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city women Hyderabad:
June 23 The
way we are karachi
character
Karachiites are strong
people. They have the emotional and psychological faculties to deal with any
kind of trauma and go on with day-to-day life regardless. Which is why
hearing frightening death counts of well over 200 people dead caused by
about 45 minutes of rain doesn't faze them. They While traffic jams
caused by flooding roads and death by electrocution are rain related
occurrences Karachiites are used to dealing with, poor city planning and
negligence on behalf of the authorities. Poor planning is a year round
problem but it is during rains that it makes national headlines because of
the number of deaths being unprepared causes. This became glaringly obvious
on June 23, 2007,when a short but violent spell of rain left the city in
shambles. Kolachi looks at back
at this fateful week and gleans what we can learn from it. Global warning
Death by hoardings While the 17,000 or so
billboards, many lit from under and above give a luminous orange tinge to
the The city government is
changing tack. The CDGK (City District Government Karachi) had begun a
campaign against oversized hoardings at the President's behest a couple of
years ago. It removed several hoardings from areas under it's jurisdiction,
and also banned hoardings for a year; CDGK eventually broke under pressure
from advertisers and allowed many hoardings to go up. CDGK argues that it
only controls 34 percent of the city and could not remove hoardings from
areas that were not under its jurisdiction. This is a valid point. The
result can be seen in the blame game played by the different authorities
after the fallout from rains. It is important that all authorities reach a
consensus on this issue. Although currently hoardings all over the city are
being removed, incidents such as this make clear that most of these are not
installed properly and do not follow any safety laws. And if they do, then
safety laws need to be amended keeping in mind Karachi's new weather
patterns. Live wire lunacy
These broken cables
also added to the number of long power outages in different areas of the
city. As always KESC played hide and more hide with all its consumers by not
answering it's complaint telephone numbers. Karachiites protested against
the long power failures by burning tyres, aerial firing, beating up KESC
employees and torching KESC vehicles. For
instance, when electricity was not restored in Federal B Area for over a day
after the storm, protestors held KESC employees hostage in their vehicle by
surrounding it and pelting it with stones.
KESC has also said
that it doesn't know how long it will take to fix problem areas, further
aggravating people. Meanwhile, the MQM is calling for the renationalization
of the KESC. And after the rains, we can look forward to more vehicles being
torched by angry mobs who can't get a good night's sleep at home. Traffic horror While the hoardings
swirled along with the cyclonic wind pressure and live wires sang sparkling
songs of death, Karachi roads caved in because of the poor drainage system.
Some of Karachi transit's busiest arteries were jammed to such an
extent that at some places people had to abandon their vehicles on the roads
in order to get to their homes. Karachi's main artery,
Shahrah e Faisal remained severely hampered for hours during and after rain
due to the uprooting of several billboards. Hundreds of commuters were
reported to be stranded here for several hours. Traffic in Sindhi Muslim
Housing Society too remained jammed for hours when the roads were flooded
with vehicles. Similarly the already congested route from Jauhar Mor to
Jauhar Chowrangi too was blocked as the roads that were dug up long ago were
not repaired as yet. Though the Traffic
Police authorities had assured of round the clock help through their
helpline 915, citizens complained that neither could the helpline be reached
nor were there any policemen to help One of the most
horrific consequences of the gridlocks the city often faces and increasingly
so when it rains, is the death of Asif Ali.Asif, 35,had gotten struck by a
billboard when the storm hit Karachi and was immediately taken to a nearby
hospital where he was advised to be taken to the JPMC.Due to the horrible
condition of the roads and traffic jams caused by the rain, Asif had to be
taken to the Aga Khan University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
This single incident leads to the question of whether many lives could have
been saved on that fateful day had the roads been clear, and the traffic
been managed properly. Sewage system down the
drain With the accumulation
of water on roads, the recent rains have once again raised several questions
regarding the water drainage and sewerage systems in the city. This flooding was more
apparent in the low-lying residential localities, especially those located
near the banks of Malir, Lyari, and Korangi rivers. City Nazim Mustafa
Kamal while elaborating on the efficient drain storm water plans had claimed
that "the citizens would not suffer during rains but would enjoy
it." The citizens 'enjoyed'
themselves by nearly drowning, and towing up their vehicles that had stalled
in the standing water on the roads. It is worth mentioning
