Time to change

“It’s hard to deny that an alarming number of those who stood for peace, not war, were either killed by deranged lone gunmen or else died in suspicious circumstances. We refer of course to the likes of JFK, Martin Luther King, Benazir Bhutto, Bobby Kennedy and John Lennon, to name but a few” — James Morcan, The Orphan Conspiracies: 29 Conspiracy Theories from The Orphan Trilogy

Human beings are essentially ego-centric, self-loving species who take immense pride not only in their achievements as lone crusaders, but even when they are helped along by others. In many cases, the journey from ‘I’ to ‘we’ is arduous and comes mostly at the expense of one’s inner conceit, which is reluctant to whole-heartedly admit someone else’s contribution. On the other hand, moving from ‘we’ to ‘you’ hardly takes a moment, especially when circumstances are adverse.

There are innumerable examples in our day-to-day life. For example when husbands boast of providing for their families after conveniently ignoring the virtues of their wives in facilitating an enabling domestic environment. But are quick to put the entire blame on them if anything goes wrong. Students brag about their intelligence in academic achievements, forgetting their teachers’ hard work and instantly scapegoating them in case of failure. The captain of a winning team sings praises of their leadership, overlooking other members’ accomplishments. But are quick to allege poor team support in the event of losing a match.

Experience shows that when a project in the form of a research paper is handed over to a group of seven, one or two may take keen interest, some may have a lukewarm attitude towards giving their input while others will just enjoy a free ride. Yet, at the end of the day, all desire equal credit. The idea that we all have to work together does not appear to sit well with us, although the reality is that success can only be achieved when every person in a team works with complete dedication and sincerity of purpose instead of wasting efforts and even cost.

Pakistan is one of the few countries that is blessed with infinite number of natural resources. Unfortunately, the nation has become totally directionless. Both our civilian and military governments have focused more on taking credit for themselves, making their own rules and undermining the efforts of their rivals, without thinking of the negative effects this has on the people. The only sustainable outcome of these years of political roller coaster has been the game of musical chairs, with participants pushing and shoving each other to grab the seat of power.

When those who matter are engrossed in such games, it is hardly any surprise that the country’s natural resources are not being beneficially explored. The law and order situation is out of control, with parliamentarians least interested in legislating, executive busy in exploiting the needs of the people, judiciary failing to provide instant justice, people reeling from the highest rate of inflation ever recorded, and the country’s international standing dwindling. There is no end to complaints. Everyone can go on endlessly about these issues whenever given a chance.

We love to talk about democracy and democratic values, but we are also the victims of a system that has never allowed democracy to flourish in the truest sense of the word. Benazir Bhutto, the 11th prime minister of Pakistan and the first elected woman to head a Muslim state had great confidence in democracy because she believed: “Pakistan’s future viability, stability and security lie in empowering its people and building political institutions. My goal is to prove that the fundamental battle for the hearts and minds of a generation can be accomplished only under democracy”.

Whether her optimism materialised is obvious by her short stints at premiership —1988 to 1990 and 1993 to 1996. She was prevented from completing her terms in office on account of different allegations. So much for democracy! Nevertheless, her faith did not wane for she said: “I found that a whole series of people opposed me simply on the grounds that I was a woman. The clerics took to the mosque saying that Pakistan had thrown itself outside the Muslim world and the Muslim Ummah by voting for a woman, that a woman had usurped a man’s place in the Islamic society”. Her assassination on December 27, 2007 proved the last nail in the coffin of her ideals.

This leads to another thought process that is an affront to the idea of women being in charge of their household, what to talk of a country or even a company. This mistrust in a woman’s capabilities has led to such strong reactions that besides giving rise to many feminist movements, at times, it has forced women to discard their inherent maternal characteristics to establish that they are worthy of high positions. According to Josie Glausiusz, the fear of appearing weak affects women so much that when they are in power they tend to emulate men, overturning the idea that they will be more peace-loving. But the sample size of these women is so small that no real conclusion can be drawn. According to Steven Pinker, a Harvard University psychologist, the Earth would perhaps have been a more humane place had world leaders been women.

Changing the course of one’s thought process is not easy at all, but it becomes necessary when matters become unmanageable. In order to make Pakistan prosperous and progressive, we must work towards a more coordinated and cooperative polity, learn to act as a team, set aside false egos, include women’s participation in all walks of life and aim at establishing peace across the country in particular, and the world in general.

The writer is a lawyer and author, currently adjunct faculty at LUMS and member Advisory Board and Senior Visiting Fellow of PIDE