Romana Bashir is a Pakistani community activist for women and minority rights and religious tolerance. Bashir is a past executive director of the Peace and Development Foundation in Rawalpindi and was appointed by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

as a consultor for the

Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims The Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims is a body within the Roman Curia tasked with maintaining positive theological ties with Muslims. It is distinct unit within the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, and the President of ...

Activism

Bashir, a Catholic woman, began working in 1997 at the grassroots level, working with the community to promote interfaith harmony and women's education. She was a member of the ''Christian Study Centre'', which promotes freedom of expression, justice, dignity and equality. In Rawalpindi, Bashir joined the Christian Study Centre as a trainee and was later promoted to head of programs in 2009. In 2012, she was appointed by

as a consultor of the Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims within the

Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue The Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, previously named Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID), is a dicastery of the Roman Curia, erected by Pope Paul VI on 19 May 1964 as the Secretariat for Non-Christians, and renamed by Pope ...

of the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

. She is the first Pakistani Christian lay woman appointed to such a position. In 2013, she was Executive Director, Peace and Development Foundation in Rawalpindi. In 2021 she was listed in

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy ( ur, ; born 12 November 1978) is a Pakistani-Canadian journalist, filmmaker and activist known for her work in films that highlight the inequality with women. She is the recipient of two Academy Awards, seven Emmy Awa ...

's White In The Flag project as a human rights defender.

Speaker

In 2012 she was a member of a panel of five speakers at a press conference by Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS). The panel called for the

blasphemy law A blasphemy law is a law prohibiting blasphemy, which is the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence to a deity, or sacred objects, or toward something considered sacred or inviolable. According to Pew Research Center, abou ...

be revised to prevent its misuse, abuse and exploitation. In November 2012, she spoke at a workshop organised by Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies for young religious scholars representing all sects of Islam and members of the Sikh, Baháʼí, and Christian communities. In 2013, she was a speaker at a seminar on “Tolerance in Pakistan” held at

Quaid-e-Azam University Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad ( ur, ; commonly referred to as QAU), founded as University of Islamabad, is a ranked 1 public research university in Islamabad, Pakistan. Founded as the University of Islamabad in 1967, it was initially dedi ...

’s (QAU). The seminar urged people to speak up against the rising levels of violence and intolerance related to ethnic and religious differences in the country.

References

External links

Oasis - mutual understanding between the Western world and the Muslim majority world

Punjab Commission on the Status of Women
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bashir, Romana Pakistani human rights activists Living people Pakistani women activists Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Pakistani Roman Catholics People from Rawalpindi District Minority rights activists Pakistani women's rights activists Pakistani Christian religious leaders Punjabi women

Activism

Speaker

See also

References

External links