Campaign” and committed to help women and girls achieve their ambitions. There is a great need to accelerate the developmental efforts for women as the World Economic Forum predicts that gender gap won’t close entirely until 2186. But we can make a difference by being a leader within our own spheres of influence by taking bold pragmatic action to accelerate gender parity. Through purposeful collaboration, we can help women advance and unleash the limitless potential offered to economies all over the world.

The International Women's Day was first emerged from the activities of labor movements at the turn of the twentieth century in North America and across Europe. The first National Woman's Day was observed in the United States on 28 February when the Socialist Party of America designated this day in honour of the 1908 garment workers' strike in New York, where women protested against working conditions. While the first International Women’s Day was marked in 1911 as a result of the Copenhagen initiative (In 1910, he Socialist International, meeting in Copenhagen, established a Women's Day, international in character, to honour the movement for women's rights and to build support for achieving universal suffrage for women).

The Charter of the United Nations, signed in 1945, was the first international agreement to affirm the principle of equality between women and men. Since then, the UN has helped to create a historic legacy of internationally-agreed strategies, standards, programmes and goals to advance the status of women worldwide. Over the years, the UN and its technical agencies have promoted the participation of women as equal partners with men in achieving sustainable development, peace, security, and full respect for human rights. The empowerment of women continues to be a central feature of the UN's efforts to address social, economic and political challenges across the globe. The endeavor to support women’s development continued with the presentation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in September 2015 by the Head of State and Government and High Representative at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The 17 SDGs along with other challenges also addresses some key  challenges such as poverty, inequality and violence against women. Women have a critical role to play in all of the SDGs, with many targets specifically recognizing women’s equality and empowerment as both the objective, and as part of the solution. Goal 5 “Achieve Gender Equality and Empower All Women and Girls”, is known as the stand-alone gender goal because it is dedicated to achieving these ends.

According to the World Bank Report 2015 Pakistan constitutes 48% of women population while in economic sector their presence is not satisfactory. There is a need to engage more women in entrepreneurship in order to uplift the economic status of this country. The women are facing crucial problems in Pakistan such as domestic violence, work place harassment and inequalities, child marriages, acid attacks, dowry deaths, forced marriages and honor killing. Deep legal and legislative changes are needed to ensure women’s rights; the country has to focus on actual implementation of the existing laws on women rights and development. It is necessary to institutionalize those laws on top to grass root level. There is a need to amend the legal and social norms in favor of women. We also need to advance women’s political participation, leadership roles and economic empowerment.

References:

1.       http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/women-and-the-sdgs/sdg-5-gender-equality#sthash.oiUeNkTN.dpuf

2.       http://www.un.org/en/events/womensday/history.shtml

3.       The Global Gender Gap Report 2016

4.      Status of Women in Pakistan: Sanchita Bhattacharya