Daily Times Editorial 19 December 2019

Troubles for the general

Every journey starts from a certain point. Pakistan’s journey towards an era without martial law has started with the verdict of the high treason case against former military dictator General Pervez Musharraf; specifically the death penalty awarded to him under Article 6 of the constitution. As a matter of policy, this newspaper neither supports the death penalty nor unconstitutional acts. General Musharraf stood trial in the case of an emergency he imposed on November 3, 2007. It is ironic he was never tried or questioned for ousting former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in a bloodless coup in 1999. Also, the judges who took oath under Musharraf-imposed martial law have never been questioned. Instead, the top court of that time not only legitimised his office, but granted him certain time to fix the ills the country had been facing and conduct elections. His time at the top only ended when PPP came into power in 2008 elections and threatened him with impeachment.

Pakistan is the land of mixed voices, and that is not a bad thing. In the high treason case, a clear divide can be seen in political and social camps. The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government has expressed displeasure over the verdict, and plans to appeal. The army as an institution has stood by its former chief, and a tweet by its public relation department on the verdict is in bad taste. The entire case never involved the army; it was against an individual. Similarly, PTI’s position on the verdict is against the policies and statements of party chairman Imran Khan. Attorney General Anwar Mansoor said, “I will defend the law in the case but not any individual.” Gen Musharraf’s legal team may find several flaws in the special court’s formation, prosecution and verdict. Their plea to implicate the abettors in the case has not been heard. Article 6 (2) clearly states: “Any person aiding or abetting or collaborating the acts mentioned in clause (1) shall likewise be guilty of high treason”.

Gen Musharraf is in a Dubai hospital. The verdict may take a telling toll on his health. We wish him speedy recovery and advise him to return to Pakistan and challenge the verdict. Even if the Supreme Court upholds the death penalty, he can seek presidential pardon. That will help the country and history to find the right course. It is time to rework the balance in civil-military relations and start holding the men in uniform accountable for their actions.

Increasing gender disparity

Geneva-based World Economic Forum, in its Global Gender Gap Report 2020, has ranked Pakistan the third worst country in terms gender equality. We rank 151 out of 153 countries, just ahead of Iraq and Yemen. Among South Asian countries, Pakistan is at the bottom as Bangladesh ranks 50, Nepal 101, Sri Lanka 102, India 112, Maldives 123 and Bhutan 131. The previous record shows Pakistan on a downward trajectory in gender parity in economic participation, opportunity, education, health, survival and political empowerment. Dimension wise, the country’s score card shows very bleak prospects: Pakistan stands 50th in economic participation and opportunity, 143rd in educational attainment, 149th in health and survival and 93rd in political empowerment. What is more worrying is that in 2006, Pakistan stood 112 in the ranking only to reach 151 in 2019. Similarly, in economic participation and opportunity, Pakistan stood at 112 in 2006, in educational attainment 110th, in health and survival 112nd and in political empowerment 37th. The male-dominated society has shrunk opportunities for women and those making it to workplaces face harassment, discrimination and bias. As per the report, only one-quarter of women are in the labour force, five per cent in senior and leadership roles and 18 per cent in the labour income share. In education, though higher education institutes are dominated by women, the overall scenario is not encouraging in terms of gap balancing. In the educational gender gap, half of the women are literate compared with 71 per cent of men. Similar gaps are seen in health and political areas.

The report belies the cosmetic measures taken to improve gender parity. Allocating special quotas in jobs and reserved seats in assemblies and educational institutions has not helped women achieve empowerment in our society, thanks to prevailing prejudices against girls and women. Several laws have been made only to play to the gallery, otherwise women and girls are still married before the age of 18; they are prevented or discouraged from working; they are denied equal inheritance rights, and they often suffer from domestic violence. Most of the women have no say in decisions about marriage, contraceptive use and health care. Lastly, we have yet to take action to track budget allocations for gender equality. The government and civil society must work towards gender parity.