Stitch the Split of Peace (Pakistan)

To address rising incidents of violence and discrimination against minorities in the Balochistan province of Pakistan, the Health and Rural Development (HARD) Balochistan organization took it upon itself to engage young people in a constructive dialogue and productive activities to promote peace and harmony in the region. 100 young people, who were trained in the art of peaceful dialogue and advocacy are now running peer-to-peer sessions and dialogues in their communities. Together with other influential figures in the community, they spread the message of harmony, tolerance and peaceful coexistence. Seeing the progress, the community responded very positively, acknowledging the results thus far and asking for more dialogues and opportunities for young people.

One of the activities conducted was the organization of sport competitions for young people. HARD believes that sport plays a very important role through its integrative process, bringing people together from different beliefs, religions and ethnicities. At the grassroots level, sport can become a neutral platform where an individual’s background is irrelevant. In a modern era of conflict and humanitarian crisis, sport can assist in the attainment of Sustainable Development Goal 16 which promotes peace, justice and strong institutions. “We have seen how our nation unites whenever there is an important cricket match. This inspired us to use sports to bring these young people from different backgrounds together. It proved to be a very successful strategy”, said Ziaulla, the project manager.

Through the initiative, two sports competitions were organized. A badminton tournament for girls and a cricket tournament for boys. Both competitions proved to be a resounding success, as evident from the participants’ testimonies:

“This was not only the first time for me to play a badminton match outside my home, but it was also the first time for me to interact with so many girls from different backgrounds, ethnicities and beliefs. It was a wonderful experience. I realized that despite our petty differences, we are all the same. We all want peace and harmony. We all want a peaceful society”. – Nisha

“I was always reluctant to mingle with boys of majority communities. I always thought that they hated me and would abuse me. But this was a totally different experience. I realized that they were just like me. We played together, we laughed together and we encouraged each other. We appreciated each other’s good performance. We loved each other. This was an eye-opening event for me”. – Zaid

The project highlights how much the youngsters are keen to engage in activities for promoting interfaith harmony and peace and how important is their role in bringing back peace and harmony. Moreover, it spotlights the eagerness and willingness of young women and girls to participate in the activities promoting peace. As opposed to a general perception, young women played a significant role in building bridges and social cohesion among minority and majority communities, immensely contributing to the success of the project.

The project has also shown that interfaith dialogues provide concrete means to bridge inter-communal divides, build coalitions, and challenge the social-psychological dynamics that can fuel warfare and injustice. These dialogues are a useful tool for building awareness among majority communities about the experiences and needs of minorities, and for bringing simmering tensions to the surface and addressing them in a potentially constructive manner.