World Day of Peace: Laws demanded against custodial torture, violence
Speakers at a rally taken out of Monday demanded that the government make and enforce laws against domestic violence and custodial torture.
The rally was organised by the Peace and Human Development Foundation and the Association of Women for Awareness and Motivation (AWAM) in collaboration with Idara-i-Samaji Behbood (ASB), CARE Foundation, POWER Organisation and Aitbaar Foundation.
The rally, titled Respect for Diversity and Right of Others to Live in Peace, was held to mark the 46th World Day of Peace on January 1.
The participants urged the government to take steps to promote diversity and a culture of tolerance, harmony and dialogue among communities to prevent violence and conflict over ethnicity, sect and religion.
PHD Foundation Director Suneel Malik, Aitbar Foundation President Nasreen Bukhari, ASB President Irshad Parkash, CARE Foundation President Yousaf Adnan and AWAM’s Executive Secretary Naseem Anthony, Director Nazia Sardar and Coordinator Shazia George also addressed the rally.
The speakers urged the political parties to give tickets to more women and minority candidates and also demanded that the representation of women in the national and provincial assemblies be increased from 17 per cent to 33 per cent. They stressed the need for protecting the lives, properties and religious sites of all communities. They also demanded that school curricula be free of hate material.
The participants marched from the District Council office to Circular Road. They carried peace symbols, banners and placards and shouted slogans for peace, tolerance, harmony, justice and human rights.
They said the government must protect the rights of women, journalists, labourers and religious and ethnic minorities.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 1st, 2013.
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