Bringing Positive Change in Pakistan

Bringing Positive Change in Pakistan

By Bisman Shaukat

I was thinking, that how we can change Pakistan in a positive way??? What can the youth do for making Pakistan a safe homeland where equality can rule and injustice can be eradicate??? I am such a person who always wants to contribute in society in a positive way. I want to change so many things; but I couldn’t find any platform for that. I always wish that someday I could do anything for the people that want our help. I am not the only one who think in this way but I am sure that half of the youth want to do something which could bring change in our country and we have experience the passion of our youth in the time of earthquake and it is the best example of unity and patriotism for the country and its people.
Youth can bring change in the society if they were allowed to do something, but from where we should get started. Is there any platform for the youth to just get together for any cause and the answer is no. Unfortunately in Pakistan no such organization has been formed for the youth which could motivate our future generation in such positive way that can bring change in our society. There is no concept of services rendered by our youth because such activities are not being supported or praised. Most of the people are thinking that what we can do, but if want a change in the society so we have to come out and start working on any cause together without any discrimination.
In my point of view our youth doesn’t lacks in ideas of changing our society but proper guidance is not being provided to us. We should start bringing change from our home and housing society, there should be a volunteer student committee in every housing society, school, colleges and university of Pakistan and they should be supported by their elders for the services they provide for bringing a change. What the youth can do we could make a contributing in spreading education in rural areas; we could do something for children engaged in child labor. There are so many ways through which we could bring change in society and only in this way Pakistan will be survived.
Youth ministry is there in Pakistan but without planning, even so many youth do not even aware of what actually youth ministry is. They can engage youth in every project so that we should be aware of our capabilities and achievement.
Pakistan media is booming and ruling on every person educating about every aspect of life but they are doing nothing for youth. They could provide such platform in which they can hire the services of youth in highlighting and solving different problems of society and the result will definitely be good. Through this we could also control the rising violence among youngsters because of no work if the youth of Pakistan will be engaged in productive work so, it will bring change also and our society will be saved from further destruction.

What If We Had a Time-Machine

Pakistan was carved out in desperate urgency. It came into existence with horrible loss of life and property, and the migration of millions of dazed and destitute men, women, and children. The cost was heavy in terms of human suffering. But what the Muslims wanted and what they achieved was a homeland of their own. They now had the freedom to worship, practice their religious faith and develop their culture. Moreover, independence had opened up a bright future for the Muslims, who hoped for a better standard of living, economic development, prosperity and a fuller life. What if Pakistan was a war free, peaceful, loving country, our opinions mattered and were friends instead of puppets of first world nations.

Pakistan has been in a serious tension since it got independence. The problems with Pakistan are from the day one. When sub-continent was divided in two states, the powers were not shared properly among the two. India which was the other state (Stake holders) makes problems for the Pakistan so that they can make this state fail.  But somehow due to good leadership of Quaid-e-Azam, Pakistan survived as a state.  But Pakistan is still struggling after 65 years.  Democracy was selected as a system for Pakistan but we have never seen real democracy in our country. It is due to the power of military establishment. Dictators ruled Pakistan and became a destroying factor for our country due to the power they have. 65 years ago it was a under developing country and it is still a country with title ‘under developing ’. Why is it so? It is a need of an hour to understand the fact that why are we behind the other successful states. What changes should be done to make to make a new Pakistan? What are the problems of Pakistan till now? And what is a solution to those problems? What is Pakistan in my vision? And Where I want Pakistan to be? These are all the clicks in my minds when I see Pakistan as a failed state. Alternative solutions also clicked my mind and I countered it with my words here. The truth in this possibility can only be found by comprehensive run of alternatives that were available in crucial decision-making moments in history of Pakistan. The fun part in writing a alternate history is you never know what`s coming next and this becomes even harder to scribble in my weak vocabulary. I guess it would be something like what if or Fatherland.

What if we had a time machine to go back and rewrite the history, to avoid all those military coups, to stop wars with India, to avert the passing of discriminatory laws in constitution, to concentrate more on education system, to avoid plunging in to the war of terrorism and to reduce the tension between religions as well as ethnic groups.

If we had made right decisions after 1947 so we could say at-least on of these things in 2013.

