TEACHING HUMAN RIGHTS IN PAKISTANI SCHOOLS: WHAT ARE THE POTENTIAL BARRIERS?

Education plays an important role in development of any country. Education is considered one of the major contributors for developing success at local, national and global levels. Human Rights Education (HRE) promotes awareness about human rights and a way of information sharing among students, parents and the community at large, to develop skills in people to understand and combat violations of human rights. If children receive a high quality education, embedded with Human Rights concepts and principles, they can become responsible citizens and promote the human rights.Pakistan ranks at the lowest end of human development in the world. In the Human Development Index 2017, Pakistan ranks at 147th position (out of 188 countries). Pakistan is signatory to a number of international human rights Conventions and thus has pledged to protect the rights of citizens. However, recent international and national reports portray the overall human rights situation in the country as inadequate. The teaching of Human Rights is not formally included in Pakistani curricula, and there is lack of research on the subject of Human Rights Education in Pakistan.This paper attempts to explore the place of human rights within the existing policy documents and school curriculum in Pakistan and barriers in teaching human rights concepts in primary schools of Pakistan. The paper will focus on the situation of human rights education with reference to the policy documents and existing curricula of Social Studies and Islamic Studies subjects and a review of textbooks. The study seeks to identify the opportunities and constraints related to teaching of human rights concepts in schools, and possibilities of teaching human rights concepts in Pakistani schools. The paper will provide recommendations for improved practices of teaching human rights in schools. The study will provide implications for policy makers and education practitioners and will set the ground for future research. The study will also suggest further research human rights education in Pakistan.&nbsp

Scrutinizing Religious Fundamentalism of Post 9/11 Scenario in The Blind Man’s Garden By Aslam

This study analyzes Aslam’s novel The Blind Man’s Garden. It generally depicts post 9/11 scenario in which people suffer from identity crisis, trauma and religious fundamentalism. This study investigates the outcomes of religious fundamentalism in post 9/11 scenario of Pakistan. The research is designed descriptively. It follows the research method of Textual Analysis. The data are textual and collected from the novel. The gathered textual data are analyzed to answer the research question that what are the factors of post/911 religious fundamentalism and how the society suffers from them. The textual analysis is done with the theoretical framework of Religious Fundamentalism generated after reviewing previous literature. The findings of this study reveal that religiously fundamentalist people strict people, women, children and deprive them of their desired life. Youth is misguided and prepared for jihad in the name of God. Women are restricted as per their law. This ideology imposes misinterpreted laws and creates a dystopian society where no one is free to live according to their own conduct

Stewardship in health policy and its relevance to Pakistan

Since the concept of stewardship in health care first appeared in World Health Report 2000 there has been very limited discussion in the academia about its implications. In the present paper we revisit this concept and review the literature that has been written about it. We have particularly focused on the role of stewardship in health policy of Pakistan. We also highlight the improvement that stewardship can bring about in the health policy of Pakistan and the possible constraints that might be faced during its implementation phase. The literature available is on the concept of stewardship in health policy. The search was done through the database of PubMed with key words including; stewardship, health policy, governance, and role of state. A total of 22 articles were shortlisted and included in the review. The concept of stewardship has a lot of potential to reinterpret and reinvigorate the role of the state in Public Health of nations across the globe, including Pakistan

In the Light of Epistemological Debates about Knowledge, is ‘Evidence-Based’ Policy Making (in the Britain) Anything More than Political Rhetoric?

Recently, the policy discourse in Britain has shifted towards evidence-based policy (EBP) where ‘evidence’ is founded on rationality of natural science. In one hand, the proponents of EPB advocate for scientific approaches (e.g. experimentation, systematic review) in generating evidence in social science in order to modernising the policy making process. On the other hand, question arises whether such technical/instrumental approach in social science can really construct appropriate knowledge in order to improve government’s policy making endeavour. Critical analysis of the scientific research approaches in generating evidence (knowledge) in social science reveals that the present government’s ‘what works’ philosophy is a major fallacy of their effort to bridge the gap between policy process and social research because there are some inherent methodological and epistemological issues that the evidence-based research faces in the way of understanding the social world. Basically, the critics of EBP warn that the concept of ‘what works’ evidence is myopic, because it defines ‘evidence’ scientifically and mechanically that is too narrow from social science’s perspective. Keywords: evidence based policy, scientific research, policy researc

The ways of Improvement for the Livelihood approaches of Persons with Disabilities: A case study on Kachia, Bhola Sadar

