Letter to the editor of a newspaper drawing his attention towards the deteriorating condition of

public parks and gardens.

Examination Hall,
A.B.C. (City).
September 11, 2011.
The Editor,
The Nation,
Lahore.
Sir,
Through your esteemed newspaper I want to draw the attention of concerned authorities towards
the much deteriorating condition of public gardens and parks in our city. The city which was
once quite famous for its number of beautiful gardens and parks has now been deserted. Most of
the parks and gardens which were a chief source of recreation for local masses are not in the city
map now. This is all because of some developmental work or encroachment by surrounding
locals. Those which are left there are now showing a deserted and barren picture. The tree and
plants which remained full of beautiful flowers now are full of dirt. There are heap of rubbish
everywhere as there is no proper planning for removal of waste. The non-availability of proper
benches for sitting aggravates the conditions a bit more. But alas! Like all other departments this
bad condition of public gardens and parks is also looking towards authorities for their humble
look. I would like to make following suggestions to improve the sorry state of this beautiful
blessing of nature:
1.No construction should be allowed in the place of a garden or park.
2.Experienced and hard working people should be employed as gardeners to look after the
gardens.
3.Dust bins and drums should be installed in the gardens and parks for the disposal of waste.
4.We the people are also responsible for giving a shabby look to the gardens as we dont care to
put waste in the drums, installed here for that purpose. Hence, we should also show some sense
and should use these drums.
5.The gardens and parks encroached by people should be released and should be made available
to the people after their renovation.
6.Proper seating facilities should be made available in the parks and gardens.
I know these measures will not solve the situation on the whole, but a little improvement can be
made by implementing them. With this hope my voice will not go waste,

Yours truly,
X.Y.Z.
The Causes OF Female Backwardness In Pakistan
The Contribution of in National development
Suitable profession for women,
Problems of working women,
Role of Women in The Development Of Our Nation

Outline:

Introduction

Causes Of Female Backwardness In Pakistan

i) Socio-Economic Causes
a) Lack Of Access To Resources
b) Poverty
c) Illiteracy
d) Unemployment
e) Deplorable Health Level

iii) Violence Against Women

a) Honour Killing
b) Bride Burning
c) Sexual Harassment And Rape
d) Acid Throwing

iv) Political Causes

a) Low Political Representation
b) Rotten Governance

vi) Religious Causes

a) Misinterpretation Of Islam
b) Narrow-Minded Religious Approaches

Role Of Women In The Development Of Our Nation

i) Socio-Economic Role
ii) Cultural Role
iii) Educational Role
iv) Political Role

Suggestions
 Conclusion

Introduction:

Quaid-e-Azam said in speech in 1944,

No nation can rise to the height of glory unless your women are side by side with you; we are
victims of evil customs. It is a crime against humanity that our women are shut up within the
four walls of the houses as prisoners.

Women are the integral part of a society. They are entitled to equality in every sphere of life. We
were recently rated as one of the worst countries in the world when it comes to the way we treat
women. More than 60 years after independence, 80 per cent of Pakistani women are still
subjected to domestic violence..

Lack of access to resources including finance, land, inheritance, rights, education, employment,
justice, healthcare and nutrition are major causes of female backwardness in Pakistan.
It is widely acknowledged that a combination of poverty and the low status awarded to women is
indeed a major problem. Many women die from childbirth on account of poor health facilities.
And more than half the women in the country cannot read and write.

Pakistan inherited the menace of poverty with its inception in 1947. The burden of this poverty
fell heavily on the female population which makes the 50% of the total population of Pakistan.
Women are neglected and under-nourished. They are restricted to the four walls and are meant to
perform only household work. They are deprived of their rightful share of property and have no
say in family decisions.
The constitution of Pakistan provides full participation of women in all spheres of life, but
the literacy rate in females is just 36% as compared to men that is 64%.
The ratio of primary schools for girls and boys is 4 and 10 respectively. Such attitude of
discrimination is not new in the educational system of Pakistan. Religiously, people are of the
view that Islam does not permit a women or girls to step beyond the limits of house.
However, the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) strongly emphasized on education by saying that,

It is the prime duty of men and women to acquire education.

Not only this, but women are also denied of doing any job and earn their livelihood. As a result
of discrimination against female labour, their role is low paid, and lack potential upward
mobility.

