Peacebuilding
CODE PAKISTAN was established with peacebuilding as one of the main aims of the organization
CODE PAKISTAN was established with peacebuilding as one of the main aims of the organization. We aspire to build a peaceful and prosperous Pakistan through our peacebuilding interventions for the promotion of peace, tolerance, and inclusivity. Our very first project, the University Madrasah Interaction Program (UMIP) was a peacebuilding effort aimed at bridging the divide between university and madrasah youth by bringing them closer to each other through a series of ten discussions between students of the Islamabad campus of Abasyn University and various Islamabad-based madrasahs. The initiative provided the youth from the university and madrasahs an opportunity to reflect their views on somewhat controversial and divisive topics. It enabled them to develop tolerance for diversity of opinion and to present their own opinions through a rational discourse.
The intervention also featured a study that we conducted among the participating students to ascertain the change in their perceptions after participating in our activity. The study has revealed that we have brought about a certain degree of moderation of views among the students of participating madrasahs and Abasyn University. The program has also resulted in producing a detailed study on the convergences and divergences—in opinions and logical discourse—between madrasah and university youth that could inform future interventions in the field.
Following up on UMIP, in early 2019, CODE PAKISTAN conducted several interviews with senior-level leadership of madrassahs and five consultations (two in Karachi, two in Peshawar, and one in Islamabad) with mid- to senior-level leadership to identify avenues for youth-led madrassah engagement. More recently, we engaged religious scholars and students of madrassahs for raising awareness on COVID-19. We held awareness-raising sessions in 15 madrassahs of Malakand, Swat, and Dir districts on COVID-19 to enable them to raise awareness among their communities as community leaders.
Besides the aforementioned interventions, one of our very first conceived ideas after founding CODE PAKISTAN was The Buried Treasure of Peace. It is an idea of peacebuilding by narrating the tolerant and inclusive story of the Sufi saints through media and advocacy sessions. It borrows its peacebuilding strength from the Sufi message of peace, tolerance, and inclusivity. The idea’s innovation lies in the skillful fusion of media and community engagement.
We are working on several other similar peacebuilding ideas to reduce polarization in the society, promote tolerance for diversity of thinking and opinion, and to use cultural diversity for peacebuilding. One such idea of supporting the diversity of indigenous cultures of Pakistan is what we have named Conserving the Untamed Polo (CUP). The concept is based on preserving the Freestyle Polo, or what we call the untamed polo, that is played in Chitral district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) for centuries and is different from the modern form of the sport played elsewhere in the world. The Untamed Polo is so popular in Chitral and GB that it symbolizes the local culture of the areas. Another important cultural aspect of the game is its close association with folk music. Every polo team, every polo situation, and even every polo-playing family has a distinct folk music tune. In spite of all its charm, however, the game is facing serious difficulties at various levels because of several constraints. Various government institutions have introduced their own teams ostensibly for supporting the game, but it has proved counterproductive for the traditional sport in a variety of ways. CUP is aimed at supporting the Freestyle Polo played by the historic geographically based teams in Chitral and GB through a variety of interventions for enhancing its popularity at the national and international levels and protecting and preserving its history, heritage, and associated art forms. We strongly believe that the promotion of indigenous cultures in Pakistan would create space and tolerance for diversity and strongly contribute to peacebuilding efforts for the nation.