Call for efforts against street violence

Islamabad: Violence is the product of coercive imposition of one’s ideologies on others, which should be discouraged, said Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul on Wednesday.

"For policy making, we need higher goals in order to make youth progressive, as youth is a huge stakeholder in Pakistan. However, the regulation of the behaviour of youth is not only the responsibility of the state but also a collective responsibility. Youth is the future of Pakistan and the PTI government is committed to working for them by providing them with employment opportunities to address the issue of street violence," she told a Quaid-i-Azam University function here.

The QAU Department of Sociology organised the event, which included a book launching ceremony and a seminar on 'street code and youth violence in risky neighborhoods: a cross-cultural comparison of youth violence in Germany, Pakistan, and South Africa'.

It was the joint research project of the Institute of Conflict and Violence (IKG) Bielefeld University Germany, Department of Sociology Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad and Cape Town University South Africa under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Wilehlm Heitmeyer, Dr. Steffen Zdun, Dr. Sebastian Kurtenbach, Dr. Simon Howell, Abdul Rauf, and Dr Muhammad Zaman.

The participants discussed the core findings of research on codes of street and violence. They said the seminar served as an opportunity to discuss the dynamics of the street code and violence and the way forward to address the youth affairs.

The participants shared their knowledge, exchanged best practices, and discussed ways to improve and provide a conducive environment for the youth to be a productive part of society. Dr. Muhammad Zaman, who one of the authors of the book, explained the findings of their research project “Street Code and Youth Violence in Risky Neighborhoods”.

He discussed the similarities and differences in how street codes operate in different cultural contexts. He further suggested the policy recommendations for the juveniles in the risky neighborhoods with four “E”: Education, Employment, Engagement and Empowerment of the youth. The first and foremost was the provision of quality education followed by employment.

He stressed that the youth should be provided with technical skills and economic opportunities. Furthermore, the civic engagement and provision of sports activities shall be ensured. In addition, he asserted that the youth should be involved in decision making and needs to be politically empowered.