Certain parts of the report are factually incorrect and speakers have been quoted out of context.
KARACHI: This is in response to the news report “Book Launch turns into mock fest as activists lash out at each other” (July 23). We thank you for sending a reporter to cover our event. However, the report is unbalanced and misleading.
Firstly, there were six speakers present but the remarks of only two have been given disproportionate space in your newspaper. The positive comments made by Kaiser Bengali, Javed Jabbar, Ibn Abdur Rehman and Mehtab Rashdi have earned very little space. In the interest of objective reporting, their valued comments should also have been given more coverage.
For the record, at every launch of the widely-respected SPDC’s Annual Review, some speakers make constructive critical comments, which we always welcome.
Secondly, certain parts of the report are factually incorrect and speakers have been quoted out of context. For example, the report claims that there were “no songs of praise” for the book, whereas four out of the six speakers had many positive things to say. Moreover, the report says that “Tahira Abdullah refused to stick to the script”. All our speakers are well-respected and accomplished individuals and neither in the past nor in this case were any ‘scripts’ given to them. Each speaker rendered his/her opinion freely and independently.
Dr Kaiser Bengali has been misquoted as saying, “Micro issues had never been addressed by women movements”. He actually referred to the dearth of research focusing on collecting micro-level data. Similarly, the report claims that Javed Jabbar “lashed out at women’s movements” makes no sense because while appreciating various separate initiatives for this cause, he called for a coordinated and cohesive national women’s movement.
Lastly, it is unfortunate that the story does not mention the actual content of the book, which comprises of eight valuable research papers on gender dimensions of public spending on health and education, trade liberalisation and employment, rural non-farm employment, women and law, female-headed households, development induced displacement, flood impact, and violence against women.
Muhammad Asif Iqbal
Principal Economist/Company Secretary
Social Policy and Development Centre Karachi
Published in The Express Tribune, July 25th, 2014.
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