Pakistan. It may be one of the most misunderstood countries around and it is certainly easy to see why when you hit the layman’s ceiling of knowledge in about ten seconds. What most people don’t see is what lies beneath the media coverage highlighting just the challenges facing the country today. There is a lot more to Pakistan than meets the lay eye, so prepare for some enlightenment and let’s go bust some myths!
(1) Pakistan is no place for women
Contrary to the stereotype, not all Pakistani women sit at home with a fan in their hand waiting for their husbands to return from work. One of them has actually popped out to the North and South pole and also skydived over Mount Everest for good measure.
Pakistan is now producing female commandos who are taking on the likes of the Taliban. Pakistan has also produced the world’s youngest female Microsoft Certified Professional (honoured by Bill Gates) and also women who have won Oscars and Nobel Prize. Pakistan’s Malala won the Nobel Peace Prize and has the singular honour of being its youngest recipient. She is relentlessly campaigning for education, not only for Pakistani but for girls all over the world.
Pakistan has more female representation in their National Assembly compared to many of its more developed continental neighbours, reflecting the constitutional importance given to the inclusion of women. Pakistan is proud to have had a female Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, U.S. ambassador and Speaker of the National Assembly.
(2) Pakistan is no place for sport
Pakistan has produced some of the best squash, hockey and cricket players in the world. In the last year alone Pakistan won gold, silver and bronze positions in international cricket, hockey, snooker, tennis and bodybuilding championships, including its female teams. It also won bronze in Street Children’s Football World Cup and a Pakistani marathon runner made five new Guinness World Records. The Brazuca football from the World Cup was actually made in Pakistan. Again, this was all just last year.
(3) Pakistan is no place for creativity
Where do we start? Again, just last year, both a Pakistani costume designer and animator won Oscars for their work in Disney blockbusters. The 38-year old Mir Zafar Ali won the Academy Award, for “Frozen”, which was the first in the animation category for the Walt Disney Animation Studios. The 3D musical fantasy-comedy film is now the highest-grossing animated film in history. Ali’s first Oscar came for “The Golden Compass” in 2008.
A female film maker and former Oscar documentary winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, also bagged an Emmy award.
(4) Pakistan is no place for a holiday
Former Telegraph Political Commentator, Peter Oborne, thinks otherwise:
“I had been dispatched to write a report reflecting the common perception that Pakistan is one of the most backward and savage countries in the world. This attitude has been hard-wired into Western reporting for years … the image of the average Pakistani citizen as a religious fanatic or a terrorist is simply a libel, the result of ignorance and prejudice …. the Pakistan that is barely documented in the West – and that I have come to know and love – is a wonderful, warm and fabulously hospitable country. ” (Are we wrong about Pakistan? The Telegraph)
(5) Pakistan is no place for activism
Most people will not know that the most popular genre of Pakistan television is not the sitcom or the soap opera, it is the political talk show. Two thirds of the Pakistani population is aged thirty or below, and with the IMF recognising Pakistan as having “abundant economic potential”, this dynamic combination earns itself a “watch this space” hashtag. The past few years have seen increasing groups of civil society engaging in active protest including doctors, nurses, lawyers and persons with disabilities.
(6) Pakistan is no place for beauty
Pakistan is like four seasons at any one time. In Pakistan you will discover the most picturesque valleys and breathtakingly stunning water landscapes, the second highest mountain range in the world and many glorious historical buildings and forts. The capital city Islamabad is often referred to as one of the most beautiful capital cities in the world and Lahore as the “Paris of Asia.”
Badshahi Mosque, Lahore
(7) Pakistan is no place for Academia
Last year Pakistan broke its own record for the world’s youngest Microsoft Certified Professional. A scientist of Pakistani origin made an unprecedented discovery in neuroscience.
It was the only Asian country to obtain CERN’s (European Council for Nuclear Research) associate membership.
Just the year before that a Pakistani school student established a new world record of the most A grades in “O” and “A” levels; a whopping 47 in total!
There are many credible achievements and contributions prior to this, but with limited space it is worth noting the Pakistani professor who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1979 and whose contribution to theories are being studied in syllabuses across the developed world today.
