- By: Arisha Irshad Ali
Pakistan’s garden is full of youth, which gives fresh air to economic growth. The more we have energetic youth, the more we are prone to success. Youth is considered the pillar of the nation, and the ratio of youth in Pakistan’s population is more than 40%, which is bravo.
The destiny of our new leader is in the hands of the youth. Will they select the best leader, or do we have another worst-case scenario? The alarming situation is that youth are not willing to give their vote.
The educated youth show reluctance, and yes, they have their ideas behind it. 25-year-old Suhail, a resident of Karachi and student in the Master’s programme in Project Management, shared his views that I lost interest in democracy. I gave a vote to the PTI, but it would be unstable if political alliances remained the same and we saw a high rate of inflation. This shows that youth have lost trust in democracy.
Another healthcare worker named Alam (a resident of Mirpurkhas) shared his view that I won’t be able to vote because I’m working in Karachi, and for voting purposes, of course, I won’t go to interior Sindh and spend my hard-earned money. I told him that it is our responsibility to give votes. I got a harsh reply. “Did our government fulfill all its responsibilities?”. He also shared a few stories of our Muslim leaders back in the Mughal Era.
The common people of Pakistan have the power to change the political dynamics. These two common people show that the political party failed to form a trust bond with the common people, who are key players. After introspecting many views deep down, it became obvious that people were not willing to vote.
This thing, for them, is considered useless and a waste of money. People in search of living migrate from their locality, which means that they aren’t able to give a vote, such as Alam. In Pakistan, the female population outnumbers the male population.
There is also high gender discrimination in Pakistan, which means that many women won’t get a chance to vote. There are many reasons behind that, such as cultural differences and paradoxes. Women in Pakistan are suffering for independence under the curtain of an independent country. The literacy rate shows the dark reality that women in Pakistan are not educated as compared to men. Women are unaware of political stuff, which also becomes an obstacle to giving the vote because they don’t know who deserves it.
Educated youth wanted to get rid of the corruption, for which escape was the best choice. This brain drain shows that middle-class people lose hope in democracy, due to which they are not interested in or willing to vote. Smart people have already left Pakistan, and others are packing their bags. Unwarned people are out of the loop for the voting game.
This statistic shows that our political parties will struggle for each vote due to the above-mentioned reasons. No vote means no triumph. These are all the situations that give you the harsh reality of Pakistan. The youth are hungry for the platform, but they are not getting it.
The high inflation rate, insecurity, and hopelessness are not only shattering the souls but also the hope of the youth.