Minorities in Sindh of Pakistan under Constant Fear of Security and Survival: Report

A Report Chattan, Srinagar 30 March 2022 Translated from Urdu by Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi, New Age Islam Sindh [Pakistan], March 29 (MNN): As a result of the psychological and social effects of hate speech, minorities in Pakistan's Sindh province live under constant fear for their security and survival. The study, titled “Hate Speech: A Subtle Discrimination!” was carried out by the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP), a statutory body of the Catholic Bishops' Conference. Trends of Religious Hate Speech in Sindh reported that Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Shia, and Ahmadi minorities are constantly threatened, according to The News International. The study proposed that the government establish monitoring, regulating, and standardisation methods for religious sermons, speeches, and seminary curriculum, as well as create comprehensive equality and non-discrimination legislation. The methodology portion of the report stated that “This evidence-based paper serves as a tool to recognise the overlooked hate speech and also analyses the detrimental impacts of hate speech on society”. Hate speech is recognised as a standard in Pakistan, according to the study's findings, and one of its direct repercussions is that people have to bear a loss of self-esteem, according to The News. “As victims’ feelings of inferiority grow, they seek to isolate themselves, which only serves to exacerbate their mental health problems,” according to the NCJP research. According to the study, women are more exposed to hate speech in public places because they are already vulnerable due to their gender in a male-dominated culture. “Women from religious minorities are clearly identifiable in public because of their traditional clothes; for example, Hindu women in Sindh typically wear the Ghagra Choli, which is their traditional outfit.” Calling people names is usually observed in Markets, particularly indecent names based on religious affiliation, according to The News. According to The News, the study also calls for the criminalization of forced conversion in Sindh and invites political parties to enact a bill that was proposed in November 2016 in the provincial parliament but failed owing to religious pressure. The study also calls for the legal age of marriage in Pakistan to be set at 18 years old for both boys and girls, and for senior civil judges to determine the presence of a free will, consent, age accuracy, and the marital status of the people involved. According to the report, discrimination is also practised in medical institutions, where members of religious minorities are denied medical help purely because of their faith or belief, and no one is held accountable for such human rights breaches. When tracking hate speech trends, one of the most striking findings is that religious minority communities are lagging behind in economic growth due to ongoing mental health issues, deliberate efforts to prevent their advancement, the high dropout rate of minority students from educational institutions, a lack of security, and government neglect. According to the study, religious minorities are channelled into an economic disadvantage by a variety of systematic means, such as state-run departments placing advertisements in national media stating that they only require someone from minority communities to fill janitorial staff vacancies. "In addition, authorities have been known to ignore municipal issues in places with a minority population; for example, road building is denied and drainage difficulties are not addressed." Tharparkar, a remote and rural district of Sindh, is one prominent example of a barrier to collective growth. According to The News, it has a large Hindu population, and similar places with a predominantly Hindu population are neglected by the government in terms of development. Source: A Report Chattan, Srinagar URL: New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism