[Last month, at least nine Pakistani volunteers in an internationally supported polio vaccination drive were killed by militants across the country. Militant leaders have long accused such drives of being a cover for government and international espionage and have regularly threatened workers and officials involved in the effort, though never before to such deadly effect.]
By Salman Masood
 |
Fayaz Aziz/Reuters
An injured driver
survived an ambush by gunmen in Swabi district,
Pakistan, on Tuesday.
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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Continuing a militant campaign of violence against aid workers in Pakistan,
gunmen on Tuesday shot dead seven Pakistani teachers and health workers, six of
them women, police officials said.
There was no immediate
claim of responsibility. But the shooting, in the Swabi district of the
northwestern province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, fit a pattern of attacks against
charity and aid workers across the country in recent weeks that officials have attributed
to the Pakistani Taliban. The militant offensive has brought a wave of
international outrage, particularly because it has focused on vaccination and
health workers in a country where polio and measles have made
troubling gains.
The attack on Tuesday,
near the village of Sher Afzal Banda, was conducted by two men on a motorcycle
who followed a van taking the workers home and then opened fire on it with
assault rifles, the police said. The victims worked for the private Pakistani
aid group Support With Working Solution, which works in the health and
education sectors.
“They opened fire and
killed six females and one male,” Javed Akhtar, the group’s executive director,
said in a telephone interview. “One child, aged 7 to 8 years, miraculously
survived.”
The aid group was
founded in 1991 and, in conjunction with other aid groups, has focused on
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province and on South Waziristan in the tribal region, both
deeply affected by poverty and militancy.
Five of the dead were
young women who worked as teachers at a primary-level school the charity ran in
the area, Mr. Akhtar said. The other two were health workers.
While Mr. Akhtar said
that his organization had received no prior warning or threat, he and other
Pakistani officials said they believed that the attack was part of the broader
Pakistani Taliban campaign against aid workers.
Last month, at least
nine Pakistani volunteers in an internationally supported polio vaccination
drive were killed by militants across the country. Militant leaders have long
accused such drives of being a cover for government and international espionage
and have regularly threatened workers and officials involved in the effort,
though never before to such deadly effect.
The campaign of
intimidation and violence has been devastating for health campaigns that rely
on a backbone of low-paid volunteers who go door-to-door with vaccines in some
of the most remote and dangerous parts of Pakistan.
Pakistan is one of just
three countries in the world in which polio remains endemic, and the country
has also struggled with a resurgence of measles.
Saghir Ahmed, the
health minister for Sindh Province, fired five health department officials
after six children were reported to have died of measles on Monday alone in
upper parts of the province. At least 100 children died in December in the
outbreak, Pakistani health officials say, and the World Health Organization
said that more than 300 children died of the disease in Pakistan in 2012.
In the city of Karachi,
at least 4 people were killed and more than 40 wounded Tuesday in a bombing
that appeared politically motivated, the police said.
The bomb, planted on a
motorcycle in a crowded neighborhood and detonated by remote control, ripped
through several buses returning from a mammoth political rally for the
political party MQM, the most dominant in Karachi, the police said.
The rally was in support
of Muhammad Tahir-ul Qadri, a crusading religious figure whose return to
Pakistan after years of residence in Canada has thrown Pakistani politics into
a tailspin. Mr. Qadri, who is a harsh critic of President Asif Ali Zardari and
his governing Pakistan Peoples Party, held a huge rally in Lahore last month to
criticize the government. He is threatening to hold an even larger one in
Islamabad on Jan. 14 if his demands for reform are not met; he has likened the
proposed rally to the Tahrir Square revolutionary demonstrations in Egypt.
Leaders of both the
Pakistan Peoples Party and opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz have accused
Mr. Qadri of trying to delay the general elections, which are expected to be
held in April or May.
Karachi is regularly
torn by savage factional violence. Pakistani officials estimate that at least
400 people were killed there in targeted political violence in 2012, and they
say that the true number is most likely much higher.
IN MUMBAI,PRIVACY IS HARD TO COME BY
[The lack of open spaces in Mumbai has been the focus of much research and debate, even as the problem continues to worsen because of increasing development and a boom in construction. Earlier this year, a study carried out by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Environment Improvement Society found that Mumbai has just 11.6 square miles of open space, with about nine square feet available per person.]
On Marine Drive, a popular seafront area in Mumbai, you will
invariably find a few couples cuddling on the wall facing the sea, seemingly
oblivious to the blazing afternoon sun and the endless stream of cars just
behind them. In this city of cramped homes and crowded public spaces, these
couples will take whatever time alone that they can get, even if it's in full
view of others.
