Daily Times

Democracy, do we truly understand this term? We say only true democracy can ensure the future of our nations but what do we mean by a democratic nation? Democracy is when a country is answerable to the general public where their say is the final verdict or as Aristotle describes it: “In a democracy the poor will have more power than the rich, because there are more of them, and the will of the majority is supreme.”

But the question is, who is accountable and who is answerable? Who exercises power over whom? Is the majority ever heard in a democratic state? Let’s face it: the government does not really answer to the general public, not even in a democratic state such as Pakistan; it answers to the illegally elected government representatives (as we have seen how ‘fairly’ the elections were conducted this year). Moreover, after hearing what the Election Commissioner had to say about this, we can rightfully conclude that the authorities could not care less. So is this democracy? You might agree, but I do not believe so. Democracy will be achieved when the wishes of the poor, hungry, disabled and unemployed will be heard, when the women who sit in the assembly will be the ones who were beaten, assaulted, forcefully married, unlawfully detained and subjected to various other kinds of heinous tortures that we cannot even dream of. Most of all, accountability will be achieved when 50 percent of the ratio of the assembly will consist of women and not just a mere 60 seats reserved for some women who mostly come from well versed political backgrounds.

I simply do not understand the country’s compulsion on a BA degree when at least 56 percent of the Pakistani population is illiterate to the extent that they have not even gone beyond middle school, and therefore this compulsion would exclude a major chunk of the population. And, we must not forget, they are the ones who can truly understand the socioeconomic dilemmas of the people, as they themselves are the sufferers. It is beyond me how the people who cannot afford two decent meals a day are being asked to somehow purchase college education. What about women who were never even sent to school or the ones who were asked to leave their education before or right after high school for marriage purposes or for their families’ so-called values. Moreover, in areas such as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, women were not allowed to get out of their homes and vote, which again excludes them from political activity, which is their legal and moral right.

The provision of public services will only be efficacious when the crucial relationship between the government and the citizens is built up and valued strongly. It is not to be taken for granted by any means as it is no one other than the public who is in a position to understand their interests better. This can be done firstly by ensuring that the representatives of the public are the ‘ordinary’ citizens, and are not sitting on the seats they inherited from their fathers, who are usually landlords or former politicians, by ensuring that the elections are free from rigging, by granting full freedom of speech to the citizens without any fear of security. Moreover, a truly accountable democracy can be achieved by ensuring equal participation of men and women in the legislative bodies, and most of all, ensuring that there is a proper check and balance on government activities and assets owned by the state and whether they are utilised for public interests or not.

A political government must be accountable to the citizens, but I strongly believe that state institutions must not interfere in the affairs of the state. We have seen from experience that martial law for a short term may seem like a good idea, but in the long run it brings a series of extreme cruelty towards the citizens as well as bringing forth a dictatorial regime that lasts long enough to leave a disturbing impact for decades to come. The hideously framed amendments passed by General Ziaul Haq in 1983 still haunt the lives of many people and to this day, we continue to become victims of the Hudood Ordinance and its lasting impact on polluting the mindsets of the people.

Therefore, I believe that the purest form of democracy can be achieved by ensuring equality and provision of basic rights. This will not only ensure the political participation of the common people but will also help to maintain checks and balances so the nation building activities are not blocked by the personal agendas of extremists and dictators. This will ensure that the legislative authorities are truly accountable to the ones who actually deserve a say in how the country is run, which is none other than ‘we’ the people.

The writer is a student and freelance columnist