Aden Dur-e-Aden, Emilia Valsta and Dr. Mohammad Iqbal
The Maria Helena Foundation
Saturday, May 2, 2015 at 2:00 pm
Room 120, Surrey Central Library
10350 University Drive, Surrey, BC, Canada
(www.mariahelenafoundation.org)
Abstract:
Pakistan, a country with a population of almost 190m, has a history of being a very conservative, patriarchal and polarized country. In Pakistan, the most powerful and the most populous sect is Sunni Muslim. The most oppressed sects are: Ahmadis, Hindus, Christians and Shia Muslims. However, people from the minority sects have made significant contributions to the land now called Pakistan and their elders are a part of our heritage. This needs to be acknowledged and celebrated. For the purposes of our current project, we argue that promoting respect of elders of minorities will increase their status as sons and daughters of their homeland, and will reduce hatred towards minority communities in Pakistan, whether they belong to Muslim or non-Muslim communities. On May 2, 2015, Maria Helena Foundation organized an event at Surrey Central Library to bring awareness about the issue, details of which can be found here . The research interns working on this project also produced written reports, which are uploaded below for reference:
Aden_ReducingReligiousandSectarianViolenceinPakistan Click here for the full length report by the first speaker, Aden Dur-e Aden. Aden is a PhD student at University of Toronto where her research focuses on rebel recruitment within Islamist insurgent organizations. She holds a MA in Political Science from University of British Columbia, and tweets @aden1990. She worked as a research intern with the Maria-Helena Foundation during the course of this project.