Dear Auntie,
I am 17. My eldest sister is in medical college and my other two siblings are in a cadet college. So, our educational expenditures are endless.

My father is 51 and only studied till high school. He used to run a family business and a factory, but he lost the factory in 2021 during Covid. Since then, he has not had a stable job or business. Instead, he saw an advertisement for a stockbroker on Facebook. He trusts Facebook blindly but refuses to trust anything I say, even though I do thorough research. I explained to him so many times that stock investing is not a reliable way to generate a steady monthly income and pleaded with him to start a side business for steady cash flow. He scolded me for “trying to teach him.”

Now, due to poor investments and global geopolitics, he has lost over three million rupees out of 12 million. Our only steady source of income right now is a small rental property. Our house is full of stress.

I have educated myself on financial management through books and have tried to share this knowledge with my parents. But because I am their son, they dismiss me as a “lowlife” with no authority to speak.

Whenever I find big scholarships or international opportunities (since my dream is to go abroad for my bachelor’s degree), they discourage me without doing any research. They dismiss these opportunities as “scams” or tell me that I am simply not good enough.

I cannot sit back and watch my dreams be sacrificed because of their ego.

The Sinking Sailor

Dear Sinking Sailor,

So, you cannot change your parents, but you also cannot completely dismiss them. I know you are frustrated and understandably so. Watching your father make risky decisions and refuse to listen to reason is painful. But you have to understand that your parents are not simply acting out of ignorance. Their actions are shaped by experience — losing a business and losing money can make anyone cling to decisions that feel within their control.

In Pakistan, our parents carry the weight of the family. When you try to correct your father, even with the best of intentions, he sees it as a challenge to that authority. So, while you cannot change him by arguing, you should also avoid falling into the trap of thinking that everything he says is wrong.

Your parents’ concerns about stability and scams are not completely baseless. It is just that they express them in ways that shut you down, because deep down they fear for your future.

You will need to change your approach. Stop trying to ‘teach’ your father. Instead, listen more and speak less. Frame things with respect. Try asking for his advice, involving him in your thinking and presenting your plans as something you want his guidance on.

Focus on your academics, research scholarships and prepare for tests, but remember that you don’t need to announce every step at home. When the time comes, bring them something concrete like an admission letter or a scholarship offer.

As for your father’s financial decisions, just step back unless he asks you for help. The household responsibilities are not yours to carry. So, for now, stay in your lane. Respect your parents while trying to understand where they are coming from. But don’t let their limitations become your limits.

You are not a sinking sailor.

Published in Dawn, EOS, April 12th, 2026

Rumpelstiltskin, a fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, tells the story of a poor miller’s daughter, who was locked up each night to turn straw into gold until the king found her worthy of becoming his bride.

The only way she achieved this was with the help of a dubious character, Rumpelstiltskin, but this help came at a price: first for her necklace, then her ring and then the promise of her first-born child.

It is tempting to see the king as exploitative nations, the miller and his daughter as the exploited and enslaved, and Rumpelstiltskin as the international agencies that offer loans, forcing countries into the trap of eternal debt servicing.

The miller’s daughter escapes from her debt to Rumpelstiltskin by identifying his hidden name. The world, too, is finally exposing the well-guarded truths and the identities of hidden forces that have enslaved nations, largely by controlling the narrative.

The lofty edifices that filled the world with awe and wonder prove to be a mere facade, hiding a foetid world symbolised by the likes of Jeffery Epstein, the myth of European ‘enlightenment’ and liberalism. The world is experiencing an emotional paralysis. Everything we were led to believe about the leading institutions, systems and ethical values — entrusted to the best of the best — have fallen short of their promises and commitments.

As faith in global institutions erodes, must a new hegemon rise or is an alternative possible?

The pundits speculate about who will emerge to form the new dominant world order, with many assuming it will be China and Russia. But, perhaps, we are done with the need for a dominant world order.

Today, social scientists suggest that we are living in a global empire — interconnected, urbanised and with advanced technological systems. However, that only describes the perspective of the dominant developed world — about 20 percent of the world population. While an estimated 80 percent of the world has access to the internet, it only makes them acutely aware of what they do not have.

If we cast an eye back to a pre-Western world, we discover many alternative models. The West has dominated the world for only 300 of the 5,000 years of civilisations and empires stretching across the world, from China to Mesoamerica.

Empire has always been about power, but the philosophy of empire has varied. China’s emperors subscribed to tianxia, meaning “all under heaven” or “for all people”, a worldview prioritising harmony and global coexistence over conflict.

Ashoka, emperor of Magadha, intended that “the people of the unconquered territories beyond the borders might think: ‘What is the king’s intentions towards us?’ My only intention is that they live without fear of me, that they may trust me and that I may give them happiness, not sorrow.”

The Muslim empire under Umar, the second caliph of Islam, was focused on the welfare of all those in his realm. According to him, “Even if a dog dies hungry on the banks of the Euphrates, I fear that Allah will hold me accountable for it.”

However, empires also waged wars and succumbed to corruption. The famed Mauryan political advisor Chanakya/Kautilya, in his guide to rulers, the Arthashastra [The Science of Material Gain], prescribed policies to conquer enemies, expand territory and manage empire, often with war, assassinations and spying.

Civilisations, on the other hand, are not bound by the rise and fall of empires. They reflect the ideas and cultures of people. Civilisations share knowledge and culture naturally and, for the most part, this exchange is a peaceful process.

Trade has been the keystone of civilisational exchange. Today, trade is weaponised with tariffs and sanctions, a legacy of the one-way trade of colonialisation, which the Indian political leader Dadabhai Naoroji called the “Drain Theory.” Today, the US argues that what is in its own interest is also in the interest of the world.

Yet the maritime trade system of the Indian Ocean was once the world’s largest trading network — from 500 AD until the rise of Western European maritime dominance in 1800 AD. This was a self-regulating global economy, sustained by Persians, Arabs, Africans, Javanese, Jews, Indians and Chinese, without any one dominating the other. The sea was the common heritage of humankind. The right to trade was no one’s monopoly.

Given that political rhetoric today is a disguise for trade interests, perhaps the world needs to work once again towards a polycentric global order, where individual nations can thrive across the world.

Durriya Kazi is a Karachi-based artist.
She may be reached at durriyakazi1918@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, EOS, April 12th, 2026