Youth perceptions

As the nation prepares to head for historic polls next month, much of the country’s eyes will be focused on the youth, which is believed to be 25 million registered voters between the ages of 18 to 29 according to the results of a survey conducted by the British Council; of these, 13 million will be headed to the polls for the first time. But that may be the only exciting news from the survey results published on April 3. Take, for example, how 94 per cent of Pakistan’s youth says the country is headed in the wrong direction. When asked the same question in 2009, the figure stood at 86 per cent. We all know how in this short period, nothing has changed much, but it still stings to read how “pessimism is fast becoming the defining trait of Pakistan’s next generation”. It is from the next generation that one expects change and betterment for Pakistan but the survey says 60 per cent are likely to vote and 21 per cent are still undecided — a month before polling. So what change can one expect? Granted, change cannot occur overnight but its seeds need to be planted for them to take root and grow. This, perhaps, explains why from the 5,000 youth surveyed from all segments of society — though it must be noted that 66 per cent were from the rural population — only 29 per cent felt that democracy was the best political system; 32 per cent felt this way for a military system and 38 believe in Sharia. Naysayers will undoubtedly want to blame the former PPP-led coalition government for the reason the youth has such little faith in democracy but that is an unfair accusation. Pakistan’s tragic history with democracy, frequently interrupted by military takeovers and never allowed to function freely, has meant that voters have not been given a chance to fully understand its benefits or even working mechanism.



Democracy is not just about elections. Whatever experience voters have, of the limited democratic governments, has shown them to be mired in corruption scandals and inefficiencies which also explain the highly unfavourable opinions the youth has of government institutions. About 71 per cent had an unfavourable opinion of the government, whereas 67 per cent viewed the National Assembly unfavourably and 69 per cent saw political parties in an unfavourable light. Meanwhile, what was seen in a favourable light was: the army (77 per cent), religious centres (74 per cent), the judiciary (60 per cent) and different forms of media (63 per cent). The police were only seen by 23 per cent in a favourable light. This just shows that despite common knowledge that corruption exists across the board and the army has been in charge before and not fixed any of the country’s problems, the youth still holds the military and religious leaders in high esteem. Such is the power of General Ziaul Haq’s legacy — whose seeds were planted decades ago. However, it must be noted that a lot of youth perceptions stem from the relentless exposure to democracy’s performance during the last five years by a free media and an independent judiciary and the extreme tolerance of the government of the day towards such attacks. This is, in fact, what is best about democracy. This same youth, which in this survey seems to prefer Sharia and the military over democracy, would be the first ones to resist curbs on the press and the judiciary which are a given under those systems.

For the proponents of democracy — let’s not forget the hundreds of thousands of brave valiant workers who have sacrificed their lives for the sake of a democratic Pakistan — the results of this survey should give them a moment to pause and reflect, and not just play the victim card. The leaders of the next government have a duty to protect the future generation who have a lot on their mind, namely an insecure future wrought with anxiety and fears of terrorism of which many have been directly affected. The economy, too, weighs heavily on their minds: only 10 per cent of the youth feel the country has enough jobs to go around. It is this pessimism that needs to be altered and that can only be done by improving their lot, at least economically, and the rest shall hopefully follow.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 6^th, 2013.