Category: Pakistan

Whenever someone has talked rationally against theological or social or cultural beliefs, s/he has been mocked. Be it… anyone.

Such is the fate of Dr. Hoodbhoy at the moment. For exposing the Single National Curriculum (SNC). And using a word: “fasaad”.

First, the word ‘fasaad’.

Well, it was not directed at a single person. It was mentioned with the example of ‘Radd-ul-Fasaad’ – a national military operation. A formal operation within the state. Against the people of the same state. Who misused and misinterpreted the religion to create “fasaad”. Hoodbhoy didn’t direct it against any single person but against a mindset.

And he was absolutely right. He was answering the stupid zig-zag hypothesis on SNC for days. There is a threshold to tolerate stupidity. That too in abundance.

Second, the 18th Amendment.

When the budget came, the herd was defending ‘the chunk’ as “education falls under provinces”. True. Then how come SNC is being imposed from the capital? Isn’t it violation of the constitution?

And if the educational concerns are really high, why not focus on HEC first? It falls under the Federal domain. Easy to handle. Without violating the constitution.

Or perhaps 18th Amendment is an issue for such reasons. ‘Uniform’ reasons. Not that uniform. Uniformity’s uniform. Hmm.

Every problem in Pakistan is due to the 18th Amendment. That’s the narrative being propagated from the sewerages of Karachi to the misery of Balochistan.

Anyway. Let’s proceed.

Third, Dr. A. H. Nayyar (‘Dissecting The Single National Curriculum’, 31.07.2020, Dawn) has mentioned that SNC will create 520,000 jobs for madrassah graduates. To teach in mainstream public and private schools. Read again: 520,000 jobs for madrassah graduates.

Dr. Mariam Chughtai said that they are planning to convert over 35,000 madrassahs into schools. However, it looks like she is planning to convert mainstream schools into madrassahs.

With that, we will have blasphemy cases. Remember Junaid Hafeez of Bahauddin Zakriya University? Yes. Faithfully such cases. In every nook and corner of the country. And we will have Zia’s Pakistan.

Onboard again.

So this is it. Not just it. But it.

With the whole herd on one side, Dr. Hoodbhoy is inclined to lose his temper. There is a threshold to tolerate dumbness.

Seeing Twitter for the last couple of days, and seeing even the sane voices uttering nonsense, losing faith in this country is very natural. Why is there this craziness of unity? Unity in education. Unity in religion. Unity in culture. Unity in every single aspect of life. WHY?

Idea behind unified curriculum is to upgrade the quality of education of the lower strata. Not to downgrade the quality of the upper strata to equalize it with that of the lower strata.

Dr. Hoodbhoy is the only voice against SNC. He alone is un-silencing and exposing the agenda behind. He is the lone warrior at the moment. You may disagree with him on certain points – I do – but you need to listen to him at least, and without bias.

As Leonardo da Vinci said, “Nothing strengthens authority as much as silence.”

And as Martin Luther King said, “One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.”

And as Czeslaw Mitosz said, “In a room where people unanimously maintain a conspiracy of silence, one word of truth sounds like a pistol shot.”

Unified curriculum. Decade old quality. Banned books. Only the cheaper tactics are on the cards.

Not HEC.

Not vocational training of teachers.

Not 23 million out of school children.

Not quality of education.

Not infrastructural development of schools.

Not rote learning.

And this will create ‘fasaad’. If it hurts you, it’s you who needs to heal.

Kids are not safe.

Kittens are not safe.

Kittens from kids are not safe.

Books are not safe.

And this is all connected.

Since Zia, chapters on ‘reproduction’ in biology books became a national threat to the moral upbringing of the kids. The moral brigade never allowed education about sex and reproduction. So here we are. Morally corrupt. Since puberty.

On the other hand, children – not knowing safety measures – are easy victims for pedophiles. Particularly in suburbs and madrassahs. If we could teach our kids about sex and harassment, they would know certain precautionary measures. At least from the usual suspects like close relatives and madrassah teachers.

But every time there is a talk of sex education, people get outraged. They don’t get outraged at actual rape / pedophilia incidents, but they do lose their minds as soon as there is talk about relevant education. Or maybe they think of sex education as sex novels. Who knows? Upbringing? Perhaps.

Comes curiosity… insubordination in its purest form. With genitals attached to the body since birth, kids get curious. Everyone does. Naturally obvious. As parents and teachers don’t communicate on this topic, informal channels are left to find answers.

With easy access to the internet, questions are answered. Incorrectly. Imprudently. Without apprenticeship. Mainly through porn material.

And with that upbringing… comes a kitten.

Connected?

From silencing books to kids raping kittens, nothing is difficult to comprehend.  From curiosity to curse.

Education is the evolutionary solution to every problem. Be it intolerance, violence, misogyny, discrimination, racism, harassment, blasphemy or anything. We – with the usual blanket of religion – have completely covered certain grave issues. Closing our eyes or hushing the topic won’t resolve the problem.

And where have we landed ourselves with this blanketing?

Welcome to pedophilia capital of the world. To bestiality. To shushing. To pious in public and monsters in private.

This is the problem where you can start playing your part. Open up. If the schools don’t talk, you talk. Talk to your kids and remove the communication gap. Tell them about their privacy and how they need to protect themselves and be protected from others.