Celebrating International Peace Day by Shaping Peace Together

By Kiran Peter, Programme Manager at a Civil Society Organization

September 21, 2020

Today, the International Peace Day is being celebrated all across the world. This year, the day invites us all to spread compassion, kindness and hope in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic; and join hands against the attempts to use the virus to promote discrimination or hatred. This day was established in 1981 by the UN General Assembly (A/RES/36/67) to commemorate and strengthen the ideals of peace both within and among all nations and people. Two decades later, in 2001, the General Assembly unanimously voted (A/RES/55/282) to designate the day as a period of non-violence and cease-fire. The day reminds us that we need to work hard to maintain peace in our beloved country Pakistan. According to the Global Peace Index Report 2020, Pakistan has jumped up a place from 153 to 152 among 163 countries to improve on the peace front. While Pakistan’s neighboring country India surprisingly jumped by two places from 141 to 139.

Peace is essential for the economic and societal growth of a country. The countries who have grown economically demonstrates high level of peace such as China, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea and Malaysia. Secondly, no country can develop or grow economically without peaceful coexistence among its population, and within its borders. Therefore, interfaith socioeconomic cooperation needs to be promoted in Pakistan by engaging the 68% Youth bulge (Development Advocates Pakistan UNDP 2020) in the country. The statistics indicate that Pakistan has a demographic dividend which is greater than half of its population and young people to be empowered to shape the country's future direction. Therefore, to benefit from youth full potential it is important to mobilize youth to accept and include the youth of all religions for entrepreneurship. The diverse faith youth should be mobilized on the notion that they have to understand their difference and act on commonalities because focusing on commonalities will create more synergies and economic uplift. The government and civil society organizations have to take greater initiatives in building capacity of diverse faith youth in entrepreneurship skills through skill development courses and provision of seed grants to start up their enterprises. It is essential for Pakistan to engage its youth bulge in meaningful and state development activities as in the past years the energies of youth have been utilized negatively resulting in adverse security situation.  In addition, the enhancement of the concept of nationalism among youth will also help improve peace rather than leaving them sticking to narrower perspective limited to ethnicity, denominations and religions.

Moreover, the biased textbooks syllabus being taught in schools is also one of the major reasons for exclusion of people other than Muslim faith in the country. The children are taught since their childhood that only one religion is supreme and the other citizens are not equivalent to the majority religion. This factor is disturbing peace in the country which needs to be addressed at its earliest.

Another dilemma facing Pakistan is lack of proper implementation of laws which inhibits peace to prevail in the country. Therefore, the current government should focus more on strong rule of law which will protect human rights and prevent and mitigate violent crime and conflict by providing legitimate processes for the resolution of grievances and disincentives for crime and violence. Conversely, weak economic development and inequality can be a trigger for crime and violence. It has been observed that the fastest developing nations are among those with the best rule of law having peace and tranquility thriving within them.

Thus, as the theme of the International Day of Peace 2020 “Shaping Peace Together” recommends, we need to continually work for the promotion of peace within Pakistan at community, academic and public policy level to maintain peace in the country.

 

Protecting Our Environment through Electric Cars

All cars that run with petroleum should be prohibited and taken over by electric cars. I agree with this statement because electric cars are environmentally friendly and help to sustain the fossil fuel for future generations.

We all know that growing pollution is harming all living organisms adversely on earth and unfortunately, we humans are the biggest contributor to environmental degradation. Humans are adding poisonous gases to the atmosphere every second due to which people are contracting diseases day by day. For example, the cars we drive today exhaust fumes containing several poisonous gases such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and sulfur oxide which directly attack (lungs) breathing injuriously. Therefore, to restore the environment to its natural form it is crucial to change cars running with petroleum and gas with electric cars. These cars are environmentally friendly.

Secondly, the petroleum and gas being used by these cars are being consumed rapidly all across the world and hence, there is a danger of its extinction. For instance, it is predicted by a study that if the fuel would be used rapidly at the same speed then by 2050 our next generations will not be having excess to fossil fuel. Therefore, in order to sustain it,

we need to switch to electric cars.

Thus in a net shell, it is worth advocating for the use of electric cars and restricting fuel cars to make our environment healthy for living organisms particularly plants, animals and humans and sustain the energy (fuel) resources for our future generations.

Implementing Sustainable Development Goals in the Marginalized Communities of Pakistan

Since April 2017 until now, 815 people (500 women, 100 men, 200 community children & 15 school children) residing in the Slum of Mughalabad Rawalpindi have been made aware on hazards of drug addiction and use of unclean water and sanitation (SDGs 3 and 6) through community meetings, role plays and short trainings. 

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a blessing for the poor marginalized people. These goals will be benefiting at large if local people start taking its ownership. They start understanding what SDGs are and how they can transform their lives from marginalization to a standard way of living. The approach of reaching the marginalized and poor people and bringing them up to live a normal life has had been the mission of Presentation Sisters since 300 years ago. This mission was started by Nano Nagle in 1718 in Ireland and today the Presentation Sisters are working in all continents. The Congregation is also working in Pakistan.

In the beginning of 2017, I got a chance to work on SDGs when Presentations Sisters invited me to attend an orientation meeting on SDGs. I was given an opportunity to work as a Grassroot Community Leader (GCL) with them. The aim of the project was to implement SDGs in the marginalized communities of Pakistan and help them to live a better life. So, the work started with formation of a team including a National Coordinator, Link Sisters, Grass Root Community Leaders, and Sub-Leaders. The selected team members have experience in the area of health, project management, community work and teaching. A total of 9 districts were selected in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh. In those 9 districts (Jhelum, Rawalpindi, Murree, Sargodha, Risalpur, Peshawar, Khushab, Tando Allahyar, Khipro) 18 poor communities (2 from each district) were selected to work on, where the Presentation Sisters used to visit in routine. They felt those communities were the most vulnerable for advocacy and development initiatives.

Then in February and March 2017, the 9 GCLs conducted a need assessment in 18 poor communities and came up with issues such as unemployment, critical health, poverty and drug addiction. The analysis of all the 18 communities assessments concluded drug addiction and poor health, the most pressing issues affecting these people. And their poor health was due to use of unclean water and sanitation. So, the SDG 3 “Good Health and Well-Being” and SDG 6 “Clean Water and Sanitation” were selected. Since then, the GCLs started creating awareness on these two issues in these communities.

My focused area in Rawalpindi has been Mughalabad. I work for people living in a slum.  As mentioned above the people are poor, most of them clean houses, hospitals and offices. Some of them are car washers, tailors, beauticians and painters. Drug addiction is on rise in this area and people are also very unhealthy due to using unclean water and sanitation. I selected two women from the community as Sub-Leaders. We three as a team started giving awareness to the community members on 17 SDGs, dangers of drug addiction and adverse effects of using unclean water and sanitation.  In the beginning, people did not give us attention, but after two months the women started to understand what we were trying to tell them. They started sharing their stories of domestic violence by their husbands and in-laws. They told us that their husbands are addicted to drugs and do not financially support them. The men expect women to take care of household work as well as earn money and give them money to buy drugs.

We (GCL &Sub-Leaders) also visited some houses suffering from digestive diseases. When the families were asked which water do they drink; they said we bore ground water for use because of not having water pipelines system in our area. They were made aware on diseases caused by using contaminated water. The families were guided to consume boiled and filtered water for drinking to avoid diseases.

We also visited a home where all the family members were sick because of a garbage dump at the back of their house.  Everyday dirty water was seeping into their house producing poisonous insects such as scorpions and snakes.  We listened to them and wrote an application to the local government official working for that area. We demanded him to re-build the wall from where the dirty water was seeping in and remove garbage from the area on regular basis. Fortunately, he worked for the family and fulfilled all our requests. Now, the family is living in a better condition than before.  The project also held a meeting with a group of government officials working in the area of health, social work, water and sanitation in December 2018. During the meeting the findings of the need assessment were shared and a few recommendations were given for the development of the area in relation to supply of clean water and sanitation and control of drug addiction.  

After working in the slum of Mughalabad for a year, we feel that we have contributed to the three pillars (Economic, Environmental and Social) of sustainable development. We have been successful in building up of a wall around a Primary School in the area where people used to throw garbage and children were infected with foul air. We helped the poor family in getting the wall of their house paved. We created awareness among 815 people (500 women, 100 men, 200 community children & 15 school children) on focused issues effecting these communities relating to SDG 3 and 6 through community meeting, role plays and short trainings. People have started planting plants on their roofs due to congested and small houses. Many women have started working as teachers and beauticians. Many told us that they are convincing their brothers and husbands to leave drug addiction and get admitted in the rehabilitation centers. At the end I would like to say after the implementation of this project in this area has changed the mindsets of people. It has given voice to voiceless to demand for their rights. Particularly the women are more empowered ; they know how to get their problems solved by the government.

The Census of 2017 a Ray of Hope for Pakistani Minorities

The minority groups expect from the present government to publish their true statistics of the census conducted in 2017. And on the basis of that statistics increase minorities representation in Parliament, allocate equivalent resources and increase employment quota in all areas of development. The employment quota should not only be administered for menial positions but for all positions.

