'Education policies must demonstrate concept of social justice'

Government must improve the compliance of international commitments and revise domestic statutes accordingly. The education policies must demonstrate the concept of social justice and peaceful coexistence to promote social harmony and national cohesion. State must protect the religious minorities through introducing comprehensive laws and policies using internationally acknowledged framework.

The demands were raised in a consultative meeting of District Action Committee (DAC) for Social Harmony presided over by the Bishop of Faisalabad Rt. Rev. Indrias Rehmat. The event was convened by the Association of Women for Awareness and Motivation (AWAM) for discussing the strategies to enhance the social acceptance of religious minorities in Pakistan and role of unbiased education to strengthen the relations of diverse communities. The key speakers of the event included Nazia Sardar, Fr. Khalid Rasheed, Dr Riwan Ullah Kokab, Dr Irum Sultana, Dr Musadaq Hussain, Noor-ul-Amin, Naseem Anthony, Hamid Yaseen, Nadeem Javed, and Iftikhar Ahmed.

Bishop of Faisalabad Diocese, Rt. Rev. Indrias Rehmat said, "Our society is facing the intolerance and social disharmony that encourage hatred among people." "Civil society organisations must invest their energies for campaigns at the grassroots level to educate a common man about the importance of peaceful coexistence and social harmony," he added.

Nazia Sardar, research scholar and executive director AWAM said, "It is ironic that the authorities are in a state of denial regarding discrimination and exploitation on the basis of religion or belief that encourage the disparities in a social setup."

She called upon the government and said, "Educational policies must be revised in the light of internationally acknowledged frameworks in order to promote the social harmony and social acceptance of religious minorities as an equal citizen."

Chairman History and Pakistan Studies department GC University, Faisalabad, Dr Rizwan Ullah Kokab said, "The social fabric is not accepting diversity consequently the religious minorities are facing complications for accessing the economic opportunities."

"State must devise a mechanism to encourage the inclusive society that contributes to bridging the gap between minority and majority groups," he suggested.

Catholic Priest and diocesan director National Commission for Justice and Peace Rev. Fr. Khalid Rasheed said, "The social setup accepts the differences between people as hostility not as the diversity that encourages the debate of superior and inferior." "The civil society organisations and teachers must play a vibrant role to strengthen the relations of majority and minority groups," he added.

Dr Irum Sultana, Assistant Professor Mass Communication Department GCUF said, "The constitution guarantees the equality of rights, however, the feeble institutional setup and poor political will to implement the laws and policies have made the minority groups vulnerable to encounter discrimination."

Naseem Anthony, Human Rights Defender said, "It is commendable that the Treaty Implementation Cell (TIC) has been established for the compliance of international treaties, however, it is neither present in the committees of policy reforms nor the part of implementation mechanisms." He demanded, "The TIC must be included in education reform committees in order to harmonise the education policies with SDG 4 that defines quality education."

The other dignitaries including Dr Musadaq Hussain, Hamid Yaseen, Nadeem Javed, Iftikhar Ahmed, and Noor-ul-Amin were also the panellists.