Student unions

Perhaps one of Pakistan’s biggest assets is that it currently has one of the largest percentages of youth in the world. However, these youngsters have largely been excluded from the political process. This was initially done by military dictator Ziaul Haq who outlawed student unions in 1984 mainly due to political expediency and to meet strict political objectives. Since then, progressive student unions have tried fighting their way back to seek representation but to little avail.

It is undeniable that student unions will strengthen the democratic structure of the country. Unfortunately, the prevailing culture here has been of preserving the status quo and to quash any form of rebellion or opposition. Protests by students have been met with brute force, arrests and detentions. Such resistance has slowly caused the general youth to lose interest in entering politics and initiating social change. Many have claimed that the Pakistani youth has become apolitical. This isn’t true and the recent political fallout has shown that the youth does have strong opinion and can, to a relative degree, understand political happenings in the country. This however is not translated into significant political action, which is carried out through student unions and representation. In a recent event, concerns have been raised over critically low youth voter turnout in Pakistan. ECP officials have stated that around 500 sessions have been organised in educational institutions to create awareness regarding the importance of political representation and to urge students to take an active part in politics as they are the ones who will soon be leading the nation.

A healthy democracy knows how long to hold the mantle and understands when it is time to pass it on in a graceful manner. The revival of student unions is essential so that the youth of Pakistan have a legitimate voice in political affairs.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 27^th, 2022.

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