Month: April 2010

The Global Glass Ceiling

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Governments and international organizations recognize that empowering women in the developing world is a catalyst for achieving a range of policy and development goals. It is time for multinational corporations to come to the same realization — funding education and training female business leaders is good for business. ISOBEL COLEMAN is Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy and Director of the Women and Foreign Policy Program at the Council on Foreign Relations. She is the author of Paradise Beneath Her Feet: How Women Are Transforming the Middle East.

Roots of Taliban conflict fester in Swat

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Dawn News- MINGORA: A year after Pakistan launched a major operation to evict the Taliban from Swat Valley, markets are bustling and girls are back at school, but the root causes of the conflict still fester. For two years the Taliban paralysed much of the valley by promoting a repressive brand of Islamic law, opposing secular girls’ education and beheading opponents until the government ordered in thousands of troops.

The Principle of Assumption

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By Awaam 15th April 2010 We humans are an incredibly puzzling species. Definitely, one of its own kind. And by that I mean, way better than all the others that there are. No point in being modest!  Still why do I say that? I could come up with innumerable explanations (or justifications?), to support my claim. Yet given human kind’s delusional, but consistently unwavering accord on this one “assumption”, I am glad I won’t have to try very hard. However, being the skeptic that I am, I can’t help but put even this ‘singular’ assumption to test. And if it is at the cost of our ‘speciel’ self esteem, so be it. Is it not amazing how our entire civilizations, histories and possible futures have and continue to rest on a set of few “assumptions”? These assumptions are so crucial to defining our existence that they are deemed as the “Ultimate Truth”- The unchangeable, ever persistent facet of our collective reality…READ MORE

The Pakistani woman’s crusade against the system

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By Sadef A. Kully Although, it has been twenty something odd years since Dr. Kauser Saeed Khan has been participating in and witnessing women protest for equal rights, there still seems to be some fight left in her…probably more than just some. “We are not going to be quiet, or give up,” said Dr. Khan, one of the founding members of Women’s Action Forum (WAF), who is an Associate Professor at the Department of Community Health in Aga Khan University.

Message by Mrs Dr Ayaz Khan asking for help in finding her husband

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Teeth Maestro My Husband Dr. Ayyaz Ali Khan is an Assoc. Professor at Shaikh Zayed Hospital, Lahore and is the Head of Dental Department. He did his masters from Swansea, Wales and then his PhD from Ireland. Dr Ayaz is a professional of international repute and has valuable contributions in the field of Dental and Oral Health. He has over 94 international scientific publications (highest amongst all medical and dental professionals in Pakistan). He has been national coordinator for Oral Health by WHO . He has over 30 MPhil and PhD student all over Pakistan and produced more than 15 MPhils / PhDs who are currently working as Assistant Professors in various institutions all over the world. He is a national hero in the field of Medicine.

On releasing poverty numbers

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Dr. Ashfaque H Khan Statistics speak all languages, affect all policies, and touch all aspects of people’s lives. It is difficult to overemphasise how critical statistics are for policymakers in guiding their work, assessing the impact of their policies and changing direction when needed. If the authorities have access to better statistics, their efforts to fight poverty and promote better life for the people would be more effective. The case in hand is poverty statistics, which have not been released by the government for over one year.

Food for future: Pakistan has moved from being an exporter to an importer of food

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Cross post from Pak Tea House By Aadil Mansoor Fifty years down the road, the reign of the Green Revolution that began in the 1960s in India seems to be nearing its end. The Green Revolution pushed the production frontiers of the agriculture sector through farm mechanisation and introduction of high yielding varieties (HYVs), complemented by the construction of upstream water reservoirs. It helped farmers increase food grain and crop production at higher rates than the rates of population growth. In the following three decades (1960-80), the average yield per hectare rose at an impressive average rate of 4 percent per year. This growth was not only enough to feed a population of 85 million, growing at a fast rate of 4.12 percent per year during that period, but also generated surpluses that improved Pakistan’s export performance and earned foreign exchange reserves for a cash starved economy.

DunyaNama- The GlObal kaleidOscOpe

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What is the one thing that defines us at the most fundamental level of our existence? It is Life. Yet, after an entire decade into a new century, the very Life of our collective reality that we call humanity continues to struggle for its endurance. They say every great power has to witness its own fall some day. So is it that a great empire of human race has reached its own end and we are (lucky or not) the chosen ones to witness our own demise? You probably think I am exaggerating? May be I am but before anyone of us reaches a conclusion let us have a look around…Read More

PAKISTAN’S CRISIS – ITS ROOTS

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By Dr. Khalil Ahmad Pakistan is in the grip of a deadly crisis. Whether it is political or economic domain, social or religious life, private or public sphere, the chaos is overriding. Watch for the utter disregard for social and moral values, and social norms on the one hand, and on the other for rules and laws, and the constitution, rampant at every level without any exception. That tells not only of the moral bankruptcy of Pakistani society but of the gravity of the deep moral crisis also. This piece traces the roots of this moral crisis.