It is none of interviewers’ business to argue with guests: VJ Dr Rafia Rafiq Having zest to do something of immense importance in her life, the young and energetic dental surgeon, Dr Rafia Rafiq, says that Pakistan could make rapid progress in all the spheres of life provided merit and merit alone is made the criterion in educational institutions and in employment .Dr Rafia Rafiq, who bagged first position in her BDS examinations conducted by Karachi University in 2005, was a student of Liaquat College of Medicine and Dentistry (LCMD) and did her house job at Jinnah Post-graduate Medical Center. Currently, she is doing her dental practice in a posh locality of Karachi, besides being the popular host of a morning show of
Health TV. In addition to this she also hosts Dawn News’ most talked about programme “Mein Hoon Dawn”. Her interest in showbiz could be gauged from the fact that though she took up her assignment as a TV anchor in Oct 2010, she had been doing TV commercials when she was the first semester student of BDS at the LCMD. Advocating the need for ensuring merit in every sphere of life, especially in health and education sectors, Dr Rafia said that the country cannot develop and prosper unless and until merit is made the only criterion for admissions in educational institutions as well as in government jobs. It is in this regard, Dr Rafia recalled that she was highly perturbed when a public sector dental college of Karachi refused to give her admission in a non-clinical course despite the fact that she had got first position in her BDS exams. Accusing the Pakistan Dental Association (PDA), a representative organization of the country’s dentists, of not taking any interest for the solution of problems of fresh dentists nowadays being churned out in a large number in the country, she alleged that the Association’s office-bearers were neither taking any interest for the advancement of the dentistry nor for the betterment of its members. “It is beyond my comprehension that when the PDA cannot help resolve the problems being confronted by its members then what justification there remains such an organization,” she remarked. At the outset of her interview, she accused senior dental surgeons of exploiting fresh graduates, saying that on the one hand, government was unable to provide jobs to dentists and, on the other, senior dentists doing their private practice have been paying a meager salary to fresh graduates. Narrating her own experience, Dr Rafia said that after doing her BDS, she joined a senior-most surgeon’s clinic as assistant but after a month, she got upset when she was paid a paltry amount of Rs4000 as salary although more than the amount she was paid she had already incurred by way of her transportation expenses. “Isn’t it a joke?” she queried. Talking about her experience as a host at a TV show, she said that unlike other TV anchors, she always try not to interrupt her guests time and again. As a matter of fact, it is none of interviewers’ business to argue with the guests of their programmes as such an act not only makes guests jittery, but also leaves a negative impact on the viewers. Asked how she could strike a balance between her dental practice and TV’s engagements, the dental surgeon said that the dentistry is her profession and the showbiz activities are her passion and, it is for this reason, she had been discharging her professional duties with utmost satisfaction while quenching her thirst for the passion in her leisure time. “Though sometimes, it becomes quite difficult for me to do justification with my profession as well as my TV engagements, I try my level best to be fair with both the profession and with my passion,” she quipped. Dr Rafia who believes in earning and enjoying life said that educated girls could earn and enjoy by utilizing their talents and creative works, instead of sitting idle in their houses. Dr Rafia, whose elder sister is a medical doctor and her younger brother and a sister are bankers, intends to do her specialization in Operative Dentistry from abroad. 
