Like other parts of the globe, the World Tolerance Day was also observed in Pakistan here on Wednesday with a renewed pledge that all out efforts will continue to be made for promoting tolerance at all levels so as to achieve the goal of enlightened society.
Several programmes were arranged in different educational institutions and other governmental and non-governmental departments to highlight the importance of the Day.
Speakers in these functions said intolerance was a scourge with deadly consequences, which was threat to democracy, peace and security.
They said more than 50 years after the signatories of the United Nations Charter resolved to "practice tolerance" and to "live together in peace with one another as good neighbours".
They further said no modern society could be built or flourish by cultivating intolerance. They said tolerance was much more than peaceful coexistence of different cultures. "It is an active and positive attitude, inspired by a recognition of and respect for the rights and freedom of others," they added.
They said that as societies transformed by globalisation, migration and unprecedented mobility, it raised fundamental questions about the ability of people to live together.
It may be mentioned that following the United Nations Year for Tolerance in 1995, the International Day for Tolerance was first observed on 16th November 1996. Tolerance is a social, cultural and religious term applied to the collective and individual practice of not persecuting those who may believe, behave or act in ways of which one may not approve.
Moreover, analysts told this scribe that over 15 per cent of children under five in the developing world were severely malnourished. In South Asia alone, more than 90 million children go hungry every day. Around 134 million children between the ages of seven to 18 had never been to school.
They urged the government to adopt appropriate measures in the field of education to modify social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women. Physical, sexual and psychological violence that occurs in the family including battering; sexual abuse of female children; dowry-related violence; marital rape; female genital mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to women; while non-spousal violence; and violence related to exploitation; physical, sexual and psychological violence that occurs within the general community including rape; sexual abuse; sexual harassment and intimidation at work, in educational institutions and elsewhere; trafficking in women; and forced prostitution are condemnable wherever these occur.
Violence against women in the family occurs in developed and developing countries alike. Indeed, domestic violence is the leading cause of injury among women of reproductive age, they added.