Multan, Pakistan - The United Nations International Day fir Tolerance is observed annually on November 16 to educate people about the need for tolerance in society and to help them understand the negative effects of intolerance.

Pakistan has strayed far from Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s vision of a secular Pakistan, where the business of the state is entirely separate from the religion, caste, or creed of individuals. The fundamental principle for the founding of Pakistan was that all Pakistanis were equal citizens of one state. Sixty-four years later, fundamentalist and extremist ideologies have come to dominate the country, and the minorities who make up four percent of Pakistan’s populace of 180 million are subject to prejudice, exclusion, and violent discrimination.

The Society for the Promotion of Education and Awareness commemorated the International Day of Tolerance on November 16 at the Shellan Guest House in Multan. Around 30 people from different walks of life participated in the event.

The speakers emphasized that there is a great need to teach and practice tolerance and respect because they are hard to find in today’s world as discrimination and phobias of many sorts still abound. Working for reconciliation and a better world requires us to take a stand against intolerance, to begin teaching tolerance to the very young, to practice it wherever we can, and to take concrete action to prevent the development of the causes of intolerance.

At the end of the event, leaflets introducing UPF were distributed, and everyone enjoyed a delicious dinner.

Report prepared by:
Atif Saeed, Communication Officer, Society for the Promotion of Education and Awareness (SEAP – Pakistan), Multan