A Census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. Census is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. In Pakistan five Censuses have been conducted since 1951 to 1998 and this is the 6^th Census being conducted in 2017 from March 15 to May 25, 2017. The first census was conducted in 1951, the second in 1961 and the third one was conducted in 1972 due to the political environment in the country and war with India. The fourth census was conducted in 1981, the fifth in 1998 and now the sixth is being conducted in 2017 after 19 years.

The population and housing census is important because it ensures an equal distribution of economic resources among people, to form right constituencies on provincial and national assembly level, to analyze resources besides counting people, to know people’s present standard of living and education, for provision of employment quota at provincial and federal level, to know the status of minorities, marginalized communities including transgender, disabled, women and children. Moreover, the seats in the National Assembly are allocated to each province/FATA and Federal Territory on the basis of the population in accordance with the census, for example the present seats in the National Assembly are allocated in accordance with the last preceding census officially published under Article 51 (3) of the constitution.

According to the last (5^th) Census (1998) the minorities constitute 3.73% of the total population of Pakistan and the majority (Muslims) constitutes 96.28%. The 3.73% represents Christians’ as 1.59%, Hindus as 1.60%, Qadiani (Ahmadi) as 0.22%, scheduled castes 0.25% and others as 0.07%. The figures indicates Hindus as the second largest community in Pakistan and the Christians the third largest community. Before the 5^th Census Christians were the 2^nd largest community in Pakistan but they have fallen to the third level because of incorrect registration or not registering themselves seriously. The largest number of Christians reside in Federal Capital Islamabad (4.07%) followed by Punjab (2.31%), Sindh (0.97%), Balochistan (0.4%) and KPK (0.21%).[1] However, according to Albert David, a Christian Politician the Church estimates population of Christians as 13% of the total population.[2] Hindus are counted as the 2^nd largest nation in Pakistan and so they get more resources. It should be noticed that the number of Christians, Hindus or other religions is directly related to the rights they fight. We can say that right statistics of a religious or minority group will lead it to gain its social, religious, political or economic rights in a country.

The census figures carry important implications for the allocation of resources for the minority groups in a country. We can say census is an opportunity for the minority groups to have the same rights the majority group is enjoying. So, to get equal rights, it is important for individuals to correctly register themselves in   census because their true figure is directly related to the seats they get in the parliament. Currently there are ten reserved seats for minorities in the National Legislature Assembly and proportionate minority seats in the provincial assemblies. Since then, ten selected minority members belonging to majority political parties share their political representation. In 2008, the National Assembly seats were raised up to 342 whereas the number of minorities’ seats was never revised or increased. Asia Nasir, JUI-F nominated Christian Member of the National Assembly, tried time and again to get the minorities seats increased but could not succeed. Recently, her effort was turned down by the standing committee with the plea that minorities’ seats increasing bill could be moved after the national census in 2017. Asia Nasir has presented two bills after 2008, the first bill was to amend constitution article 51 to revise seats in the National Assembly which was after a two years struggle was referred to the Law Ministry by the Speaker. She also wanted to make increase in the provincial seats simultaneously, and the standing committee directed her to move another bill for Provinces which she moved to amend article 106 of the constitution, but this time, surprisingly, the committee rejected the minority seats increasing bill in the National as well as Provincial Assemblies on the grounds that the bill could only be considered after census, but she argued that since the majority seats were increased without census in 2008 that justifies her plea to increase minorities seats.

[3]

The minority groups expect from the present government to publish their true figures of census conducted in 2017. And support minorities to come out of their severe poverty zone by increasing quota in the government jobs. The hiring should not only be done for the menial jobs such sweeping but also for the higher official positions. This action will alleviate poverty as well as prevent conflict.

Therefore, to avail greater opportunities and uplift minorities status in the country, the minorities must enroll themselves correctly. They need to ensure their names are spelled and recorded correctly. The government should also play an important role to duly inform people about the indispensable importance of a census in national life. According to an estimate, this census will cost Rs 18 billion. It is not just about statistics, the political status quo stands to be challenged; rather the census will have a profound impact on the distribution of federal resources and the allocation of legislative power in the National Assembly. It will give insights into urbanization trends and can be very effectively used for devising law enforcement strategies, security infrastructure and better local governments. All political parties should be prepared to let go and work with new ground realities. The provincial governments should participate in ensuring a credible consensus. They are now stakeholders. Blame game should be avoided at all costs. This census should be transparent and its data should be released immediately and be available to research communities to shun doubts and confusions.[4]

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[1] Pakistan Bureau of Statistics: http://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files//tables/POPULATION%20BY%20RELIGION.pdf

