Jawad Ahmed holds concert to raise awareness about class disparity

Renowned singer Jawad Ahmed on Monday performed at a concert aimed at raising awareness about inequality.

The concert was organised by Oxfam and Indus Consortium in relation to the World Economic Forum being held in Switzerland and also launched a report titled ‘Reward Work, Not Wealth’ on how the global economy enables the wealthy elite to accumulate wealth while billions of people struggle to survive on little pay.

Jawad Ahmed started the concert with a message for the youth to actively participate in the political process in order to counter inequality.

He performed many of his famous songs including 'Dosti', 'Mehendi' and 'Uchayan Majajan Wali'.

Mr Ahmed has been working with Oxfam as ambassador and for human rights in Pakistan.

He has also launched a song, 'Bhola Kya Karay', which touches on the plight of underpaid workers.

Talking to Dawn, the singer said the poor and middle classes were facing problems due to inequality.

He said there is a huge class disparity in Pakistan.

“The minimum wage in Pakistan of Rs15,000 is not enough to run a household,” he said and criticised politicians for not addressing the issue.

A cartoon exhibition by Akhtar Shah on the same issue was also part of the event. His works were displayed outside the auditorium hall.

One of the cartoons showed a woman stitching clothes for a big designer and a currency note was coming out from the other side of the machine.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Shah said: “Daily wage workers are exploited the most in Pakistan. One of the reasons for inequality, I think, is that workers are not aware of their rights and how much their skills are worth.”

A representative of Oxfam, Irum Shareef said the new report highlights that women in Pakistan earn less than men and have the least secure forms of work.

“Gender inequality is manifested in different dimensions in Pakistan which means women’s work is devalued and they end up working in low paid jobs and bear the undue burden of unpaid care work. Some 87pc of women employees in the country earn less than the minimum wage,” she said.

Originally published in Dawn, January 23rd, 2018