here that though rains during these months in Karachi are never
unexpected,every year the government fails to cope up with the disasters
created by rains. This year too, the cleaning of the nullah and drains only
began when the monsoons were around the corner. Till last week, city's
newly created municipal services department had cleaned just one of the
seven major drains, while work on one other was under way. According to
official sources, 85 per cent of the Nehr-i-Khayam had been de-silted while
the cleaning of the Manzoor Colony nullah was estimated to be completed by
the two to three weeks. This leads Karachiites to question the authorities
as to why the de-silting process was initiated just when the monsoons were
about to start and why not way before it? Collapsed walls Over 40 percent of
Karachi's population live in katchi abadis (shanty towns). Karachi is home
to people from all over the country, looking for regular or seasonal
employment. The people in these settlements live well below the poverty line
due to the irregular nature of their occupations. More and more people come
into the city, developing and extending their own little settlements, but
without the means to build or live in proper houses. One of the biggest
causes of death during the rain on June 23 was people's homes collapsing
over their heads. Walls and roofs of uncemented houses collapsed as the
torrential rain and gales pummelled them. Gadap, one of Karachi's towns,
seems to have taken the hardest hit of all. Town Nazim Murtaza Baloch
reported at least 22 people dead, 300 injured and over a 1000 collapsed
houses all over the district Krishan Lal, who had
just moved his wife and son to Karachi 10 days before the city was stormed
with rain, lost them both when the wall of the house hey were staying in
collapsed in the rain. Most people who settle
in these shanty towns aim to make enough money to at least build their walls
and roofs in concrete to have a safer place to live in, many of these people
died because the city cannot house the constantly increasing migrant
population of Karachi and they are forced to live in makeshift, katcha
houses. A moderate sized
medical relief camp has been set up for the people of Gadap and compensation
of 50,000 rupees has been offered for each victim of house collapse. The suffering of the
coastal areas The dreaded cyclone
Yemyin hit the Balochistan coast on Tuesday morning. The prediction of the
cyclone by the Met office had already put the people along the Balochistan
coast on high alert and many had fled with their possessions loaded onto
camels and cars to Koh-e-Batil, the highest hill and breakwater at the
Gwadar Deep-sea Port. The heavy rains that
lashed the coast as the cyclone subsided, and the resultant high tides and
floods caused the death of at least 27 people and left around 200 injured,
according to the authorities.Unofficially,the number of deaths has risen to
a 100. The rains also cost Balochistan heavy damage to its roads and
highways. Seasonal rivers in the Makran region flooded, destroying hundreds
of mud houses all over the area. Thousands of people
were provided with food and shelter at school and college buildings while
others were provided with tents. Nazims were requested to extend help and
relief to areas which were otherwise impossible to reach. Most coastal cities
have underwater walls built in the sea, which help curb the pressure of the
tide. The Arabian Sea in Pakistan has no such walls. Although the
Balochistan coast was prewarned of the cyclone and had prepared for it as
best as it could, Karachi generally is ill-equipped to deal with rain and
with the start of this newly intense monsoon season, the city is already
rolling over and playing dead. women From the hands of women: Home-based women workers making a differenceWomen are slowly finding an equal place with men in every profession, but some women, talented as they may be, remain undiscovered, unassisted or sometimes just unappreciated. Kolachi speaks to women who are putting their immense talents to use and to those who are helping them By Sana Jamil Do you
know the actual cost of the funky handbag, which you just bought for
thousands of rupees? Probably not more than 15 rupees! Handbags and other
fashionable accessories fetch the same rates, not from the ultimate targeted
consumers but by the primary producers, a majority of who are women living
in rural areas of Pakistan. We call them home-based women workers. Sindhi
village women have made a business working out of their homes, producing
stylish handcrafted products for local and international markets for meager
payments. A lot of retailers and distributors take advantage of the fact
that these are simple-minded women who have no market know how. It
seems almost clichéd to talk about Pakistan's infrastructure, which has
failed to provide basic amenities such as elementary education to the
masses. But when considering home based women workers, it becomes clear that
not knowing how to read and write affects their self confidence, preventing
them from making decisions by themselves. Roots
for Equity is an NGO working for creating awareness among the
underprivileged women in Sindh. Azra Talat Saeed, Executive Director there
shared some of the aims of her organization with Kolachi.
