At least 53 per cent of the families made kites for 5 to 10 hours a day while the rest worked longer hours. ILLUSTRATION: MAHA HAIDER
Parveen Farooq of Jhang used to make 150 to 200 kites in 12 hours, with the help of her children. For every 100 kites they made, the family were paid between Rs30 and Rs35. But they were happy.
But in 2006, the government banned Basant and also promulgated the Prohibition of Kite Flying Ordinance 2006. The ordinance was re-promulgated in 2007 and in 2009, the Punjab Assembly passed the Punjab Prohibition of Kite Flying (Amendment) Act. The law prohibits kite flying, manufacturing, sale or offer to sell kites as well as kite string. Since then, many a petition, challenging the ban, has made its way to the court only to be denied even though the law allows the nazim concerned to allow kite flying and sale of kites for 15 days during spring in a year.
It’s been seven years since Farooq and her family have had it hard but they have no option but to follow the ban because of fear of “police raids and going to jail”, as Farooq put it. Under the law, violators can be imprisoned up to three years, fined Rs100,000 or both.
Muhammad Akram, a resident of Kot Lakhpat and father of four, has a similar story to tell. His wife used to make kites to support their family since he could not work because of a disability. After the ban, however, they have had a difficult time trying to make ends meet.
Akram and Farooq’s households are just two of the thousands of kite-makers’ families that were affected by the Basant ban and have been chronicled in a study conducted by HomeNet, an umbrella organisation that works on the conditions of home-based workers, particularly women.
The study is based on a survey and interviews and was conducted over a period of ----
The pilot study was conducted in two districts of the Punjab: Lahore and Jhang. The aim was to examine the effect of the ban on women kite-makers. About 90 per cent of the kite-makers were women, most of whom used to earn between Rs900 and Rs1,500 per month, according to the study. “Women, comprising the bulk of the industry,” states the study, “were more vulnerable as they had even scarcer opportunities of alternative employment.”
With the ban on kite-manufacturing, most of the kite-makers lost their livelihood because they did not have any other skills, it says.
Figures about the kite-making industry
In 2005, about 150,000 workers in Lahore were associated with the kite
manufacturing business
According to the study, after the ban more than 70 per cent of the families involved in the business had less food and had to stop sending their kids to school.
A majority of the kite-makers, 59 per cent, were between 20 and 30 years of age and 80 per cent of them were illiterate.
Around 62 per cent of kite-makers had been associated with the industry for between one and 10 years.
At least 53 per cent of the families made kites for 5 to 10 hours a day while the rest worked longer hours.
Around 67 per cent of the kite-makers still manufacture kites, but not as regularly as before. They earn between Rs500 and Rs2,000 rupees per week depending on how much work is available.
Most of the kites manufactured are sold in other provinces. However, 71 per cent of the respondents said it was difficult to gain access to new markets.
Recommendations in the report
Kite flying should be allowed in the light of the court orders and zones can be reserved where the sport could be enjoyed without any likelihood of damage or loss of human life
Regulation regarding kite flying cord in terms of its gauge, material, must be stringent and observed with the help of the kite-flying association and kite-making industry
There should be an alternative business or employment opportunities for women involved in kite-making until the government regularizes the kite-making industry
Kite-making industry should be geared up to export kites to USA, Europe, China and Middle East and the industry may be taxed for more revenue
Published in The Express Tribune, June 10th, 2013.
COMMENTS (15)
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It'a festival of Hindus . True Ibadati Muslims should refrain from observing these festivals . Not only this , We shouldn't observe New year , Birth day, Father's day ,Mother's day,Teacher's day , Women day etc . We only bend our head in front of Allah , not God , not father ,not mother , not even in front of nation . We should replace all our systems like Court and replace it with Jirgha . Recently our spiritual leaders have denied not to use DNA as rape evidence , in stead we can use laws of Surra .It's really a welcome step.
the best part is it is only banned in lahore, where it it is part of the culture... the rest of the country is still celebrating basant... but it can never be the real thing!
Kites will not kill Pakistan, it's the Indophobia which will kill. Had the kites not associated with Basant, they would have been just fine.
This Indophobia has made you create today's terrorists who are killing more Pakistanis in a day, everyday, then the kites in a whole year!
In India too in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Mumbai we fly kites on Jan 14, never heard of people losing their lives. So there must be something about the manner of celebration that leads to loss of life. If that issue is banned rather than the kite flying festival per se, it can be a win win situation.
@Yasin: "Please no Basant ever. It’s a kafur festival"
And tell us, what is wrong with 'kufar' festivals?
People who carry guns and drive like crazy are afraid of Kites?
Only in pakistan, kites are form of entertainment in rest of the world, only in pakistan it is banned by constitution.
Thats horrid banning a festival. I still dont understand why it was banned. Lahore was the capital of undivided Punjab for centuries. Its only natural that it was the epicentre of many festivals .any basant is not any religious festival. Basant means spring . Please remove the ban.let people of all communicites come together , enjoy and forget their daily harships for some time.
Ok so legalize prostitution as well, as most of the prostitutes do it to support their families and they have no other "skills". Please propose a proper and logical solution rather than taking the easy way out of crisis.
How many people/kids die every year of injuries due to kite flying? Now compare that to how many people/kids die every year due to motorcycle accidents? I literally see four/five people perched on motor bikes without helmets driving crazly through traffic. I have seen these bikers meet with horrible accidents. Shouldnt we just ban the motorcycle travel altogether just like basant? Instead of teaching safety we take the easy route out and ban the whole event.
Looking at numbers of wealth and popularity index for Basant, you will say its positive. But ask someone who has died due to the wrong type of strings being used. I would have banned it myself till there is proper management system in place on how to hold basant.
Its sad to hear how ordinary people are suffering from wrong policies, instead of going after the chemical door they are destroying one of the best thing about the Lahore tradition. I always loved Basant growing up in Lahore, it was the one thing that I loved even more than cricket. It`s just not only about poor people, but whole generation is growing up not knowing the one thing that makes them Lahori and connects them to their cultural roots. PML(N) everyone knows your radical origin, don't steal our cultural norms from us, evolve policies instead of banning.
Basant can be allowed in a controlled way. Livelihood of a lot of people depend on it. Also, a huge number of people love the festival and kite flying. It is part of our culture. We don't celebrate it as a Hindu religious tradition. We just celebrate it as a kite flying festival.
It is immoral for a small religious minority to keep others from enjoying simple pleasures of life such as flying kites. As you saw in the recent elections, no body likes or trusts these mullahs
Poverty and hunger over the cut throats of our children..... Anyday. The hard narcotics industry contributes Billions to the poorest poppy farmers who cant do anything else, lets allow hard narcotics? Fallacy. I loved basant, I love kite flying. I miss the BBQs. But our children and their lives are more important.
Please no Basant ever. It's a kafur festival. Those kite makers should be trained for other skills. We should have done it long time ago.
So you want basant to be unbanned and cost more innocent lives just because kite-makers couldn't find anything else in the whole wide world to earn their livelihoods? Robbers loot and murder so they can feed themselves and their families or do you imply they are without families? Hence armed robbery and theft should be allowed because it's a source of income for some? Nice logic!