Peace Conference: Youth, women need to play their roles

Conference at LCUW ends with a theatre play.

LAHORE:

The youth and women of Pakistan should be encouraged to seek a solution to the conflicts faced by the country. This is what participants of a peace conference unanimously agreed upon on Tuesday.

The conference was held at the Lahore College for Women University’s Gender Studies Department in collaboration with the Strengthening Participatory Organisation (SPO).

The conference’s aim, according to a press release, was to encourage people to seek peaceful solutions to conflicts in the country, promote justice, equality and social harmony through the participation of disadvantaged groups.

Another objective was to make the youth, primarily students, part of the dialogue by making them aware of the facts, the statement said.

Neelam Hussain, the Simorgh Women Resource and Publication Centre executive coordinator, opened the conference and talked at length about the history of wars.

She said that wars and conflicts adversely impacted women as well as other vulnerable sections of society.

She said the three wars fought by Pakistan since its inception hadn’t brought peace to the region. Instead they created more conflicts. Hussain said terrorism, lawlessness and natural disasters had increased poverty and unemployment. “We, as the civil society and agents of change, have to play our role to steer the country out of the crises,” she said.

Humaira Sheikh, the Shirkat Gah’s Peace and Conflict Programme director, stressed the role of the youth. “They should be informed about the history of various conflicts.

They need to be engaged to explore alternative solutions,” she said.  Sheikh also talked about the conflict in Swat impacted women and children. “Women are often portrayed as victims of conflict; and, of course, for a large part they are,” she said.

Dr Sabiha Mansoor, the vice chancellor told participants the LCUW had inaugurated a Women Institute of Leadership, which she hoped will train young women to become leaders.

SPO Regional Director Salman Abid, in his speech, stressed the need for de-weaponisation.  Peace cannot be achieved in isolation, he said, adding peace meant accepting and respecting diversity.

Over 400 students and representatives of various civil society organisations attended the conference.

At the end of the day’s proceedings, Suneha Theater group staged a play Navein Rukh (New Directions). The play touched upon the importance of peace and resolving conflicts. It also addressed discrimination against women and low spending on health and education sectors and the spending on military budgets.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 17^th, 2012.