[2] http://www.christiansinpakistan.com

[3]  Daily Times: Minorities census — importance and significance, by Kaleem Dean (http://dailytimes.com.pk/opinion/26-Jan-17/minorities-census-importance-and-significance

[4] The Nation Newspaper: The Importance of Census, by Hammad Ahmed, http://nation.com.pk/columns/02-Apr-2017/the-importance-of-census

International Women's Day 2017

The International Women’s Day is celebrated in many countries around the world to recognize and celebrate the social, cultural, political and economic achievements of women at national and international levels. Every year a theme is selected to focus on women empowerment by United Nations, organizations and individuals. This year (2017) the International Women’s Day theme is “Be Bold For Change”. The theme is selected to take innovative action that truly drives the greatest change for women. Last year, organizations and individuals around the world supported the “Pledge For Parity Campaign” and committed to help women and girls achieve their ambitions. There is a great need to accelerate the developmental efforts for women as the World Economic Forum predicts that gender gap won’t close entirely until 2186. But we can make a difference by being a leader within our own spheres of influence by taking bold pragmatic action to accelerate gender parity. Through purposeful collaboration, we can help women advance and unleash the limitless potential offered to economies all over the world.

The International Women's Day was first emerged from the activities of labor movements at the turn of the twentieth century in North America and across Europe. The first National Woman's Day was observed in the United States on 28 February when the Socialist Party of America designated this day in honour of the 1908 garment workers' strike in New York, where women protested against working conditions. While the first International Women’s Day was marked in 1911 as a result of the Copenhagen initiative (In 1910, he Socialist International, meeting in Copenhagen, established a Women's Day, international in character, to honour the movement for women's rights and to build support for achieving universal suffrage for women).

The Charter of the United Nations, signed in 1945, was the first international agreement to affirm the principle of equality between women and men. Since then, the UN has helped to create a historic legacy of internationally-agreed strategies, standards, programmes and goals to advance the status of women worldwide. Over the years, the UN and its technical agencies have promoted the participation of women as equal partners with men in achieving sustainable development, peace, security, and full respect for human rights. The empowerment of women continues to be a central feature of the UN's efforts to address social, economic and political challenges across the globe. The endeavor to support women’s development continued with the presentation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in September 2015 by the Head of State and Government and High Representative at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The 17 SDGs along with other challenges also addresses some key  challenges such as poverty, inequality and violence against women. Women have a critical role to play in all of the SDGs, with many targets specifically recognizing women’s equality and empowerment as both the objective, and as part of the solution. Goal 5 “Achieve Gender Equality and Empower All Women and Girls”, is known as the stand-alone gender goal because it is dedicated to achieving these ends.

According to the World Bank Report 2015 Pakistan constitutes 48% of women population while in economic sector their presence is not satisfactory. There is a need to engage more women in entrepreneurship in order to uplift the economic status of this country. The women are facing crucial problems in Pakistan such as domestic violence, work place harassment and inequalities, child marriages, acid attacks, dowry deaths, forced marriages and honor killing. Deep legal and legislative changes are needed to ensure women’s rights; the country has to focus on actual implementation of the existing laws on women rights and development. It is necessary to institutionalize those laws on top to grass root level. There is a need to amend the legal and social norms in favor of women. We also need to advance women’s political participation, leadership roles and economic empowerment.

References:

1.       http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/women-and-the-sdgs/sdg-5-gender-equality#sthash.oiUeNkTN.dpuf

2.       http://www.un.org/en/events/womensday/history.shtml

3.       The Global Gender Gap Report 2016

4.      Status of Women in Pakistan: Sanchita Bhattacharya

Kiran Peter's Blog: My Feelings on Hearing the Sound of a Blast Toda...

Kiran Peter's Blog: My Feelings on Hearing the Sound of a Blast

Toda...: My Feelings on Hearing the Sound of a Blast  Today, in the morning I heard sound of a blast around 7:45 a.m. at that time I was taking br...

My Feelings on Hearing the Sound of a Blast 

Today, in the morning I heard sound of a blast around 7:45 a.m. at that time I was taking breakfast and rushing to get ready for office. At once, I thought of my son and husband who left for school 5 minutes earlier. I started praying for their well being. 

I came in my bedroom, turned on the TV, none of the TV channel were covering news of any blast at that moment (may be they were rushing to the crime scene). But the voices of ambulances were making me slightly worried, suddenly someone rang the door bell. Oh! thank God, that's my husband, heaving a sigh of relief. 

The media channels rushed to the crime scene and army also cordoned off the area of RA Bazar Rawalpindi (Pakistan), then we saw it was a suicidal bomb blast.During that time, I just thought that our lives are not safe at all because of this militancy.  

May God, bless this country and make it prosperous and a safe place to live in.