"Our
organization is working on globalization and anti globalization issues. We
started in 1997 as a cooperative for women workers specifically for
home-based women workers of Sindh,"she told Kolachi. Roots
chose to work with Sindhi women and paid them by piece rate, which is a
basically minimal rate for minimal work. The underpaid women syndrome wasn't
just concentrated in rural Sindh, but in cities like Karachi as well. The
extremely talented but underpaid women of Qasba Colony made heavy Balochi
dresses only for 200 Rupees, which require a month to be completed. "We
have worked in Qasba Colony, and in 2001 we started working in Tando
Mohammad Khan as well Azra is
determined to ensure that the talented Sindhi women don't waste away or feel
the need to rely on anyone for financial support, she asserts:
"We want these women to be as independent as they can for which
we have implemented different policies including providing education to
their children so that they have concrete reasons to work." Home-based
women workers are hesitant to work outside of their homes and a lack of
support from their conservative communities further discourages them from
progressing much beyond what they already achieve. For a sense of
empowerment to be awakened in them they must realize how commendable and
valuable their work is. Once they realize this they will probably also
realize that their current earnings are quite unfair. Soni, a
middle-aged woman from Tando Mohammad Khan works for Roots. She shows a
childlike enthusiasm for talking about her work and progress. Speaking in
surprisingly clear Urdu, she told Kolachi, "It has been five years
since I have been working. Initially my work just aided in paying the bills
but now is a source of pride for me." Soni
attributes her newfound confidence to her faith in her capabilities. "It has not only
proved to be a source of income for a villager like myself, but also
self-belief. This is Sammi
Karo is also from Tando Mohammad Khan and is visiting Karachi for the first
time. She has been producing handicrafts for the past five years and is
happy to be an earning member of her family These
women are from underprivileged backgrounds yet they work hard to support
their families and enjoy and take pride in what they do. However not all
such women have been fortunate enough to garner support from their families. Haleema
lives in Qasba Colony and belongs to a Pukhtoon community. " I did my
matric this year but I am not allowed to study further as my brothers are
against it although I am also earning while working at home. My education
injures my father and brothers' egos," said Haleema. This is
another sad face of our society; most men believe women should acquire
skills, and not education. However skills are most effective when they are
refined and nothing provides better Such is
not the case with Haseena who displays a stall of handicrafts made by the
women at Roots at the Defence Sunday market in Karachi. For her education
comes first. " I am not very educated myself but was always aware of
its significance, specially for women. My daughter finished her graduation
recently and soon she will be earning herself," said Haseena. Thardeep,
another NGO, has been working for the rights of women in
Tharparkar, Mirpurkhas, Dadu and Khairpur for quite some time. Mr. Hussain Saleem, Co-ordination
Manager there shared his thoughts with Kolachi. "It
has been three years since we have been working with women in Tharparkar.A
team visits different villages there and identifies women with a talent for
hand made work for which raw materials are also provided to them." According
to Mr. Saleem "Home-based women workers need to learn modern skills and
for this we need the support of new designers. This is why proper training
for them is on our agenda for the next year." Zeenat
Toufique Chenoi is currently working as the chairperson of an outlet at the
Forum, under the supervision of All Pakistan Women Association (APWA),
another NGO serving the cause of home-based women workers. Very optimistic
about the potential of these women she relayed her viewpoint to Kolachi,
