Muslim activist: changes to the blasphemy and religious freedom, to reform Pakistan
Faisalabad
(AsiaNews) - Amendments to the law on blasphemy, religious freedom - as a
practice and proclamation of the faith - and the protection of women workers,
including those who perform household chores, because they too are part of the productive
"strength" in the development of the country . This
is what the Muslim feminist Bushra Khaliq tells AsiaNews. She is committed, like many other civil
society representatives and Muslim-Christian politicians and intellectuals to
promote equal rights and opportunities in Pakistan. In conjunction with the
International Day for Human Rights, across the nation meetings, conferences and
events were held to raise awareness among citizens and the ruling class on the
importance of real equality between men and women, between the Muslim majority
and ethno-religious minorities.
A
"reform of the system is needed" said activist Bushra Khaliq Muslim,
giving "full freedom" to each individual to "profess, practice
and propagate" their faith. She
adds that this should be combined with respect for the rights of women workers
even in "more informal" areas like the "home, housewives and
farmers" because they are an integral part "of the workforce." With
a courageous and determined stance, the Muslim activist also hopes for a
"modification" to the blasphemy laws, the source of
"ethno-religious hatred and intolerance." The
"black law" she makes clear, is a source of abuse and pretext to
attack opponents and rivals, as well as to "settle personal
disputes." Together
with the practice of physical and mental torture, says the woman, it must be
confronted and changed
Among
other underlying causes of violence and marginalization, there are also the
"patriarchal system" and the values associated with a conservatism
that relegates women to a subordinate position relative to men. From
here, domestic violence, kidnapping, marriages and forced conversions,
especially on women belonging to ethnic and religious minorities. Muslim
parliamentarian Anjum Safdar assures that "the government is committed to
addressing and resolving these challenges" and meet the needs "of
marginalized groups."
However,
much remains to be done for a real and effective equality between Muslims and non-Muslims
in Pakistan, according to the ideal of the founding father of the nation Ali
Jinnah. The
Christian women's rights activist Nazia Sardar calls for greater women's representation,
with an increase in "quotas" in Parliament and in the provincial
assemblies from 17 to 33%. To
this is added the request made by Suneel Malik, director of the Christian PHD
Foundation, which is calling on the Islamabad executive to create a rule
against forced conversion to Islam.
To
raise public awareness demonstrations in favor of human rights and religious
freedom were held throughout the country. Among
these, the march on 9 December titled "Make your voice heard", which
was launched by the Faisalabad Press Club (Punjab) and ended in the city
center. Christians
and Muslims together, called for a law against domestic violence and forced
conversions, to prevent "new cases of human rights violations."
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21/04/2009
12/07/2021 15:20
