Living in two worlds

I must admit that I do not read the op-ed section of Urdu newspapers as often as I should. But last week, a friend asked me, if I would consider contributing to the Urdu newspapers, as it is important to have discussion and varying opinions on some of the topics that I am interested (innovation, higher education and gender equity) in the Urdu papers as well. I have written in Urdu papers in the past, but only in the travel section with my travelogues. I told my friend that I would take a look.

Perhaps it will come as no surprise to the readers here that the Urdu op-ed universe, in various leading newspapers was completely different from the English one. In some ways it was very personal, and relatable, and in some ways completely foreign. To highlight the difference between these two worlds, I wore my scientist’s hat and decided to collect data. I started analysing the content and the contributors across several weeks in two papers, one in English and one in Urdu. To keep matters somewhat consistent, I chose the papers from the same publishing house (the Express in Urdu and The Express Tribune in English).

As I analysed the data, there were several stark differences. While the same writers would write sometimes two, or even three op-eds in the same week in Urdu, this almost never happened in the English papers. A bigger issue was gender diversity. Less than four per cent of all articles in the Urdu paper were written by female contributors (as a matter of fact, it is usually the same person who contributes 1-2 articles out of the 50 something published every week). In English, the number was close to 22-25 per cent. Both of these numbers are quite unhealthy, and do not reflect the broader dynamics of our society. The English paper has some ways to go to improve gender equity, but that said, the numbers in the Urdu paper are just outright unacceptable.

Another surprising observation was about who was contributing to the English and Urdu papers. While it is somewhat understandable that the foreign diplomats or heads of international institutions are likely to contribute more in the English paper than the Urdu one, our own politicians also wrote almost exclusively in the English paper. Whether it is the minister for development, leaders of the opposition party or the chief minister of Punjab, their op-eds almost never appear in the Urdu newspaper. I am curious to hear why that is?

The content was also starkly different. The English op-eds were more about policy whereas the Urdu ones were far more personal and often had stories of ordinary men and women. The English papers were more likely to talk about education, whereas issues of poverty were more likely to come up in Urdu papers. The Urdu papers were also less critical of the military or the religious establishment, compared to the English ones. They were, however, often far more pointed in their criticism of the government. It was also surprising that both English and Urdu op-eds had about the same emphasis on domestic and foreign affairs, and the English op-eds were no more internationally oriented than the Urdu ones.

I recognise that my analysis is limited, and there is likely to be some variance with other papers, but there are some important lessons here. First, we need to ensure that we continue to bring more diversity among the contributors. Hearing from various segments of society is important for the vitality of the newspaper and its ability to paint a rich picture. Gender balance needs to be made a high priority. Second, it may be worthwhile to have at least one or two articles, per week, translated in either direction to make a bridge between the two isolated worlds. Our echo chambers are not doing any service to an already polarised and divided nation.

As for my friend’s advice, I felt I became intellectually richer, and more aware of a parallel universe in Pakistan, just by reading the Urdu op-eds. I do plan to read more, and hopefully write more, in Urdu.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 23^rd, 2017.

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