A person with disabilities faces difficulties throughout their life. From the very early stages of life, they found themselves facing challenges due to the social structure and financial condition of our county. The Bangladesh government is now launching various initiatives to improve the lives of people with disabilities. As well as several NGOs and INGOs working for the development and inclusion of people with disabilities in different sectors, this paper is about identifying the challenges and limitations of their services and trying to find ways out for possible solutions to solve those shortcomings. Bhola is an area where disaster is also an issue that affects human life. In a survey of 285 households, 53% were persons with disabilities. The average family size was 5, with 65% literacy. Community structures like Union Parishad Members (54%) and Child Clubs (30%) were prominent. Education findings revealed 24% had knowledge for small businesses. 21% of families with disabilities had adequate resources, and 6% of health professionals enhanced skills. Inclusive education knowledge increased for 20%, with 20% of trained teachers adapting methods. Disaster risk reduction training improved skills for 19%. Regarding climate-related risks, 23% of persons with disabilities reported adoption measures. Overall, the study focuses on enhancing inclusivity, education, and disaster resilience among persons with disabilities. A person\u27s disability becomes more difficult during a disaster. Education and health services are required for the improvement of the lives of people with disabilities. Simultaneously, conditions during disasters were a major focus of this research. Self-help groups and connections with local NGOs/INGOs will be beneficial. Government service linkage and access to information will be helpful for the person with a disability. This study aims at identifying potential ways to improve the lives of people with disabilities and to find ways to increase their employment opportunities in the community

To What Extent is the Free Market Compatible With the ‘Strong State’?

Contradictory views persist among neoliberals, social democrats and social liberals regarding relationships between free market and the nation State. In one hand, neoliberals suggest that the development of the free market puts constraints on the role of the state. Yet empirical evidence to support this view is lacking and range of commentators show not only resilience but even the expansion of state spending. Moreover, the article highlights that the State has welcomed globalization for the betterment of the society and subsequently it is restructuring itself to accommodate the changes to be effective on a desired way. Keywords: Globalization, Strong State, Free Market, State Control and Liberalism

Global Corruption Hoax: Politicization of the Concept of Corruption and the Issues of Corruption Measurement Indices

Often we observe that the third world countries always top the corruption indices compare to the developed West. This incident naturally leads to the question of why - Is it because the third world countries are significantly more corrupt than the developed countries? Or, is there any other reason behind this issue?--these are the questions that are explored in this article. To be more specific, this article critically explores contemporary arguments regarding inherent issues of corruption and various aspects of measurement techniques of corruption indices (e.g. definition issue, identification problem, clandestine nature of corruption, perceptual problem, validity and reliability of corruption data). Thus, by examining the innate complex nature of corruption, the article argue that, in many cases, in comparison to the developed West, corruption of developing nations may not be as deep as the corruption indices, which are also contested, accuse. In addition, the article emphasizes that the corruption issue is specifically targeted towards the third world countries more so than the developed countries. Keywords: corruption, governance, corruption indices, corruption measuremen

Humidified high flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy in acute bronchiolitis

Background: Bronchiolitis is a major cause of morbidity and leading cause of hospitalization, mostly in early childhood without coexisting illnesses. Traditionally dry oxygen is provided at 100% concentration via low flow nasal prongs. However, the latest studies have revealed that oxygen therapy via heated, humidified, high flow nasal cannula (HFNC) allows the delivery of high inspired gas flows which is better than the traditional one. Methods: All previously healthy children between 1 and 24 months of age with an established clinical diagnosis of moderate to severe bronchiolitis (clinical severity score ≥4) were enrolled for study. The patients were divided into two groups: Patients in Group 1 received HFNC oxygen therapy (HFNC group) while those in Group 2 received conventional oxygen therapy (non-HFNC group). The patients were randomized in each arm by simple randomization. Outcome parameters measured were duration of hospital stay, duration of pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) stay, oxygen saturation (SPO2), respiratory rate, adverse event (respiratory failure), need for intermittent positive pressure ventilation or continuous positive airway pressure. Results: Out of 100 patients studied, 50 received HFNC oxygen and 50 received conventional oxygen. There was early and better improvement in SPO2 and respiratory rate (p<0.001), decreased length of hospital stay (p<0.001) and PICU stay (p<0.01) among the patients in HFNC group as compared to non-HFNC group. The most common adverse event during the hospital course was respiratory failure which was seen among 4 patients in non-HFNC group and none among HFNC group developed such complication. Conclusion: The use of HFNC oxygen therapy in infants hospitalized with acute bronchiolitis reduces PICU and hospital stay as well as the potential complications which will substantially reduce the hospital cost