"Women come from different areas to learn the art of handicrafts, I
feel very touched because they are going about improving their lives the
right way," said Zeenat. On the other hand, she feels the government is
negligent of this industry and the women that are a part of it. Two
things are needed for a business to flourish at any level. Either the person
initiating the business Home-based women workers
contribute significantly to the country's economy, yet are grossly
unappreciated, even if they cannot be assisted financially right now, maybe
just acknowledgment and encouragement will give them the push to achieve
even greater things. Looking back at the increased rainfall in Hyderabad and the fallout that has a long way to go before it gets under control By Adeel Pathan Rainfall
in Hyderabad brings miseries for its citizens especially those living in low
lying areas such as Qasimabad, Latifabad, City and the rural taluka because
of the poorly managed, decades old sewerage system. This
year may be no different, but the gravity of loss might be lessened as per
the official claims that the situation had turned uncontrollable and
unmanageable during the rainfall in 2006 was due to inundation of pumping
stations, and the problem has been dealt with this since then. Rainwater
accumulated on the streets of Hyderabad this year too but it was not as bad
as last year when boats had to be taken out on roads to provide relief goods
and medicines to stranded citizens. The
district government is carrying out development work and has started
installing new sewerage lines to avoid the submerging of roads and streets.
This year, water accumulated in low lying areas as well as the roads that
had been dug up by the district government under the Hyderabad Development
Package. The
actual Met office forecast of rains in Hyderabad is about 148 millimeters
per annum however in 2006 the three-month rainfall was recorded at over 455
millimeters. This was
described as longest and heaviest spell of rain to hit Hyderabad in recent
times. The
only parallel to this rain in Hyderabad's history was some 44 years ago, and
even then contingency plans weren't designed to cope with a situation of
this magnitude. Last year rain played
havoc with the lives of thousand of citizens on September 7. This spell of
rain lasted a day, breaking a 44 year record and affected over 70 per cent
of Hyderabad especially two urban localities and one rural taluka. People
remained marooned for more than a week till the official and civic agencies
were able to pump out some of the stagnant water. No disaster management was
available. According
to officials, pumping stations were submerged due to rainfall in 2006 but
this year the situation will be different as these pumping stations have
been improved and also equipped with stand-by generators making Hyderabad
the only city in the country to have such alternative arrangement for
emergency according to the District Nazim. The
citizens of Hyderabad incurred huge losses in the shape of damaged houses
due to the torrential rain last year. The compensation money offered to
those who suffered damages to their homes was embarrassingly inadequate as
only 5000 rupees were offered to those who owned kaccha houses and huts, and
10,000 rupees to those whose concrete houses got damaged. While
some believe that the disastrous consequences of the September 2006 rain
were brought upon by a natural calamity, others feel that they merely point
to the inadequacy of civic bodies responsible for providing immediate relief
to citizens during such incidents. It is
only during this fiscal year that the district government has established a
District Disaster Management Authority, and allocated 30 million rupees to
deal with disasters such as heavy rainfall. This
year's rain due to the cyclone that has now passed might be harsher but
Hyderabad can breathe just a little easier as it's government recognizes
their problems and is willing to work on solutions. In the blood By Madiha Waris A
recent cartoon in a local daily depicted a man's family drenched in
unspeakable gloom because he had just been posted to the city of Karachi.
