Covid’s coded judgments

At this time, almost the entire focus is on the short order that was delivered by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday afternoon. But I want to include in this comment some more findings and insights that tend to define these days of tumult and social disarray. Covid-19 seems to be instigating not just a lot of reflection but also some social action in many societies.

Let us first get the Supreme Court verdict out of the way. The presidential reference against Justice Qazi Faez Isa has been thrown out. A short verdict on a petition filed by Justice Isa declared the reference “of no legal effect whatsoever”. And this vindication of a judge who is admired as upright was promptly celebrated by leading lawyers and bar associations. It was seen as a victory for an independent higher judiciary.

One significance of the verdict was that seven of the 10 judges ordered the Inland Revenue Department and the Federal Board of Revenue to seek explanation from the judge’s wife and children about the source of funding for their properties in the UK and submit a report to the Supreme Court in three months.

Consequently, there were some reservations that the matter may be far from over. Lawyer and scholar Osama Siddique said in his Tweet: “Why can SJC come into play again? Surely this is a matter now that pertains only to the wife. Can something else be discovered, uncovered or concocted that the FBR takes back to the SC/SJC so J. Isa can be pulled back in again. In which case the sword is still hanging”.

There is no doubt, however, that this is a historic verdict. But it is just one battle in the continuing war for freedom and democracy and justice in this unfortunate country. Look at the battles that were fought before. Some were won and many were lost. Justice Isa had pleaded that it had been decided that he would be removed by hook or by crook.

Is this an opportune time, given the disorder that has been heightened by the government’s inability to deal with the coronavirus crisis, to launch a campaign against such impunity and unaccountable power? I will not deliberate further on this question but would cursorily want to look at the unprecedented and extended Black Lives Matter movement in the United States. That it has happened in the midst of a deadly surge in the pandemic is remarkable.

Should we sing that Bob Dylan song: “The times they are a-changing”? Look around this country and everything seems to be out of joint. All kinds of crises are swirling around. People are suffering and are in a state of bereavement and uncertainty about future. But will they be prompted into some kind of social action – or is the stage being set for rudderless disorder?

As for the lessons this pandemic is teaching us, we are unwilling to see that a threat like Covid-19 demands a literate and a disciplined society in which the citizens are protected by an efficient administration.

Now, we are aware of our deficiencies. But the latest steps that are being taken, including through budgetary proposals, show that our rulers are blind to the emerging truths of the times. Commenting on the reduced budget for higher education, Chairman of the Higher Education Commission Dr Tariq Banuri, has said the funding is “the worst ever in history” and compared it to digging the country’s grave.

On the other hand, believe it or not, the Punjab governor has, through a notification, made it compulsory for students to read the Holy Quran with Urdu translation before getting a degree from any university in the province. Forget about the old scheme for introducing ‘modern’ subjects in the Madrassah curriculum.

Finally, I am just able to touch upon a subject that I think is the most radical and inspiring lesson of this pandemic. This is about the exceptional performance of women leaders of some advanced countries in dealing with the pandemic. Here is also an additional proof, if it were needed, that educating girls and empowering women must be a high priority for development countries.

A party that was initially identified with educated, emancipated young women has lapsed into a misogynist mode when in power. A recent example is the statement issued by civil society activists to strongly condemn “the highly derogatory, inflammatory, unconstitutional, and openly sexist, misogynist remarks made on June 12 by Mr Farogh Nasim, the government counsel” during the hearing of the Justice Isa case.

There is this list of women leaders who led more successful campaigns against the pandemic. It has frequently been noted and discussed in the media. But let me refer to Nicholas Kristof’s analysis in The New York Times this week. He compiled death rates from the coronavirus for 21 countries around the world, 13 led by men and eight by women. The male-led countries suffered an average of 214 coronavirus-related deaths per million inhabitants. Those led by women lost one-fifth as many, 36 per million.

He found that leaders who best managed the virus were not all women – but those who bungled were ALL men and mostly of a particular type: authoritarian, vainglorious and blustering. He gives examples of Boris Johnson in Britain, Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil and Donald Trump in the United States. I know whose name you want to add in this list. He wrote: “Where things go most badly wrong – it’s a lot of male ego and bluster”.

I have always taken as a measure of how decadent and bigoted our society is the fact that it does not take pride in Malala Yousafzai. If Covid-19 teaches us to not believe in illogical conspiracies, it should also remind us of this glory that we have refused to own. Here is perhaps the most accomplished and most inspiring girl, a young woman, in modern history who is not welcome in the country of her birth.

This week, Malala’s family celebrated her graduation from Oxford. I wish Prime Minister Imran Khan had sent a congratulatory message to a shining star of his own alma mater.

The writer is a senior journalist.

Email: ghazi_salahuddin@hotmail.com