Islamabad – Speakers at a workshop said that inclusivity was a societal need, as it provided equal rights and opportunities to all people from different ethnic, linguistic and religious backgrounds in social and political transformations.
Experts belonging to the media, legal fraternity and education research spoke at a national workshop titled ‘Building Bridges: Fostering Tolerance and Inclusivity among Youth’, held at a local hotel.
Students from local universities, colleges and seminaries participated in the event organized by the Islamabad-based think tank Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS).
Political analyst and PIPS President Muhammad Amir Rana said progress in life depended on how inclusive an individual was. “Those with non-inclusive behaviours have no space in the global market,” he said, adding that nowadays, employers judge individuals by how well they accommodate their colleagues in the workplace or on a given platform.
He said that in the modern world, a country’s social indicators, which were judged through inclusivity, had become more important than its economy.
“Inclusivity means that all groups in a society get equal rights and opportunities in social and political transformations,” he said, adding that inclusivity begins with the courage to speak the truth. “True change involves transforming our worldview and that transformation must be rooted in truth”.
Rana also urged the youth to use common sense and think critically as both these skills make anybody’s worldview, which “acts as a lens in shaping how we perceive reality and make decisions”.
Zeeba Hashmi, an education researcher, said in her session on ‘Religious Minorities and Education’ that the culture of discouraging youth and students from asking questions has resulted in diminishing their ability to think critically. “Pakistan’s current educational environment is also marked by a culture of suppression and discrimination against minorities,” she emphasized.
Hashmi said that key political questions are: “Are we giving respect to choice in religious education? Is there any intention to provide a road map to counter discrimination and intolerance in our learning environments?”
Political activist and lawyer Dileep Doshi said that no one has the right to use violence against any culture, language or faith and urged the youth to pursue peaceful coexistence. “We should keep our differences but not at the cost of human life and liberty,” he added. He advised the participants to celebrate the diversity of Pakistan by giving space to all cultures, ethnicities, languages and faiths.
PIPS Research Officer Hina Khaliq Taj explained the concepts of ‘gender equality’ and ‘gender equity’ and addressed the myths and societal practices related to the different roles assigned to women and men. “Our conditioning has been such that every position of authority and many professional roles have traditionally been associated only with men,” she said.
Earlier, PIPS Project Manager Muhammad Murtaza, in the inaugural session, outlined the purpose of the workshop and described why fostering tolerance and inclusivity was essential in today’s world.