Daily Times

At a gathering of 20 girls in a small town of Turbat city’s Kallag, Mahwash Karim, 19 year-old studying in first year at Government Girls Degree College Turbat, reviews Khalil Jibran’s ‘The Broken Wings’ in her area’s newly-established library for girls, named Kallag Public Library for Girls.

Prior to this gathering, she had never got such an opportunity to share what she had read because of lack of such a library and a study circle. She finds the library a turning point in her educational development.

Turbat is second most populous city of Balochistan province after Quetta, with a population of 0.9 million, confirms the Census 2017. A report shared by census authorities in February 2022 following the census held in 2017 shows Turbat ‘the most literate city of the province’ with 61% literacy rate, 56% of whom are girls. Yet, the city has always lacked a library for girls. With only one public library for students in general, girls rarely visit for issues concerning their restraints and other issues including distance and transportation (although the only male library has been closed since February 2020 due to no repair and lack of furniture).

“We donated, and asked others for their financial and material support, in Kallag to get our primary ends met for establishing a library for girls,” says Mahwash Kareem, a first year student at Government Girls Degree College Turbat.

They were committed after finding the boys’ library fully functional. They observed their male family members going to the library with great zest and attending Weekly Book Review Circle, which guided them to take such a step and create similar a circle for the girls of the town. “We asked Sir Sadiq [leading person in establishing the Boys Circle] to help them, too,” Mahwash told me and paused for a while. “And he was cooperative all way through.”

A graduate from University of Turbat in Political Science Department, Sadiq Khuda Bakhsh is one among the leading ones to form a library at their own for the students of their area. Feeling the dire need of hour for a weekly book review circle, he felt to engage them in a reading environment which was never possible without a library, not only for males but females too. “We believed, younger generation has potentials in reading, so we materialised what our ancestors had not,” says Sadiq.

However, he felt a lack of resources deprived them from constructing a separate library for girls, too in initial days. “But our sisters are brave. They led the drive themselves and we were only to do the rest of the work,” Sadiq says, adding that the girls had managed a place for the library themselves in one of the student’s land near their home which has been used as a library until the construction of the library is completed. “We still lack a permanent place for the library,” he tells me.

“We needed a library because at homes we face disturbance including other household chores,” says Amber Bakhsh, another FSc student from the area. She adds that after joining the library, they have observed great change in their grades and grooming level. What increases Amber’s interests for a library is that along with course, she is getting addicted to reading general books too. “We are learning how to become critical in our studies by studying general books which our institution’s curriculum has never demanded from us to be like,” she said while looking at Chinnua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart” on her hand.

“Having public libraries for women is very important at this age and time,” says Zobaida Jalal, Member of National Assembly and former Federal Minister for Defense Production. She adds that libraries are more affordable and provide a space for coming together, dialogue and knowledge sharing among the youth with similar areas of interest. They are more productive in the case for girls who rarely find a space to discuss their areas of interests other than the institutions only. “We tried to do such a work back in 2000-2002 and directed several schools to functionalize their school libraries,” she says. She yet believe it was not successful and needed more attention by the present government.

Library was compulsory for these students because they received books which helped them enhance their knowledge and become bold in their studies. “I wanted to read but could not avail related books due to reasons, but I am getting every book I ask for through the library,” says Hadeeba Taj, a college student. For a nation to develop, libraries play a vital role in bringing students at their best in creativity by engaging them with books, Taj believes.

“We long wished to form a group and a library but because we were students, different factors were morally and financially against us,” Sadiq narrates while recalling their early phase. He seemed very proud of what they had achieved with all the students being willing and practically becoming a part of the library campaign. “We are thankful to the entire nation who have always stood with us by donating us books from across the country and cooperating on every matter,” Sadiq says, thanking everyone individually for their role.

While getting knowledge of the public library for girls in Kallag, Zobaida Jalal reacts with pride saying that it was the best she could expect from those girls by taking such an initiative for their own future generations. “Where there is a will, there is a way,” she says adding that the government needs to look into constructing more and more libraries for girls. She says to do her best by getting a permanent place for the library in Kallag. While recommending proposal, she says that if not more, government can at least have one library, particularly for females, in a tehsil in an environment as conducive as Balochistan.

“Now that we succeeded in initiating the library, we still need governmental support to further help us by providing us a digital library,” Mahwash says, stressing the need for a digital library following the needs of modernism. They were promised by former Chief Minister Balochistan, Dr Abdul Malik Baloch’s National Party (NP) of ‘rendering them a digital library’. The students await it. We tried to reach out the NP president but could not get connected.

“We need a bigger and a digital library because the present library cannot accommodate more than 15 students at a time,” says Sadiq, adding that it was causing disturbance in organising their weekly book review circle because all students could not sit in the library. They (males and females separately) have so far shared fifty five book reviews. Most of the reviewed books were written and published in local websites and newspapers too. “At a time, we are working on the reading and writing skills of students to shape future leaders,” Sadiq says looking at younger students sitting beside him.