LAHORE: The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) screened a documentary on ‘A Separation Refused’ about the struggle against the separate electorate system and restoration of the joint electorate for the religious minorities.
Pakistan reintroduced the joint electorate in 2002 after experimenting with a separate electorate for 22 years. The move was an important step towards equal citizenship and political representation for religious minorities.
Co-produced by CSJ and codirected by award-winning filmmaker Dawood Akhtar Muradand CSJ Chief Executive Peter Jacob, the 20-minute documentary looks at the introduction of the separate electorate system in 1979 and the campaign for its restoration, particularly during the 1990s and until 2001. Drawing on historical accounts and a number of interviews including Hina Jilani, Cardinal Joseph Coutts, Dr Charles Amjad Ali and Dr Yaqoob Bangash, the film brings together the contributions of political leaders, civil society figures, faith community representatives, and human rights activists involved in the campaign for ajoint electorate.
The original soundtrack ‘Hum Juda Nahin’ (We Are Not Separate) of the film was also premiered.
Former minister Ijaz Augustine said there might be shortcomings in the joint electorate, but its strengths far outweighed those of the separate electorate. These strengths have helped move beyond a system that caused considerable harm to political participation and representation of minorities, he said and added that even the worst form of the joint electorate was better than the best form of the separate electorate.Staff Reporter