LAWYERS

One of the most highly paid professions is law. Lawyers can be of two types advocate and advisers. In advocate law the lawyers take up a case, stand up and speak for their clients in the court, where as for legal advisors the lawyers advise and counsel their clients regarding legal rights and obligations. The career path is very broad to choose from. You can specialize in criminal law where you face opposition and you are the defendant in your case or civil law where you only deal with divorce cases and public relations with no involvement of criminal misconduct. You also have the option to practice the corporate law where multinationals and large corporations hire professionals to advise them on their rights and obligations in business transactions.

Lawyers earn different amount in respect to the kind of law being practiced (criminal, civil, corporate, private practice or firms), the location of the city, and types of clients served and also from previous gained experience. These factors do come into play when deciding your pay, but the growth is within the line of practice, experience and knowledge as you put in more effort and gain these, the quicker your earnings increase.

According to a survey on an average a current practicing lawyer in the States earns about $62,000 - $122,000 a year. So we can say that with great increasing scope of lawyers it has become an established fact now that if you choose this as your future profession there will only be success ahead of you. Yet, it is only very few lawyers who are really successful in Pakistan.

DENTISTS

Just like we have specialists like a cardiologists taking care of the heart, and nephrologists taking care of the kidneys, similarly we have dentists taking care of our teeth. Our teeth are important to us just like any other vital organ in our body, but sadly they are taken for granted until a big problem sprouts.

A question put forward by many is how come even though physicians who take care of the whole body, have a longer year degree and work more hours, dentists are able to earn as much and sometimes even more than doctors while they only have to deal with teeth. Well it was long before when the trend was that medical schools were said to be more prestigious than dental schools. Nowadays dentists earn equally and enjoy life with the same level of respect, and a good pay. In America a student completes his 3-4 years bachelors’ degree, takes and dental aptitude test and  gets his admission in a 4 years dental program, after graduation he takes two board exams and can then start practicing.

For further specialization just like any other profession you need to give 2-3 years again and then you can double the pay you make as just a general dentist. Income in this profession is big! A general dentist in New York on an average earns $150,000 a year. Where as the salary on a average is scale from $97,019 to $155,515 a year. Some cosmetic dentists are known to be making about $500,000 a year ad working for only 5 to 6 days a week. 

Euthanasia

Euthanasia also known and mercy killing, is a painless way of terminating one’s own life. It is when a patient is suffering from severe illness or an incurable disease which involves going through a painful process of treatment yet the end result being eventual death, the patient asks for physician’s assistance for a permanent relief i.e. in simpler words asking the doctor to kill you. Some are in support of Euthanasia saying it’s a right of every individual to decide whether they want to live or not, to allow them to die with dignity and self respect, to not be a burden on their spouse and family, to be able to live for as long as they can live healthy and choose death for themselves when they cannot. Whereas some strongly oppose it and say that Euthanasia is disrespect to human life, and a challenge to God. Nobody has the right to choose when to terminate their own life; it is a gift of God, it should be accepted and cherished with even the very little you have.

At the end of the day, the ultimate owner of your life, is you, by law; Banning euthanasia, could lead to suicides, dangerous attempts at amateur euthanasia, and a lot of emotional trauma for those involved. Each case should be considered, and there should be rules regarding when it is permissible. 

The Burqa Goes French

The Constitution of Pakistan grants its citizens the basic human right of choice. A woman can walk on the streets of Anarkali wearing a miniskirt; the legality of the situation however, makes it no less of a cultural shock. The dress code followed in Pakistan dates back to the culture of the Muslim travelers who settled in the subcontinent thousands of years ago; their attire distinguishing them from the Hindus and the people of India. The shalwar kameez and pajamas are cemented in the prevalent culture and traditions that define Pakistan. A miniskirt is not. A woman walking on the streets of Anarkali is likely to be harassed; a sexual object of shame. One isn’t likely to see many miniskirts in Anarkali.

France, with a Muslim population of 2.5 million, has a culture which leaves no place for religious separation. In a move to cement their culture, the Senate passed a bill with a 264 to 1 majority, banning the niqab from the streets and public spheres of France. The bill echoes Spain’s January 2010 decision to ban the niqab in certain areas in Barcelona and the headscarf from the majority of schools in Spain. Put forth as a security measure, France and Spain argue that in light of the prevailing terrorism around the world, it is necessary to know who is beneath the burqa or niqab, lest it becomes a means for disguise.

The law is also said to ‘protect’ and ‘uphold’ women’s rights, since women, as soon as the bill takes effect, will not be able to dress in any way that coves their faces. “Burqas are contrary to the ideals we have of women’s dignity,” stated the French Prime Minister Nicolas Sarkozy. The niqab or the burqa, although simply an article of clothing, goes against the French culture, threatening it by its seemingly extreme nature. A niqab will generate attention; a miniskirt will not. (Ironically, it is the other way around here)

Two young girls, in a move full of French flair, walked the streets of Paris and congregated outside government agencies, dressed in hotpants and a niqab. When a woman decides to adorn a niqab, she covers her whole body along with her face, for it is her womanliness and sexuality that she is covering up. A niqab coupled with short-shorts is hardly part of the norm. As captured in the short film they were making, called ‘Niqabitch’, the duo turned heads, being stopped and photographed as they walked on the streets. 

