For many years, ever since the emergence of Pakistani drama industry, the plots have been dominated by issues like second marriage, sister rivalry and love related hardships. Although it produced many masterpieces that were also acclaimed internationally, they merely remained a good source of entertainment.
In a society like Pakistan, where many social and moral evils keep erupting, only the media owns the power to influence minds and to educate the masses regarding their roles in society. None of the channels and, or the producers, realize their social responsibility, until Udaari was aired.
The serial has not only highlighted the seriousness of the issue of child molestation, but also taught women how to stand up against the injustices being done to them.
The producers were extremely successful in bringing the controversial issue of child abuse, on social platforms where open discussions were held raising awareness. However, this isn’t the only social evil that exists in our society.
There is a lot more that the media needs to and can do for our society by continuing the revolution and the social education/awareness movement, initiated with Udaari.
The media, which holds the power to transform a taboo topic such as child molestation into a nationwide debate, needs to extend its focus on other issues too.
Internal hiring is one of them.
Internal hiring in Pakistan has become a national curse. None of the industries seems to have remained safe from its impact. It is the most likely reason why, despite having so many skilled graduates, the country’s pace towards progress seems excessively slow.
There have been so many students who, despite investing enough hard work to achieve meritorious positions at universities, fail to compete with those who have good Public Relations (PR) in society.
Indeed, the worth of a degree has become equivalent to a mere entry card. With a piece of paper called a degree and some great references, any mediocre candidate can pocket a decent job. The tests, interviews, meetings have all become formalities to invite and reject those who rely on solely on their merit.
There used to be a time when owing to personal knowledge and skills, people like Bill Gates became billionaires, unlike this era, where a persons PR seems to be their most valuable asset.
Plenty of graduates belonging to middle class background suffer from immense mental stress because of skepticism regarding their future after graduation. What makes the situation sadder is that, the sufferers have decided not to raise their voice in this regard fearing it might result in their dismay. They feel they might lose any prospect to achieve a desired position if they failed to provide a good reference.
Neither the leaders, nor the educational system has empowered candidates enough to enable them to fight for their rights and to risk exposing anything that violates the ethics of hiring. If the education that we have been receiving for over 18 years has failed to generate any resistance towards the social evils in our society, then the piece of paper that we own and call a degree has only been a waste of time.
It’s high time that the media used its influential power, to address this issue, such that the concerned authorities may realize that with such a culture, they not only deprive deserving candidates of their desired positions but also deprive themselves of the untapped talent.
What is wrong is and will remain wrong, even if the whole world indulges in it. This means that no one should hesitate in raising their voice when asked for anything, other than knowledge, qualification and experience, to obtain a respectable position in a desired industry.