Sir: Pakistan is a developing country with a very low literacy rate, which is a big hurdle in its progress, whereas a high illiteracy rate in the rural areas ruled by the feudal lords further blocks the path of prosperity of the people of the country. To a large extent, Pakistan’s politics are still being governed by the feudal system. Feudal lords and the wadera system are a big hurdle in the realisation of the dream of a better literacy rate. Statistics show that there are tremendous disparities in the country on the basis of gender, class and religion. To further worsen the situation, women have less representation. On the national level, their literacy rate is less than half when compared to that of men, and this gap attains huge magnitude when we turn to the rural areas where it is five percent, the lowest in the world for any class or gender.
Feudal lords, waderas and sardars enjoy political power and use it as a strong weapon in depriving the people of obtaining education. They are doing this just for their personal benefit and, by doing so, they make the people serve them and be loyal to them, as uneducated people can never come to know about their rights, which leads to their dependence on their lords. This system should be completely abolished in the 21st century.
HAJRA NAWAZ SHAH
Lahore