You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep spring from coming. – Pablo Neruda

Benefits of planting trees
When done well, tree planting is recognised as one of the most engaging, environmentally friendly activities that people can take part in to better the planet. Trees provide a multitude of benefits, both long and short term. As well as being attractive aesthetically, they remove and store carbon from the atmosphere, slow heavy rain and so reduce the risk of flooding, enhance air quality and improve the urban heat island effect by reflecting sunlight and providing shade. In addition, the physical weight of a tree consists of approximately 50 per cent carbon, as such trees have a strong climate change mitigation effect when in high enough numbers. Some of these benefits such as the mitigation of the urban heat island effect and improvements to air quality are localised and will bring the most benefits to the people who live and otherwise spend their time in the local area. Other benefits such as the removal of carbon from the atmosphere will benefit the wider population, not just those who live the most locally. Trees greatly benefit the people living around them by having a positive impact on mental health and wellbeing, reducing stress and encouraging outdoor exercise. This is in addition to the benefits they will receive from an improved environmental quality and improved amenity which comes with planted areas. This shows that there are many environmental as well as social benefits to planting trees. Strategically planting trees around your home can have tremendous benefits on the environment. Not only will you help restore life quality in your community, contribute to the environment and help fight climate change, but you will also set an example. Therefore, planting a beautiful tree is always a good idea!
Hira Zainab,
Karachi.

It's time to support women in politics
Despite much bluster, women's freedom to participate in politics in Pakistan has generally been restricted and neglected. Yes, we were the first country in the entire Muslim world to have a female head of state, a fact that not even the United States has been able to claim. But that wasn't the norm; it was the exception. Many women are denied the opportunity to exercise their constitutional right to free and equal participation in decision-making and governance, although making up more than half of the population. Due to a number of cultural constraints and patriarchal views, they are unable to exercise their right to vote, run for office, or engage in wider political processes. The truth is that women's baseline voting participation in elections is still exceedingly low, especially in rural areas of the nation. According to a non-governmental organisation (NGO) survey, just 18.2 percent of women voted in the 2018 general elections, compared to 32.6% of men. Even though women make up more than 50% of Pakistan's electorate, this is still the case.
The low involvement of women in elections, particularly in rural Pakistan, is caused by a number of factors. The first problem is that rural women do not understand the importance of voting or their rights. Second, out of worry for the male family members, many women are hesitant to express their disagreement with their ideas and beliefs. The government must act decisively to ease the process for women voters to register to vote and cast ballots. This can be done by providing free transportation to polling places, providing assistance and educational programmes for all voters, and placing polling places in easily accessible areas. In order for women to freely exercise their democratic right, the government must also do everything in its power to reform the cultural norms that forbid them from engaging in politics and the election process.
Hamid Khan,
Karachi