ISLAMABAD:
Participants highlighted the need for civil society ownership of rights violations at a symposium held in connection with International Human Rights Day on Monday.
Leader of the House in Senate and Pakistan Peoples Party General Secretary Jahangir Badar stated that the nation must unite against all kinds of tyranny aimed to crush human rights and the country’s progress at a symposium in connection with Human Rights Day at a local hotel on Monday.
Parvez Pirzado, from USAID shared his research “Human Rights Education in Pakistani Schools.” He underlined the importance of introducing human rights in the curriculum.
Graduates from The University of Sydney shared their views about research conducted on human rights issues.
Quoting rights activist Asma Jahangir, he said illiteracy, undemocratic environment and lack of political will towards democratizing education are major hurdles in eliminating human rights violations in the country.
Niaz Ahmed shared highlights from his research, “Role of Civil Society in Pakistan’s Transition to Democracy.” Ahmed remarked that civil society failed to strengthen and capitalise on the power it gained during the lawyers’ movement.
“Civil society is now fractured between two extremes and unable to find a middle path because of a widening trust deficit,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 11th, 2012.
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Who says there is a need to find a middle path? It is a matter of ascertaining what segment of the 'civil society' -- a depoliticizing term that does not put premium on, and even takes away, the greater need for the people to elevate their consciousness to a higher level with regard to the roots of the political, economic, social and cultural conflicts, and to struggle to change the status quo consensus, thus the resulting commodification of rights among NGOs, in contrast to the political work, among others, of basic sectors political organizations (POs) and mass-based organizations (MOs) -- is pursuing the correct line, both in theory and practice.
What causes illiteracy, undemocratic environment and lack of political will towards democratizing education? It is these causes, not the mere resultant factors (i.e. illiteracy, which constitute the major hurdles in eliminating human rights violations. The cause of the cause is the cause of the evil caused.