The health indicators of women in Pakistan are among the worst in the world.
In patriarchal Pakistani society, women are mere symbol of family honour and dignity. They are
considered as private property. Prevailing feudal culture has confined women to home to save
male honour and dignity. Feudal lords implement their code of morality in the name of
tradition and custom. Under such customs women have no control over their lives. They dont
have right to choice-marriage. Girl education is strongly discouraged and women tolerate
oppressive norms in the name of morality.

Swara and Vani are such type of heinous crimes that are deeply upheld by the stone-age minded
people. In both of the customs, the minor girls are given as compensation for the wrongdoing
perpetrated by one of the members of the culprit family on the aggrieved one. Girls as young as
10 years of age are married with 60 years old man under such customs.

Dowry system is another form of social and traditional practices. There is hardly any family in
Pakistan in which this system is not followed. Not a single day passes without dowry deaths and
torture of women.
In Islam it is the man who pays the Mehr to the woman. Rather dowry is the right of the
woman. The Quran highlights:

And give women (on marriage) their dower as a free gift; but if they, of their own good
pleasure, remit any part of it to you. Take it and enjoy it with right good cheer. (An Nisa: 4)

Honour killing is one of the worst forms of violence against women. It is an extreme form of
direct physical violence, which is marked by great suffering. In recent years, Pakistan has been
criticised because of the dramatic rise in the incidents of honour killings in the country. There is
no concept of honour killing in Islam.
The Quran also make it clear: Do not kill a soul which Allah made sacred except through the
due process of law... (6:151).

Poverty, unemployment and lack of economic property further strengthen this aggressiveness.
Talbanisation of society is also an important factor in this concern.

Bride burning is another form of inhuman domestic violence within the walls of the home. This
is one of the most severe abuses of human rights. There are several reasons for bride burning but
the major reason includes the failure of the wifes family to provide a large enough dowry.

Moreover, acid throwing is another abuse inflicted on women.

Pakistans experiments with democracy and representative government have not been very
encouraging for women..

Islam is a comprehensive religion which gives women a great importance. But the narrow-
minded and biased religious Ulemas have always misinterpreted it to serve their wicked
purposes.
A massive effort is required to make both men and women aware of the need and the benefits of
women's empowerment for a better future of Pakistan. Healthy, educated and empowered women
can help raise better children to build Pakistan as a modern society that cares for its people. A
number of non-governmental organizations such as AMAL, Aurat, Human Development
Foundation (HDF), Edhi and other similar organizations deserve our support if we care for the
enhancement of women's status in Pakistan. This can be made possible by ensuring following
steps.

Greater involvement of women in all fields should be ensured.

Empowering women to unleash their potential.
Provision of training for women to enable gainful employment in small-scale industries in rural
and urban areas.
Reservation of 10-15% seats for the recruitment of women in government and private sector.
Increasing training facilities for women in traditional fields of teaching, nursing and birth
attendants.
Free education to poor family women should be provided.
Different types of scholarships and subsidies should be provided to women.
Female teachers should be appointed to provide safe environment to girls in single sex schools.
Umbrella of labour legislation must be ensured.
Discriminatory laws must be repelled.
Strengthening the institutional framework for women development.
International organizations such as the UN, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the
Red Cross, and the European Union should take serious notice of occurrences of honour killings
in Pakistan.
In the contemporary world, the importance of media cannot be denied. If government of
Pakistan really aims to create an atmosphere of awareness towards women's rights, media can be
used as an influential and effective tool.
The role of religious leaders is also important because they have easy access to grass roots of
society. In order to change the conservative approach of religious leaders, there should be
workshops' training programmes, and seminars, in which religious scholars should be invited to
discuss the problems related to women's rights.

At last we can conclude ,women of Pakistan are highly devoted towards their roles in the
development of the country and they are emerging as politicians, social workers, lawyers,
doctors, journalists, artists, pilots, army officers and founder of NGOs. They are promoting the
cause of womens status and role in the society.
Now the time has come to actively integrate them in countries affairs so that we can faster the
pace of progress of Pakistan. The task is very simple and we have to come out from the phobia of
male superiority.

Women play a vital role in our society; we can see they play role in almost every field followed by numerous challenges. One
cannot deny that women represent an important source of power for the economy.