‘Pakistan’s biggest problem – over-population’

Justice (R) Nasira Javed Iqbal

Interview

For Justice (retired) Nasira Javed Iqbal, her primary introduction was once only as the daughter-in-law of philosopher-poet Allama Iqbal – one of the icons of the Pakistan Movement. But just like her illustrious late husband, Javed Iqbal – the chief justice of Lahore High Court and an eminent author in his own right – she too carved out a name for herself as a jurist and a law professor.

Before serving as a judge at the Lahore High Court from 1994 to 2002, Justice Nasira remained a lawyer at the Lahore High Court for years. She is one of the first five Pakistani women lawyers, making it to a coveted post as Judge at High Court. She also served as the president at the Lahore High Court Bar Association, and a member at the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan. Currently, Justice(R) Nasira Javid is serving as the president of an activist group called Concerned Citizens of Pakistan Society (CCP).

She is also a prominent member of the executive committee of the Public Interest Law Association of Pakistan (PILAP) as well as All Pakistan Women’s Association Punjab and Pakistan Women Lawyers’ Association.

Justice Nasira is a recipient of several national and international awards, including Sitara-e-Imtiaz given in recognition of her public services for the judicial system.

Here are the extracts of her interview with Bol News…

Where does Pakistan stand after 75 years of Independence?

Nasira Javed Iqbal (NJI): We have been standing still, and I am afraid that if we remain static, we might fall as a nation. Let me tell you one thing very significant and momentous here; 75-years is not a big deal in terms of a time-period when it comes to nations’… especially when they are newly born. But the matter of fact is how much do nations learn from their history and leaders who brought them freedom. Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah had mentioned frequently, in his post-partition public sermons to stay away from nepotism, loot and plunder, and corruption. Hence, I say that it is never too late to (correct the direction) and achieve success. For this, a nation must believe in doing hard work, practicing honesty and following the vision of the country’s founding fathers.

What are the key challenges Pakistan faces today?

NJI: Overpopulation is the root-cause of a multitude of issues, including lack of education, early-marriages, food insecurity, non-availability of clean drinking water, poor living standards of the majority of population, and unemployment.

Overpopulation puts pressure on the water resources: Pakistan’s water supply is becoming scarce due to the rapid increase in the population. The water supply is likely to hover at 191 million acre-feet by 2025. However, the demand will increase to 274 million acre-feet. This means that the people of Pakistan will be approximately 83 million-acre feet short of an important, life-giving resource. Pakistan’s Karachi Water Partnership, a group of 200 activists, has reached out to thousands of children in 25 schools to create awareness on saving water. The group was able to repair pipes and resolve hygiene issues in these schools within 15 months.

Overpopulation can lead to food insecurity: Approximately 60 per cent of Pakistanis already live with food insecurity. If the population continues to increase, families will resort to using agricultural lands for settlement as the urban areas become more crowded. This will decrease agricultural production, making resources even more scarce and expensive. As a result of existing food insecurity, there is already an issue with malnutrition and stunting. In 2018, the World Food Programme intervened in the cities of Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to give out food to children and pregnant women. This aided in the effort to prevent stunting in children under five years old. Overall, the population’s nutrition has improved and is on track to meet goals of reducing stunting by 40 percent by 2025.

The government has not made a plan of action to control population growth: Pakistan’s government has discussed the possibility of decreasing the population growth rate from 2.1 percent as of 2018 to 1.5 percent by 2025, but no official plans have been established. The Supreme Court of Pakistan even proposed a two-child limit on families, but the idea was met with strong opposition from the conservative Muslim majority.

The population is large, but the country is small: Pakistan’s population is the fifth highest in the world, but it only makes up 0.59 percent of the Earth’s surface. Compared to other countries with high populations, Pakistan takes up the smallest amount of space. This means that Pakistan is dealing with more consequences than other highly-populated nations because of its lack of space.

The population may double in 30 years: The United Nations reported that Pakistan’s population will rise to 400 million by 2050, doubling its current amount. Even now, overpopulation in Pakistan is a major issue, so the negative consequences of a large population will significantly worsen with the anticipated population increase.

The birth rate and death rate are significantly different: The high birth rate and low death rate both contribute to Pakistan’s overpopulation problem. At 27.7 births per 1,000 people, the birth rate in Pakistan is one of the highest in the world outside of Africa. By comparison, Pakistan’s death rate is 7.228 per 1,000. This vast difference between the number of people being born and those dying has led to a steadily increasing population.

There are more children than adults: As a result of the high birth rate, 60 percent of Pakistan’s population is still under the age of 30. This has dangerous consequences because more resources are required to raise more children. With nearly 39 percent of families living in poverty, it can be difficult to provide for so many children.

Education suffers when there are too many students: Education is an important step in reducing poverty. The Balochistan Education Sector Plan was put in place by the Global Partnership for Education in 2013 to address the problem of the quality of education. The group was able to focus on reducing dropouts by developing learning standards, making a new language policy that would facilitate healthier learning and investing in teachers. The number of students enrolled in primary school increased by about 100,000 in one year thanks to a combined effort in school reform.

Family planning is taboo: Some conservative citizens believe that it is wrong to participate in family planning strategies. Married women are expected to have as many children as possible during child-bearing age. As a result, 70 percent of them use no birth control method whatsoever. This is a contributing factor to the growing population in Pakistan. In 2012, Pakistan made a commitment to the Family Planning 2020 program to increase fertility management and education.