Mighty funny, you'd say, if you didn't yourself happen to be a resident of
'the city of candle lights', as referred to by a friend. Although we have
been used to being an object of fear and wariness for the world for decades,
it seems derision and ridicule are the latest emotion our city evokes in the
hearts of the world. No worries- we shall take that, too, in a rain sodden
stride. Someone
said the other day, and this is no science but purely an individual's own
philosophy, that when things can't get any worse, there's only one way to go
from there: to get better. You can easily counter that by saying they could
also remain where they are and not get better at all. However, despite
cynicism pouring in like the cyclone that just touched
the coast, I'm going to stick with that lone ranger's philosophy and be
optimistic. Things can't get any worse for Karachi right now, they can only
get better. Last
week, my family finally suffered the 'real' thing, which (as we had always
assumed earlier) only happened to the less privileged. We had no electricity
for 32 hours. Things weren't all dark - thank God for generators. However,
as the hours slipped by and the generator threatened to die, a strong
premonition gripped us. Have they forgotten us? Did they really switch our
power off and go off on a vacation? Where the heck are 'they'? This was the
real thing. That feeling of abandonment that most Karachiites have
experienced at some point of their lives: we finally felt as if we had
really crossed the hallowed gates to the land of the forsaken. Make no
mistake: I have been through adversities that only happen to Karachi
residents before. I've been abandoned at Numaish by my rickshaw walah amidst
tire and petrol pump burning following a bomb blast; I have suffered with
millions others through the life-changing, man-killing rollercoaster that is
this city's public transport system. Heck, I've even taken up a futile fight
outside my house with a long haired MQM worker who led a slogan-painting
drive on our freshly painted wall in broad daylight. The phrases 'only in
Karachi could this go unchecked' and 'only in Karachi could this idiot
drive' have graced my mind more times than I can count. The only number that
exceeds that is the times I have planned to escape this city forever and
never come back. However,
I am astonished and a little betrayed by own sense of justice to find, that
like some of your blood relations who annoy, degrade and hurt you again and
again and yet find a place in your heart, I can't shun Karachi. Karachi is,
alas, in my blood. With its screaming bus horns, pain in the butt
motorcyclists, silencer-less rickshaws, ubiquitous potholes, waterless
tanks, ugly apartment complexes and countless other vices, this city is a
permanent splotch on my life that I cannot remove. It may
sound naïve, but each time an outsider condemns, ridicules or dismisses
Karachi my dormant patriotism comes into action and I become the optimist
that I don't really feel like being most of the time.
I think it's the same feeling that engulfs a lot of Pakistanis when
Pakistan is dismissed as a failed nation - which is often. It's a mulish
disregard for intelligent forecasts of doom by the global pundits that is
shared by the light sufferers to the worst inflicted in this country, and
most of all by the often forsaken Karachiites. Some
friends and I got a chance to speak to groups of children belonging to
shanty settlements in various parts of Karachi lately during the making of a
documentary. These children, all studying in schools run by different
non-profit organizations, were articulate, intelligent and ambitious. They
all wanted to do great things in life, and they all had a unanimous
agreement on the fact that Karachi, and by association Pakistan, was a
difficult place to live in. They named a host of problems to prove this,
ranging from poorly made roads to load shedding, water shortage, and nobody
ever cleaning the streets. Most were especially sick of the frequent strikes
(which forces schools to close), and people burning tires and blocking the
roads all the time. One of them especially hated the fact that people are
not 'nice and respectful' to each other and are always fighting in the
streets. However,
when asked if they would like to move out of Pakistan and live somewhere
else in the future, surprisingly, only two raised their hands. They all
wanted to travel of course, see new places, sit in (and preferably fly) a
plane, especially visit Saudi Arab and the U.S., but then they wanted to
come back and live here. When we wondered why, one of them, 11 year old
Habib, smiled and answered sagely, "Yehan sab apney hain. Bahir waley
kabhi apnon jaisay tou nahin hosaktey na." And that, fellow Karachiite, is about the only explanation I can think of for this wretched city having forced its way into my very once happily unpatriotic mind. There is no explanation this article can offer for the KESC's uselessness, for the murderous falls of the city's hoardings, for the hundreds of deaths in the past week, for the lawlessness and despair that rules this city right now. Affinity to lost causes, rooting for the underdog or idealism-call it what you may-but we all need something to get by.
