Racism In Modern And Educated World – Daily Notable

Racism In Modern And Educated World – Daily Notable

By Our Editorial Desk, Adina Anwar

Racism has become the hottest topic in the world. The whole world has erupted into demonstrations. And protests because of the racist attitude of American police towards the black community.

According to the Australian Human Rights Commission

Racism takes many forms and can happen in many places. It includes prejudice, discrimination or hatred directed at someone because of the color, ethnicity or national origin. People often associate racism with acts of abuse or harassment.

However, it does not need to involve violent or intimidating behavior. Take racial name-calling and jokes or consider situations when people get excluded from groups or activities because of where they came from.

Reflection Through Attitudes

Racism can be revealed through people’s actions as well as their attitudes. It can also be reflected in systems and institutions but sometimes it may not be revealed at all. Not all racism is obvious. For example, someone may look through a list of job applicants and decide not to interview people with certain surnames.

Racism is more than just words, beliefs and actions. It includes all the barriers that prevent people from enjoying dignity and equality because of their race. I want to mention the George Floyd example concerning racism after knowing the definition and extent of racism.

On 25 May 2020, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, George Floyd, a Black man who was 46 years old, was killed for allegedly using counterfeit currency. Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, knelt nearly nine minutes on his neck while Floyd was lying face down, handcuffed and begging for his life and repeatedly telling him “I can’t breathe.”

Officials J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane further restricted Floyd, while Officer Tou Thao prevented interference from the bystander.

For Notable Series Click Here

Protest 

The death of Floyd triggered protests against police brutality, police racism and police irresponsibility in more than 2000 U.S. cities and around the world.

Unfortunately, racial discrimination is also an important issue in Pakistan.

Before you say racism in Pakistan is not a problem, ask yourself if you are a minority and find it hard to understand whether your last name, your caste and your ethnicity have always made you struggle.

Ask yourself how many times you called someone “Kaala” or “Kaali,” or saw someone else doing it and snickering instead of talking and stopping it. Ask yourself how many times you have jokingly said N because you are brown and you can say it.

Have you ever described a Pakistani Christian with the term ‘Ch***ra’? Then used the same term to insult a friend with joke? If so, we must speak. Shias are casually referred to as ‘kafir’; young Non-Muslim girls forcibly converted into Muslim and married to older men.

However, In Pakistan’s mainstream media, church authorities say minorities are often overlooked. The coverage in the media of Pakistan is stereotypically linked with delicate subjects such as blasphemy according to a study published last year by the Research, Advocacy and Development Institute.

Because Only Together We Can

Media Outlet

Moreover, Based on analysis of 12 Pakistani media outlets, the “Narratives of Marginalization” study claimed that minorities have had reported sanitary workers, slum dwellers, domestic workers and victims of discrimination or forced conversions.

According to it, only about 1.3% of around 20,000 journalists in Pakistan’s media sector were non-Muslim journalists. Christians represent 1.59%, Hindus 1.60%, Ahmadi 0.22%,. And programmed castes 0.25% of the population of Pakistan. According to the census of 1998.

I, myself, belong to Christian religion and wish to say that being a Christian I am too often confronted by this problem. I still remember “when I was in sixth standard my fellow student told me that she did not want to talk to me because I were a Christian and her mom had strictly told her not to talk to her  Christian classmates and sit with them.

For Eagle Eye Click Here

Speechless At That Moment

I still remember. I was speechless at that moment and did not say a word to her.  Sadly again, the teacher of Islamic studies did not like me when I was in my 9th standard. Though, I have always been a bright student and favorite of all other teachers but she hated me a lot and always insulted me only. Because I am a Christian, for no reason.

When I asked her questions about any subject, she would say, “You don’t need to study Islamiat, then why are you asking questions? Study your own book “Ethics”.

FOR LOAN OR MORTGAGE RELATED ISSUES CLICK HERE

Equality

Then I decided to say it all to the school head because I got tired. And today I’m very pleased to say, “I was supported instead of the Islamic teacher by the School Head, faculty members and my beloved classmates.

So, do not think that there is no racism, or racism is not a problem in Pakistan. Racism in Pakistan is very real and when you sit in a privileged position it is difficult to see. You cannot decide that there is no racism in Pakistan unless you are a minority.

As well as we need to recognize and bind together the realities of our country to change them, just as everyone around the world is uniting to demand justice for Black people.

We should inspired by the “Black Lives Matter” movement; we should not only support it, we should look at ourselves and how we can change to make our country a safer and more suitable place for all castes, beliefs, colors and religions. At least if nothing else follows the teachings of Prophet Muhammad SAW.

Note (Opinions)

The Views expressed by the Writers do not necessarily reflect those of the Newspaper Daily Notable, www.thedailynotable.com  

For Urdu News Click Here