Banning the niqab, then can hardly be seen as a move towards achieving a secular state. There are 4300 religions in the world. Turkey, in a move towards secularization, prohibited people from wearing religious symbols in public institutions in the 1930s. No turbans, no crosses, no niqabs; in effect preventing religious discrimination by removing all religions from the public sphere. France, on the other hand, seems to have a specific target in mind.     

Student faces expulsion due to marriage (an old article)

.JUNE 7: The Peshawar High Court has decided to discuss the matter of Ghairat Khan’s expulsion from Peshawar Model School

(Boys-III) on June 9, 2010. The expulsion had been influenced by Ghairat Khan’s, a seventh grader, marriage to a 16 year old girl.

The Child Marriage Restraint Act of Pakistan restricts the marriage of minors; the legal age for marriage 18 for boys, and 16 for girls. Ghairat Khan, a seventh-grader, supposedly of 13 years of age, was rusticated from the school because “according to school rules, a married student cannot study in our school because it affects other children when they share their stories,” Beatrice Jamil, the principal of PMS, told the AFP.

No law in Pakistan however, permits the expulsion of a student due to a marriage, as confirmed in a statement issued by Peshawar's Education Minister, Fazli Ali Haqqani. “Under Islamic law, minors can marry with the consent of their parents,” said Khan’s lawyer, Isa Khan, as reported by CNN.

Under the petition filed by Ghairat Khan, he explains that he is 18 years of age, not 13, as registered in his school record. In Peshawar, it is not uncommon for students to start schooling late, or being held back several grades due to poor school records.

Ghairat Khan, who married his 16 year old cousin, is contesting the school's decision on the grounds that his marriage was completely consensual and legitimate. The issue arose when Beatrice Jamil expressed concern over the negative impact the marriage of a classmate would have on the children; playground topics of discussion now bound to lean on relatively mature subjects.

“The court’s decision will set an important precedent, since this is by no means an isolated case, and could affect many other students in similar positions” says Issam Ahmed, a correspondent with the Christian Science Monitor. “It’s also interesting from a legal point of view. Will they rule in favour of universal education for all or not? And if he is a minor, can he be held accountable for breaking the law, or should his marriage simply be ruled null and void?”

“I want to go to this school,” said Ghairat Khan, when asked by CNN about the petition. Besides asserting that the marriage

violated neither the Child Marriage Restraint Act, nor the Islamic Shariah Law, he cited family troubles to be the reason behind the marriage. The wedding took place after the boy’s father’s death, when the family, facing hard times, needed another member to help Ghairat Khan’s ailing mother with the household.

The principal and director of Peshawar Model School have been summoned to court on June 9th, 2010. When asked by the Times

of India on June 7, 2010, the board stated their decision to readmit Gheirat Khan if the school lost the case.

"We will implement court's decision," said Sardar Hussain Babak, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Education Minister, on a News 24 broadcast.

Jamil's concerns are valid, but there is no way to stop external factors influencing students. Even if there were no married students, is it not reductionist to assume that this is the only way they might be exposed to mature topics?

Soul Food

What comes to mind when you think of the term "Soul Food"? For me, it is what awakens the soul's sense of touch. Art; Expression through different forms of art. When I speak of art, I am including natural beauty.

One form of expression that has really made its mark, is music, the language everyone understands. Literature, fine art, music and theater; food for my soul. "Art is something only those with a comfortable lifestyle can appreciate," is a common argument. "What does the hungry man care about music?" Is that not a reductionist argument? Physical needs and spiritual needs are completely different. Does the poor or hungry man not pray; why then can he not enjoy beauty of this kind?

The Pakistan People's Party understood this need, and the power of art; they made songs representing their party, which were catchy, motivational, and easily available; a very smart move in my opinion. Is there even one person who hasn't heard a PPP song?

The sad truth, is that art has become commercial; it is not that the poor man cannot appreciate art, it is that art has now become a luxury that only the upper middle class or above can afford. So when you see a man playing music on Abdullah Shah Gazi, applaud him, reward him; it is people like that who keep the soul of artistic expression alive.

If that's the case, why is tissue paper on display?

It seems as though my posts are beginning to display a negative trend, but negativity can't be helped. It is not to say that there can't be optimism, but more often than not, a human being is likely to want to write about whats wrong with the universe.

I was at a general store the other day, with my mother, picking up stores for the month. As I drifted off on my own, to investigate the array of purchasable items, I picked up chocolate, shampoo, conditioner, and refrained from picking up things I didn't need. Eventually, I came to another section of the store, and realized I needed sanitary napkins, which I picked  up, and put  in my basket; as I was walking away, a red-faced store employee walked towards me with a brown paper bag. "Please put that in this bag, Baaji;" was his plea. I proceeded to the counter with my sanitary napkins hidden in the brown paper bag, like forbidden objects.

I found myself wondering why sanitary napkins were being treated like alcohol. Its not like a woman's natural inclination to menstruate every 'X' number of days is a gargantuan secret, or against the law, or looked down upon. Yes, it may be a trivial matter, but the need to suppress, hide, deny or avoid anything that is remotely related to a sexual organ, even something as inevitable as this, seems to be just a symptom, of a general frame of mind. A frame of mind that does not believe in giving pap smears to unmarried girls, and would rather risk ovarian cancer going unnoticed.