Romana Bashir

Romana Bashir
Citizenship	Pakistani
Occupation	Activist
Employer(s)	Peace and Development Foundation, Rawalpindi
Known for	Promoting interfaith harmony and women's education
Board member of	Vatican Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims

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 as a consultor for the Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims.

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.^[1] She was a member of the Christian Study Centre, which promotes freedom of expression, justice, dignity and equality.^[2] In Rawalpindi, Bashir joined the Christian Study Centre as a trainee and was later promoted to head of programs in 2009.^[3]

In 2012, she was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as a consultor of the Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims within the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue of the Vatican.^[4] 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.^[5]^[6]

In 2021 she was listed in Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy's White In The Flag project as a human rights defender.^[7]

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 be revised to prevent its misuse, abuse and exploitation.^[8] 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.^[9] In 2013, she was a speaker at a seminar on “Tolerance in Pakistan” held at Quaid-e-Azam University’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.^[10]

References

^ Asian handbook for theological education and ecumenism. Antone, Hope S. Eugene, Or.: Wipf & Stock. 2013. ISBN 9781625643551. OCLC 859046163.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
^ "Pakistani (and Christian) women lead the defence of minority rights". AsiaNews.it. 26 November 2012. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
^ "Pakistani Woman in the Front Line to Defend Rights of Minorities, Romana Bashir - Salem-News.Com". Salem-News.com.
^ "News from the Vatican - News about the Church - Vatican News". www.news.va.
^ Ahmad, Mahvish (16 April 2013). "Minorities: "We want elections, not selections"". Dawn. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
^ "Civil Society Organisations demands the government punishment for only those, involved in lynching". Lahore World. 10 July 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
^ Dawn March 30, 2021
^ "Blasphemy law: Protection to Christians, law amendment demanded". The Express Tribune. 10 September 2012. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
^ "Fear of the other: 'Dispelling misconceptions must for social harmony'". The Express Tribune. 29 May 2015.
^ "Rising intolerance: Time for peace campaigners to make their voices heard". The Express Tribune. 17 April 2013.