Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Lahore (Agenzia Fides) - "Working in the field of education, particularly the education of women, is the main way to change the mentality and culture of the country. It is needed to train people with a new approach, based on equality and rights, which could influence the opinion leaders at a national and international level": This is what Sister Marie Cecile Osborne, a Pakistani nun who lives in Lahore says in an interview with Fides, on the occasion of International Women's Day, which is celebrated on 8 March,. The nun is a Provincial Superior of the Sisters of Jesus and Mary, and has been working in the field of education for young women in Pakistan for 50 years. The Congregation of Jesus and Mary is the oldest female religious institute in the country, which has been operating since 1876 (well before the partition with India).
Sister Cecile told Fides that in the first place, the conditions of discrimination and subordination in which all women live in Pakistan should be emphasized. According to the NGO such as the "Asian Human Rights Commission", violence against women in Pakistan is rampant, which accounts for 95% of reported cases of violence (and many remain under track): rape, honor killing, real slavery, no access to education and a woman is considered a "property" of man.
Sister Osborne explains: "Christian women are discriminated against even further: in education, at work, in public administration. Many are victims of forced conversions and marriages"
To counter this status, "the priority is the work of education. Ours is centered on the value and rights of the person and reaches students who are 95% Muslim. Through schools, through a relationship with parents, students, teachers (among whom are Muslims), we try to change this mentality. Women's education is important because women are the backbone within the house and family". "After over 100 years of this work - says the nun – we already see the first fruits: many of our ex-students are human rights lawyers and carry out the campaign for women's rights. They have grown, especially women of religious minorities, this is a great consolation for us".
At a political and social level, women are increasingly present in the nation, Sister Cecile says, citing Hina Rabbani Khar, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Asma Jahangir, a Supreme Court lawyer. "This presence is a positive sign. Women in Pakistan – she concludes- are convinced that the nation needs to change and extremism should be fought. It is a very important message that gives hope to the nation". (PA) (Agenzia Fides 08/03/2012)