1.            Pakistan 1 Rupee is equal to 1 US Dollars.

2.            Pakistan intellects had won 5 Noble prizes in their works in Physics, Chemistry, Literature and Peace.

3.            Pakistani politicians are among the most well educated, democratic and fair.

4.            Pakistan produced scientists and engineers that made strong influence in the modern sciences.

5.            Pakistan is self-sufficient country that exports its technologies to the world.

6.            Pakistan has 5 Universities in the top 50 Universities in the world.

7.            UN ranked Pakistan among the world top 10 happiest nations

8.            Students from Europe and America compete to study in limited no of seats in Universities of Pakistan.

9.            Pakistan is a peaceful country, where all ethnic groups and religions have the same right freedom to practice.

10.        Pakistan believes to build strong and peaceful relations to its neighbors.

11.        Pakistan spent 25 percent of its budget in education

This is a story of that hypothetical country with similar political scenario as Pakistan that came into existence in 1947. This country is a result of decisions that now we believe destroyed Pakistan.

Child Labour isn't the main problem?

Pakistan as a nation is a developing country and consequently faces a wide array of social problems: educational, economical, political, religious and a number of internal ethnic conflicts. However I believe that it is more important to address small issues first and then work towards the annihilation of the larger ones.

 After all small steps lead to big changes and transformations. Child Labour is a social issue within Pakistan and is considered a violation of human rights by the United Nations. Pakistani society is such that, a poor child can quite conveniently be deprived of basic education, only to feed the rest of his family members. Anyone up to the age of 18 is a child and his basic right is to receive education and proper upbringing rather than use his hands to destroy his own bright future. 

Children are especially exploited in the third world countries as they are a cheap source of labour and Pakistan children are used as labourers in the Sports Industry, Carpet Industry and the Footwear and in glassware production. According to the Federal Bureau of Statistics of Pakistan, 3.3 million out of 40 million children are working in various industries, although child labour is strictly prohibited by law.

 Child Labour is a serious social problem within Pakistan because the future and progress of any country depends on an educated and enlightened youth and if a child is not properly socialized then he/she will not be able to grow as confident and literate Pakistani citizens. There are various reasons for exploitation of children within the economic sector of Pakistan and such causes are directly related to the major social problems of Pakistan. Sociological Variables as the Causes of Child Labour in Pakistan: The factors that generate child labour within Pakistan are parental poverty and illiteracy; an irresponsible political system; social and economic pressures; lack of education. Social attitudes in Pakistan due to which a child is considered an adult at quiet an early stage due to biological changes, also are a cause of exploitation of children below 18 years. 


Poverty is a major social issue within Pakistan and as a result children are made to work in various industries in order to support their financially poor parents. The status of the family directly influences the choices available to a child and obviously if a family is extremely poor with comparatively less resources then consequently, each member, be it a child or an adult will be required to work and bring in money in order to survive. The economic and family status in the rural areas of Pakistan id quite low and as a result children are forced to work in various manufacturing and tertiary industries and are also over-exploited.61.2 % of Pakistan is illiterate and poor education resulting in limited exposure to human rights is a major cause of child labour.


 Education is a sociological variable and is of extreme importance because it emancipates a person from the grip of ignorance. However most people in the rural areas have no access to educational institutions and thus a child learns the tricks of trade from his father and instead of gaining education he chooses to work as a labourer or is at times forced by parents’ due to their own lack of basic knowledge. Pakistan does not have sound educational system under which a child can be adequately socialized into becoming a productive member of society. Education is not treated as a priority and inevitably child exploitation continues within our nation. 

Girls and boys are forced to work as domestic servants in the homes of the upper middle class or the richer elite. Thus class divisions become more prominent with the exploitation of the poor by the rich and this leads to an inequitable distribution of wealth and income. Pakistan is going through a serious social stratification problem and the rich continues to get richer whereas the poor continues to get poorer. Girls are exploited within the rich households, are paid less and are often physically harassed by the male owners. This leads to further sex and gender related issues and thus child labour needs to be strongly curtailed.

Pakistan needs a strong government and political structure to address the issue of child labour. However President Musharraf’s government is a military dictatorship which considers a nuclear programme a priority but banning child labour is not a serious issue for them. There are loopholes in the political structure of Pakistan and a weak government is a main cause of the denial of rights of the citizens of a country. Therefore children’s rights are largely ignored and deliberately avoided. For a positive change a democracy is needed which will fight against child labour through reformative action and laws and regulations. In Pakistan 7% of children working suffer from health problems and are physically abused as well by their owners. These are all structural problems within the social agencies of Pakistan which not only accelerate the rate of child labour but also set a precedent for other developing nations to follow.
    Tayyab Shafiq