The menace of nepotism … is equally devastating. It is even against the Islamic as well as the democratic systems of governance. Just imagine people having no background knowledge and hands-on skill having occupied esteemed public offices, merely because of the fact that they are sons, daughters, nephews or nieces of some influential national, religious, political or tribal figure. Isn’t it unfair? It is high-time to break the manacles of culminating nepotism and abandon the sifarish culture nationwide at any expense.

What is your take on the Pakistan Movement?

NJI: I believe that it remained successful due the excellent leadership of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

Do you feel the pressure of being the daughter in law of Iqbal’s family?

NJI: I do not feel it now, but in the very beginning when I got married the pressure came with the responsibility. And made sure to carry out each and every task respecting the dignity of the iconic family I belonged to.

What ideas propelled you to pursue an academic degree in law?

NJI: To speak truly, resolving a family problem first introduced me to law and soon I realized that my knowledge of law was inadequate. My parents had donated all their money to make a charity hospital for children and women. This was a joint family business and others had to purchase those shares to invest in this noble purpose. The lack of knowledge about the law proved the biggest handicap for me. So, it just occurred to me that I should take up law as my major. My children were young; I used to do all their work, from picking and dropping them to their schools, to their doctor visits and everything. My husband used to practice law and then he became a judge so I had to do all these things on my own. One day there was an advertisement in the newspaper about law examinations to be held next month with a Rs. 100 admission fee and I deposited it with the name of Allah. I bought the books, started studying and appeared in the exams. At that time, in the early 70s, they used to allow women to take up law exams privately. So I took the exam and cleared the first part and followed the same pattern the following year for the second part. I secured 2nd position in my university in both the parts and stood 1st in many subjects as it was based subject-wise.

How do you celebrate Independence Day?

NJI : I celebrate it with simplicity, peace of mind and heart.

If you have one piece of advice for Pakistani female youth, what would that be?

NJI: My advice would be never to fear in life. Show resolve and face all challenges with patience and fortitude. We also must send our girls to educational institutions. At the home front, they must ask for equal and dignified treatment. However, this does not mean dominating others as that would disturb the balance and homely peace.

What’s your take on Pakistan’s education system?

NJI: I believe in changing curriculum in Pakistani schools, colleges and universities, because of the fact that our education system could hardly be called a system. It lags behind the modern concepts of education, and provides children and youth of the country with no practical knowledge of the field. I believe in bringing change, as the state of stagnation does not bring any result and it destroys the in-hands opportunities too.

What were the life lessons you learned from Sir Allama Iqbal and Justice Javid Iqbal?

NJI: It is very unfortunate that I could never meet Allama Iqbal, because he died before I was even born. My husband was 13 years old when he lost his father, and 9 years old when he lost his mother. When I got married, my sister-in-law was already married, so there was no one in the house except my husband and I, and I couldn’t learn anything from Allama Iqbal except what we all could learn from his books. Naturally between husband and wife there is a lot of interaction and I learnt a lot from his habits and daily routine. Justice Javid was very tolerant, a forward-looking man and always encouraging. There are many things that one learns from a spouse and one of the things I was learning was respect for other people.

I also must say that my husband shared the responsibilities related to our home. I started practicing law when he had retired and he would take the daily accounts from the servant, tell the cook what to cook, he would try to see that the rooms were neat and tidy and get all these things done in the house. He was even criticized for doing these mundane duties, which are usually done by the women, however, he would calmly reply to the people that sharing responsibilities is not a demeaning act and rather essential for a smooth family life. He wanted them to know that if they wanted to have a happy family then they had to share and care. He said that if he could do it then young men would know that they could do it, too; otherwise they would think that it was beneath their dignity. I think that made a difference. I remember he wrote his autobiography and he mentioned all these things. Women used to buy that book and get his autographs on it saying that they would present it to their husbands to know what the true relationship between a husband and wife is. We had a really nice time!

What is your message for the youth of the country?

NJI: The youth of Pakistan must follow Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s teachings of faith, unity and discipline. They should make sure to avail the opportunity of learning practical skills of the field, along with the completion of academic degrees and theory based knowledge.

We can make a difference, no matter how small our actions are, we must never be reluctant to take even small steps. I have opened a small charity school and I make sure the girls, who are now in 7th and 8th grades, should be taught sewing and embroidery etc. Because if a girl completes her matriculation and sits at home then at least she can earn some money using these skills. I remember that my mother used to ask all her friends to collect food and then distribute it among children in the refugee camps. We all opened an ad hoc school for these children. I was assigned the duty of teaching them “lab pe ati hei dua” when I had time off from my school.  My duty was also to teach them the national anthem. These are the little things that also help a nation to develop. Take the responsibility of at least three or four children, buy them books, uniforms, and take the responsibility of sending them to schools. This can be done by anyone. We cannot just say that it is the government’s responsibility.

The major change that we have to implement is that every family should voluntarily bear two children. I also have two children so I want to lead by example. This cannot be done through legislation because there would be resistance. We have to do it ourselves. We have to take the initiative for things we want to change. I just want to reiterate that nothing is beneath your dignity and the work that you do with your own hands cannot be compared to idle gossiping. I believe that negative criticism cannot get you anywhere and only positive criticism will yield positive results; otherwise no one has the right to criticize. This is not the solution; offer a solution if you have one. You cannot just ask the government to do everything because what is the government? It is us, we have elected them so one should keep on trying to do something and find that it is the only way forward. If we want Pakistan to progress, then each one of us should put in efforts for the collective good of the community.