The 94th radio program as part of the Center for Research and Security Studies’ (CRSS) counter-radicalization initiative Ulasi Taroon (Social Cohesion) was aired on November 15, 2019, on the topic of “Inclusive Democracy and Social Cohesion”.
Inclusive democracy is an established system in all the developed and progressive countries of the world where the decision making processes are inclusive of the minority and majority opinions. Here, all the democratic institutions observe their respective constitutional limits.
The first guest on show, Ms. Shagufta Malik, Member of Provincial Assembly, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, noted that woman parliamentarians should be taken on board in the legislative matters and be included in the decisions making processes as a matter of inclusive policy making. This is also important in terms of gender focused reforms where the female parliamentarians can highlight the issues that concern the female populace the most, in the upper and lower houses.
The second guest on show, Dr. Amir Raza from Department of Political Science, University of Peshawar, noted that its only through inclusive democracy that the country can leverage its true social potential and strengthen social cohesion. It is extremely essential to give an equal importance to both the majority and minority opinions and foster unity. This also means that the members in minority in the parliament should have an equal opportunity to participate in the policy making processes. They should be able to represent and highlight the concerns of their constituents through equal participation in the legislation.
The guest on phone, Ms. Naeema Kishwar noted that inclusive democracy is about the social inclusion of the disenfranchised groups of the society.
About Ulasi Taroon
Ulasi Taroon is a counter radicalization initiative of Center for Research and Security Studies that aims to address the radicalization challenges, extremist ideologies and foster social cohesion through a discourse anchored in the core constitutional values which are fundamentally essential prerequisites for social peace and harmony. The endeavor aims to cultivate and sensitize the people of KP in the core values in the Pakistani constitution and our social contract. It’s an attempt to highlight the criticality of abiding by these ideals – such as adherence to rule of law, primacy and sanctity of constitution, equal citizenry, responsible citizenship, respect for fundamental human rights, tolerance for diversity and different opinions, inclusive democracy and good governance – as a measure of strengthening social cohesion and promoting peaceful co-existence.