37 year
old Ernestina Class-Peter moved to Karachi from Ghana, Africa 10 years ago.
Tina, as she is affectionately known, had many dreams, which she still plans
to pursue but is currently content in housekeeping for a family in Karachi.
Although Tina wants to return home someday she enjoys living in Pakistan's
city of lights. Kolachi:
What is your family background? What about siblings and parents? Tina: I
have one brother, one sister and a daughter. My father was a lab technician
and my mother Kolachi:
What did you do in Ghana? Tina: I
was planning to become a seamstress but I could not make it because I did
not have enough money to attend a proper institute for training. I hardly
had enough money to have two meals a day. Once you're old enough to work in
Ghana nobody wants to help you. Nobody will even offer you a glass of water
even if you're going through a very bad patch. Kolachi:
How did you end up in Pakistan? Tina: I
was working for Mrs. Khan when I was in Lagos and she liked my work so much
that she brought me back to Pakistan with her. I thought it would be a good
way to make money. Kolachi:
What do you do in Karachi and do you like working here? Tina: I
am working as a housekeeper in Pakistan. I cook and basically take care of
the house. I like working here because the family I am working with are good
people and have always taken care of me. Kolachi:
What were your hopes and dreams when you came to Pakistan? Tina: I
wanted to open a beauty parlor in Ghana but did not have the finances to do
so, so I had to struggle myself and make the money for it here. When I
finally made enough money, I went back to Ghana and opened a parlor with my
brother James. But after some time, he started having problems with my
husband and me and tried to create problems between us. When that didn't
work out, one day he beat me up and cheated me out of my own business. So
now I am back to try once again and hopefully things will turn out better. Kolachi:
How is Karachi different than from where you lived? Tina:
Things are much cheaper here than in my country. But on the upside my
country is more peaceful than Karachi. Though Ghana is very small, it is the
most peaceful county in Africa. Kolachi:
Are things better for you here? Tina:
Yes, because I am earning for myself and because I don't go out often I save
the money I make. But if I was living in Ghana I would be going out every
weekend and spending it all with friends. Kolachi:
Have you traveled much in Pakistan?
Kolachi:
Which Pakistani city do you like the best and why? Tina: I
like Karachi the best not only because I live here but also because I have
friends and I know my way around. I like Lahore because the water is clean
and it tastes very good and sweet. The water in Karachi is salty. Kolachi:
Do you like it when it rains in Karachi? How did the threat of the cyclone
make you feel? Tina:
Yes, I really enjoy the rain in Karachi. The cyclone scared me bit but not
much as there are storms in my country as well. Kolachi:
What was Karachi like when you first came here? And how has it changed since
then? Tina: I
came to Karachi 10 years ago. The first time I came I didn't find it very
easy to get around and it was tough to adjust. Karachi is a lot like where I
was living before in Lagos. The change in Karachi I find is that it has
become a little more beautiful. Kolachi:
Would ever like to start up a business in Karachi? Tina:
No I would not like to start a business in Karachi because I would feel more
comfortable setting up a business in my country as I know it well and know
how things work there. Kolachi:
Do you find Karachi more advanced than Ghana? Tina:
Yes because I find things are cheaper here than in Ghana and a lot things
are more readily available than in Ghana. Kolachi:
What about friends? What do you do for fun? Tina:
When I first came here I had lots of friends, but they have all left and
returned to Africa. With the friends I have left, we sometimes have African
parties, we love going to the beach once in a while. But mostly we really
like going to Saddar and KFC. Kolachi:
Do you hope and want to go back to you country someday? Why? Tina:
Yes I do. I hope to go back to Ghana and open up a pharmacy with my friend.
