Committee Culture in Pakistan

The other day, I learned about the committee culture prevalent in the esteemed elite circles of Pakistan.

Serving as a social participation forum, the elitist committee platform enables people to connect with the higher-ups of society to enhance their prestige and promote their status through the public relations network.

The traditional concept of committee culture has long been associated with the savings schema. This has been preferably desired by people from the middle class and lower class strata of society to force-save money for themselves and their families.

The committee works like this. Every member of the committee puts aside a certain amount with the committee fund every month. At the end of the month, one committee member is entitled to receive the whole fund amount that has been collected from all participants during one month. After everyone has received the aggregate sum once, the cycle is put on repeat mode.

This way, each committee member saves money easily by keeping it aside from his/her expenditure reserves. People prefer to save and avail the accumulated fund money. This substantial amount can be used for major expenditures or investments that may have otherwise seemed difficult to achieve.

Some committee forums also serve as a social interaction and reunion platform for gossip exchange and culinary cuisine sharing. Nowadays, the committee culture has elevated to serve as a recognition forum through ostentatious displays among the status-conscious members of society.

It is astonishing to note that the amount for committee entries has escalated from a mere few thousands to some lacs and even crores amidst the top circles of Pakistan's society. The huge aggregate amount from such committee funds allows people to make hefty purchases and investments such as buying jewellery, purchasing cars, hosting wedding functions, and so on.

Like elitist club memberships, committee memberships are winning popularity for their prestige and pomp as well as lucrative benefits. This is a good savings means that does not face tax issues, and serves as a legitimate means of saving money in a hassle-free way. Further, some people even sell off their committee money at twice or thrice the rate to the ones who are more desperate to acquire large sums of quick money immediately.

Wheelchair Ramps: A Dire Need

Disabled people exist in Pakistan the same way they exist in other countries around the world. Yet, disabled people are more 'visible' in other parts of the world as compared to Pakistan. People who are unfortunately bound by immobility in this country have no option but to stay 'hidden' and home-bound since they are not facilitated to access venues of social participation.

It is sad to see that there are no ramp provisions or facilitations for people in Pakistan who might be benefited by riding wheelchairs. In places like England, they have planned cities with the conscious awareness of laying down footpaths next to roads with ramps linking the two. Even their bus systems are designed such that people with wheelchairs can get on and off a bus quite easily.

On the contrary, in Pakistan, amazingly, there are no ramps for wheelchairs catered by most schools, restaurants, grocery stores, bookshops, mosques, pharmacies, shopping malls, movie theatres, public transport facilities, post offices, and so on, with only a handful of respect-worthy exceptions such as airports, a few universities, and perhaps some elitist socialising clubs. In the absence of ramps, where would the disabled people go?

Every social venue has some stairs to mark its entrance zone, thanks to the threats posed by the unreliable drainage system of the country. The stairs appear to be a challenging climb for a person who yearns to go past the obstacle but is bound by reasons helplessly and unconditionally attributed by nature. However, forced immobility does not imply that one is no more eligible to receive societal blessings.

On the Election Day this year, I visited a polling station in Lahore that had a decent flight of steps. It was awe-inspiring to see some enthusiastic patriotic senior citizens ascend the stairs with immense difficulty but determination to vote. Simultaneously, it was sorrowful to observe that even the Election Commission of Pakistan had not taken any steps to make the polling stations conveniently accessible for persons with disabilities, as a result of which many willing participants were unable to cast their votes.

Everywhere around the world, public and private institutions should undertake the social responsibility to incorporate permanent or makeshift ramp provisions in their facilities that could facilitate people with disabilities to participate in social activities.

The Power of Dress Code

A uniformed traffic policeman looks daunting in his duty clothes. One tries to consciously stay heedful of traffic rules and regulations in his proximity. However, when the same person is in ordinary clothes when off-duty, he poses no threat to the common man. That is the power of dress code.

For years, we had seen our driver wear shalwar kameez, Pakistan's traditional dress. One fine day, he switched to wearing jeans and shirt. The drastic change from rural to urban wear made him look so oddly different, and literally created recognition issues for many. That is the power of dress code.

As Islam dawned upon a friend of mine, she gradually kept on adding clothing materials to fully conceal herself. Now, with everything dreadfully hidden behind a complete black veil, we precisely see none of her. Taken aback by her overwhelming all-black attire, I have to consciously remind myself that this is the same person who has been a close friend all along the years. That is the power of dress code.

When I saw Deepika Padukone appear in a character-tailored traditional outlook in her first Hindi Indian movie, I got an impression that was totally altered by the images portrayed by her future acting performances. That is the power of dress code.

In a formal setting, when my dad meets a stranger who is dressed in a shalwar kameez instead of the more 'proper' shirt and trousers, he hastily assumes a few things about the individual's personality from the laid-back attire. That is the power of dress code.