This need for privacy has inspired a comprehensive study by Partners in Urban
Knowledge, Action and Research (Pukar),
an independent research collective based in Mumbai, which analyzed how the
scarcity of space in the city has redefined the concept of privacy for the
residents.
Among its findings, Pukar reported that a majority of the female respondents
did not find public spaces accessible to them because of safety, sexual
harassment, public perceptions and family restrictions.
The lack of open spaces in Mumbai has been the focus of much research
and debate, even as the problem continues to worsen because of increasing
development and a boom in construction. Earlier this year, a study carried out by the Mumbai Metropolitan
Region Environment Improvement Society found that Mumbai has just 11.6 square
miles of open space, with about nine square feet available per person.
"In this era of urbanization, cities have become stronger engines
of growth than ever before," said Anita Patil-Deshmukh, the executive
director at Pukar. "And that brings with it a whole host of problems.
While certain problems are common to all global cities, the issue of privacy
and public spaces is particularly relevant for Mumbai."
The Pukar study was commissioned as part of the BMW Guggenheim Lab, a traveling research team
that deals with urban issues, which is based in the Bhau Daji Lad Museum in
Mumbai until Jan. 20. First conceptualized in December 2011, the study
was conducted in and around greater Mumbai and includes 39 qualitative video
and audio interviews, 800 surveys conducted in the homes of interviewees and in
public spaces and photographic documentation.
"From our initial explorations in the city, the lab team thought
it might be interesting to look into how people experienced private moments in
Mumbai and how the meaning of privacy is different from the various places we
all come from," said Aisha Dasgupta, one of the BMW Guggenheim Lab members
in Mumbai. "We found that not only did the versions of privacy vary
greatly across cultures, but also within Mumbai, approaches to privacy vary
according to economic background."
One of the biggest themes that emerged from the study was the lack of
access to public spaces: 87 percent of the women felt that public spaces are
inaccessible to them. Out of
those respondents, 22 percent
cited safety as their biggest concern, while 18 percent said that they were
afraid of "Eve
teasing," or sexual
harassment.
About 14 percent women said that they felt uncomfortable going to
public spaces alone because of societal perception, while 11 percent cited
family restrictions. "That collectively 25 percent women felt that they
could not access public spaces because of the societal or familial judgment
shows the deep-seated entrenched patriarchy we are dealing with," said Ms.
Patil-Deshmukh. "Women still feel that if they go to a bar or a tea stall
alone they will be considered loose women."
The study also revealed a rather surprising trend, as 53.5 percent of
the respondents said that the place where they find time for themselves is
home, followed by their workplace and their commute. Home was also the most
popular place to meet partners or friends.
"In a city where the average size of the home is about 80 square
feet, and the average size of the family is four people, this is rather
shocking," said Ms. Patil-Deshmukh. However, she said that the respondents
might have been inhibited in answering because their interviews were carried
out in front of other family members.
The study also revealed the changing patterns of relationships in a
new India shaped by growing international exposure and Western influences. When
asked with whom they would like to spend time, 36 percent of the respondents
said friends, while 26 percent said they wanted time for themselves.
About half of the respondents said that they needed privacy from their
neighbors and family. "Given that Indian culture is so deeply
people-oriented, and family, friends, neighbors and relatives traditionally
play such a large part in society, one has to wonder if more and more
globalization is making the younger generation more self-centered," said
Ms. Patil-Deshmukh. "My sense is that this is more true for the younger
generation than it was before."
The BMW Guggenheim Lab is working on a larger project covering 4,000
Mumbai residents. As part of the ongoing study, visitors to the lab at the Bhau
Daji Lad Museum are also invited to participate in the survey.
Though similar studies have not yet been carried for other cities, the
BMW Guggenheim Lab hopes to extend this research globally. The lab will soon
introduce an online survey dealing with issues of privacy and public space.
"It would interesting to see how the responses of people in very different
cultural contexts compare," said Ms. Patil-Dasgupta.
Researchers at Pukar said some simple solutions can help increase the
amount of open space in Mumbai, like the adoption of public parks and open
spaces by private companies that will be asked to maintain the space in return
for visibility. The authors of the study also proposed that specific public spaces
be carved out for senior citizens and young children.
"I would like to send this study to the city planners, but I'm
not confident they will make use of it since they are struggling with so many
other issues," Ms. Patil-Deshmukh said. "A slum dweller I interviewed
summed up the situation saying: 'If the government cannot give us a reasonable
place to live in, what right do I have to ask for a public space like a park?'
"