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16 / 02 / 17
As part of our partnership with Active Citizens at the British Council, each year we have the opportunity to send 3 ParliaMentors on an ‘International Study Visit’. This is a meeting of social activists from around the world to share best practice and visit local examples of social action, which this year took place in Pakistan! We sent Effy from Queen Mary University of London and Ella and Saacid from Coventry University to Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore as part of a group of 19 Active Citizens from Ukraine, the UK, Sri Lanka, Lebanon and Pakistan itself. Here they share their reflections on their visit and how it will affect the Social Action Projects they are currently working on with their ParliaMentors Teams back home.
I chose this title, because when we went sightseeing in Lahore, our tour guide (who was David Cameron’s tour guide as well) shared with us the saying, “you haven’t been born until you have been to Lahore.” This pretty much summarises my whole trip, it was a real eye opener on many levels. It is really hard to keep it short, as I could write a novel about all the things that I felt and happened to me, so I will try to pick the one which made the most impact on me, visiting Kinniard College.
Kinniard College is a University for women, so it was easy to relate to the students as they are the same age and are in a similar position. They greeted us with speeches and an amazing mime about the meaning of the Pakistani flag.
The green represents the Muslims, while the white is all the other religions, which interestingly, for them, primarily means Sikhs and Christians. It was interesting to see that whenever they talked about diversity they mentioned these three religions, while in Europe we mainly talk about Muslims, Christians and Jews.
After the presentation, we went into the courtyard and listened to several Social Action Projects. It was a strange experience because although I have had the same experience as them, as a university student running a Social Action Project in London, the students were desperate for our feedback and everyone wanted to take selfies with us like we were some kind of celebrities.
The project that inspired me the most helps women who are victims of acid attack. The girls explained that being attacked is like saying, “I am going to kill you, but you are not going to die right away, you are going to die every single day”. I feel people with mental health problems (which is the topic of my project) undergo similar experiences, the people who suffer feel the effect every day. The only remedy is building up their confidence and counselling, the same as for the victims of acid attacks.
Finally, what also inspired me there is that all of these women wanted a change and to make Pakistan a better country. Seeing them studying hard in a reality in which only 37% of the Pakistani population is literate and women face many disadvantages also made me realise how lucky I am and that education is a privilege.
“I loved every moment!”, Ella Ferron, University of Coventry.The ISV trip to Pakistan has been hugely inspiring and a great cultural learning experience, highlighting the challenges Pakistan faces in comparison to those at home in the UK. An insightful visit to Kinnaird University College for girls emphasised how fortunate we are in the UK to be able to learn and study, especially as a female. It was so heart-warming to see their great work and the positive impact they had made, but also their optimistic approach towards development in Pakistan.
I also learned about a diverse range of innovative Social Action Projects tackling some major issues including access to education, medical resources, and water distribution using technological advancements. While also addressing taboo topics such as divorce in relation to mental health, and consanguineous marriage which has led to inherited diseases like Thalassemia. The time spent sharing projects has definitely boosted my motivations for our own allotment project here in Coventry.
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