غلام آیا ہے آقاؐ مگر ہے شرمندہ
جھکی ہوئی ہیں نگاہیں ، نظر ہے شرمندہ
لبوں پہ کوئی بھی اک لفظ آ نہیں پاتا
دُعا کو ہاتھ اُٹھیں کیا اثر ہے شرمندہ
ہمارے ہاتھ بھی خالی ہیں اور دامن بھی
مدینے جاتے ہیں لیکن سفر ہے شرمندہ
بڑھا سکا نہ یہ ایمان کی حرارت کو
سو میرے دل میں دہکتا شرر ہے شرمندہ
اب ایک در پہ جُھکے بھی تو کیسے جُھک پائے
کہاں کہاں اِسے رکھا کہ سر ہے شرمندہ
مجھے یقین ہے اپنے کریم آقاؐ پر
صدا کرم کی سنوں گا، ’’کدھر ہے شرمندہ‘‘
مجھے سلیقۂ توصیف ہی نہیں عابدؔ
میں نعت لکھتا ہوں لیکن ہنر ہے شرمندہ
The Corona virus (SARS-CoV2) pandemic initiated in late December 2019 in Wuhan city of Hubei, China, which has rapidly progressedinvolving more than 215 countries of the world. It was caused by novel SARS-COV2 coronavirus with Huanan seafood wholesale market as the possible point of origin. In past two decades, coronaviruses epidemic of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-COV) had 37% mortality rate and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-COV) had 10% affecting more than 10,000 population together. World Health Organization (WHO) declared it as the sixth Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on January 30, 2020 and later on March 11, 2020, the WHO labeledit as a pandemic. The first case of COVID-19 from Pakistan was reported on 26th February, 2020 and has affected over 354,000 people with a mortality of over 7000 patients. Many countries of the world have seen second wave of this pandemic. Government ofPakistan has also declared a second waveon October 28, 2020, after the rise in cases from 500 to 750 per day. Now it has crossed 2000 cases. The data released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) shows that the current percent positivity rate is close to 3 compared to the previous figure of lesser than 2 making it a bigger challenge than first wave in Pakistan. The patients now presenting in hospitals are all in critical condition. Lack of a specific vaccine or antiviral drug and non-compliance to the standard preventive measures is the major reason of initiation of a second wave of this viral infection in Pakistan. Being a nation we need to be responsible. Our country may go into economic crisis & our health facilities may choke. We have to understand how to live with this virus till the availability of vaccine or Curative antiviral drug. TheGovernment of Pakistan is creating awareness in the public for the second wave as the situation of pandemic is getting worse. Smart lock downs are being implementedbut people are not following preventive measures that are leading to infection spread at a very alarming speed. At the moment preventive measures are the only way to stop the spread of disease. Preventive measures should be adopted to contain this deadly disease. Wearing masks, using hand sanitizers, washing hands with soap for 20 sec, keeping social distance of 6 feet are mandatory preventive strategies. Social, political, business, recreationaland religious gatherings, should be avoided. Educational institutesshould follow strict standard operating procedures. Most of the people in Pakistan are not considering this disease as a matter of serious concern due to unawareness, poverty, beliefs and lack of resources. People should ignore such disbeliefs and should start considering it as a great health concern. They should follow the preventive measures in true sense.
Pakistan is a country where strong patriarchal values perpetuate the sub-ordinate status of women and debilitate their empowerment. Effective implementation of gender mainstreaming strategy is needed to create the conditions in which women can challenge stereotypical gender roles and utilize their productive potential. The seriousness of the government to promote gender equality and the capacity of women to demand equal opportunities is indicated by the level of gender equity in the environment of public sector organisations and work-conducive behaviour of female public servants. The present study measures both these variables and analyses them in the backdrop of situational factors as well as individual characteristics of female public servants. In doing so, this study attempts to expand the scope of empirical economic literature investigating labor force participation of highly qualified women, which mostly focuses on wage issues and does not give due attention to other important factors namely a gender sensitized work environment and women’s motivation and commitment to work. Findings of study are based on interpretation of descriptive statistics and on results obtained from inferential analysis using Analysis Of Variance (ANOVA) and multiple regression techniques. Data was collected by administering a specially designed research instrument through face-to-face interviews with 300 female public servants belonging to administrative, health and higher education sectors. The final research instrument consisted of items constructed to derive the Perception of Work Environment Index (PWEI), the Work Motivation and Commitment Index (WMCI), and questions related to personal and professional profile of respondents. The main findings are as follows: while the work environment may not be openly hostile, female personnel are dissatisfied with arrangements to accommodate their personal and family needs. Unmarried females working on contract are more satisfied with the working conditions than married women on permanent posts. Female personnel are often more comfortable in their professional relationships with male colleagues and bosses, than they are in their relationships with other females in the organization. Although work commitment levels among female public servants, on the whole, are quite satisfactory, there are two points of concern, namely: low levels of work quality consciousness in the public sector and difficulty faced by women in being equally committed to their family and work responsibilities. Age factor has a negative impact on the opinions regarding working conditions of women with more experience if their work motivation declines. There is also evidence suggesting that women who are devoted to their work and profession, sacrifice their leisure to excel at their jobs. Based on the findings of this survey study it is recommended that gender equality policies in public sector organizations should focus on instituting structural changes responding to women’s practical gender needs. Training content must be configured to match the needs of the worker and the organization. Members of selection boards must be sensitized to gender issues in employment to enable them to make gender fair selection of candidates. Public servants must be encouraged to develop confidence in their own ability to transform their organizations into entities which are better equipped to deal with development challenges facing the country.