Pakistan in Media

Eidul Fitr will be marked today with all the joy associated with it. Families will gather to mark this most important of celebrations on the religious calendar. Special dishes will be prepared, mosques will fill up as prayers are offered to mark the event, children will show off new clothes and shoes, ‘Eidee’ will be joyfully collected and presents will be exchanged. This after all is what Eid is all about. But it is also important to remember there are many different kinds of Eid in our country. While some will hand out new mobile phones and other swish gifts to mark what has become an increasingly ostentatious event and lavish feasts will adorn tables, for other families the day will be no different than the other 364 days of the year. Indeed for some it could be worse. In the run-up to Eid, at least one man shot his wife, daughter and then himself. Press reports stated that he was depressed over his inability to buy new clothes for his family. A different news story spoke of a father who, denied an Eid bonus or advance salary, crept home regularly late at night to avoid gazing into the eyes of his children for whom he could buy nothing. There have been accounts too appearing at frighteningly regular intervals of parents forced by poverty to sell children.

These saddening reminders of the injustices of our society are something we need to address. All of us need to work towards a future in which every citizen can enjoy Eid. We must also consider whether it is right to have turned Eid from a relatively simple event focused on family to something that involves the most blatant consumerism and display of wealth. We need to rediscover the simpler joys of Eid. We must also find ways to share them out. This would bring for many far more pleasure than that can be bought by any amount of wealth and also act to bring people together across society.
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