Rotaract Club hosts workshop on Human Rights
The two-day workshop on human rights conducted by The Youth Parliament of Pakistan (YPP) in collaboration with Ministry of Human Rights and hosted by Rotaract Club FCC concluded on 22 January 2012 . Over 35 students participated in the workshop. The workshop was titled Know Your Rights and listed 20 human rights issues which needed immediate attention. These included unemployment, education, religious harmony, harassment, implementation of laws, freedom of expression and corruption. The activity was part of a series of workshops being organised jointly by YPP and Human Rights Department. So far, 60 workshops have been arranged in 18 districts, four of these in Lahore. 30 more workshops are planned to be conducted in the near future.
The aim of the activity was to provide avenues to the youth for learning new ideas and engage in constructive debate. The workshop comprised almost fifteen activities ranging from discussion of case studies, production of a magazine on human rights, performance of skits on the theme and puppet show. Addressing taboo subjects such as family planning, abuse and issues relating to working women, students enacted situations and engaged in discussions to find possible solutions.
This was the first ever workshop to be conducted on the grounds of an educational institute and FCC is proud to take the initiative for a better future for Pakistan. The workshop received such an overwhelming response and students participated enthusiastically. Alina Zaman, an FCC Mass Communication student who participated in the workshop, said she felt that minority rights were not given enough importance in Pakistan. ‘Many of the problems we’re facing today have to do with rising levels of religious intolerance in the society,’ she said. Gul Rehan, a native of Gilgit who is currently in her Freshman year at FCC, said she had learnt useful lessons about rights of children. She said child labour and child abuse were widespread in her hometown yet people seldom took these issues seriously. Asadullah Husnain, General Secretary Rotract Club FCC, pointed out the need for introduction of courses on human rights at colleges and universities. He said with dedicated courses, the youth could be taught about the importance of human rights in building a better society.
The workshop was covered by Express Tribune highlighting efforts of YPP, Rotaract Club and FC College. This post has been compiled by the assistance of the published articles in Express Tribune and Rotaract Club FCC.
