engaging & empowering citizens for a sustainable future
Youth De radicalization:
The Northwestern Frontier Province (Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa) and FATA epitomise the consequences of socio-economic backwardness; poor governance, high population growth, poor education and skill-development infrastructure, and little awareness among the parents of how to protect their children from radicalisation.
These poor social conditions are then exploited by right wing religio-political groups and radical segments of the society through mosques, madrasas and at times through public schools in rural areas, leaving the youth in particular vulnerable to an uninformed, skewed and dangerous intellectual discourse.
According to the youth ministry, almost 60 % of Pakistan’s 175 plus million population is under 25, a ratio higher in areas such as NWFP (Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa) and FATA. In these areas, the Taliban-Mulla narrative becomes even more dangerous because it carries the potential of subverting young minds.
Our initiative to deradicalise minds:
Given Pakistan’s scenario, and particularly of the conflict-hit areas in FATA and Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa, engagement with youth and providing them with knowledge and skills for an informed point of view can be a good starting point.
This made the basis of our initiative “Peace Education in NWFP" (Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa). This programme will be an effective way out for a medium to long term change of behaviours and perceptions.