And hopefully it will work out better this time than my previous experience
with my brother. I also hope that I can judge people better now. Kolachi:
Would you tell people from your country to come and try their luck in
Karachi/Pakistan? Tina:
Yes, I would tell people in my country to come and work here because at the
end of the day you can make good money but one does need to be patient and
hardworking. It can take a long time to get where you want. Ernestina
is a woman with many dreams, and an inspiration for women who find
themselves trying to make it on their own. Though her experiences in life
have not always been pleasant, she has managed to find her bearings and has
even moved countries to try and realize her dreams. Whether she moves back
to Ghana or not, for now she is living the Karachi life. She embodies the
never say die attitude Karachiites possess and is a true Karachi character. |
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wake up the next day and function normally; after all, whenever it rains,
Karachiites assume that there will be disasters.
Climate
change is nothing new. Al Gore saw it coming a long time ago. He paid
attention to all the scientists the rest of the politicians scoffed at;
needless to say they were on the right track. Human practices which result
in carbon dioxide and other harmful gases and fumes being emitted into the
atmosphere envelop the earth and keep heat locked around the earth. The
warning on global warming came a long time ago and Karachi is one part of
the world bearing its brunt. One of the signs of global warming was the
intensification of the Indian monsoon. And Cyclone Yemyin was just one of
the many that may potentially strike Pakistan's coast in times to come. 
Karachi skyline, the same hoardings collapsed and flew off building tops on
June 23 due to the strong gusts of wind. They caused many deaths and even
more injuries. What was safe for Karachi without rain can no longer be the
security standard for a city which will see heavy rains in years to come.
It
is ironic that in a city that suffers frequent and long drawn power
breakdowns, death by electrocution is very much a part of the Karachi rain
package. The live wires that caused several deaths at the beginning of this
year's monsoon as they do every year cannot be blamed on the storm alone.
One can see these sparking cables swinging merrily off poles and trees even
on days the city hasn't seen a rainstorm. As these live wires can be dealt
with during dry weather, and our monsoon season is just around the corner,
one has to wonder why measures haven't been taken to remove or repair them.
In
the true Karachi style of pointing fingers though, KESC blamed WAPDA for not
supplying it with adequate electricity. People are looking back at the time
when a German gentleman Frank Scherschmidt was running the KESC ship. He
pointed to problems in the system and was trying to rectify them. He was
unceremoniously asked to resign and an army man, Syed Mohammad Amjad took
his place. Mohammed Amjad was previously managing director for Fauji
Foundation, leaving many to wonder what he knew about running electricity
supplying companies. The distribution network of KESC is in such a sorry
state that a technical man is needed. KESC needs Mr Fix It, not a manager.
ease the traffic situation at certain places. The traffic signals had shut
down because of the power outage and hundreds of people on motorcycles, cars
and buses remained helplessly stranded on the roads.
While talking to these women one realizes that they are satisfied with the
amount they are paid and with good reason;with the money they earn they can
buy new clothes for their children and groceries for the house without
feeling the pinch they would had they not be earning a little extra for the
family. On occasion they readily give up all their wages to their partners,
proving that they do not completely understand or feel at ease with the
concept of economic independence.
providing
employment to over 300 women in Karachi and Tando Mohammad Khan," Azra
further added. 
the reason I managed to come to Karachi the first time with my fellow
worker. During the last five years my Urdu has improved as well and so
communicating while buying raw materials and visiting markets is not such
big issue now," said Soni.
refinement
than education. Unfortunately, women too aren't very enthusiastic about
fighting for their right to get educated and are often shortchanged by
whoever employs their services.
is fully capable of running it or is given entrepreneurial support.
Home-based women workers lack the basic confidence or capital to initiate a
business on their own, which, given their talent, is a huge shame The
government however can provide them with the initial capital and maybe a
structure to work out of. Perhaps till such a system is devised which could
benefit home based women workers, the NGOs that are already doing so can be
assisted by the government.
was working at PCC (Paper Convention Center). My parents got divorced, after
which my grandmother brought me up.
Tina:
Yes, I have traveled to Islamabad and Lahore. I'd love to travel more but
because of the kind of work I do here I don't get to travel much. 