Menu  
Close  
  • Who we are
  • Our work
  • News & Analysis
  • Events
  • Library
Accessibility options
Search the site

Tackling religious inequalities and access to water in Pakistan

Category: News By: Emilie Wilson Posted on: March 22, 2021

Ravadar, a community-led project supported by the IDS CREID programme, worked with residents in poor Christian neighbourhood in Lahore, Pakistan, to provide vital access to clean drinking water. Prior to this, residents had to travel to Muslim majority areas which was both time-consuming and challenging, since they often faced religious discrimination.

 

Joseph Colony is a poor Christian neighbourhood of around 2,000 people in Lahore, Pakistan. Eight years ago, over 150 homes and 2 churches were burnt down by an angry mob over a false accusation of blasphemy, which greatly exacerbated existing levels of poverty and reduced access to basic necessities, such as clean drinking water. Residents had to go to nearby Muslim majority neighbourhoods to collect clean water, which, led to them “facing a lot of trouble” as Sunita Asif, member of the Ravadar Committee puts it. Community members faced discrimination and it was especially difficult for women to access on foot.

With support from the IDS-led Coalition for Religious Equality and Inclusive Development (CREID), the Al Khoei Foundation and Hive Pakistan devised Ravadar, a unique programme focused on inter-religious engagement and creating innovative governance structures to overcome religious inequalities. In Joseph Colony, Hive formed a Ravadar Committee, comprised of 18 residents with an equal representation of women, men, youth and elders, which led a project on the installation of a water filtration plant in the neighbourhood. They were trained to manage and maintain the plant. They also devised a local crowd-funding plan to ensure the sustainability of the plant.

The new filtration plant has a capacity of 1,000 liters per hour and benefits over 400 households on a daily basis. The project generated enormous trust amidst a fearful community that has become used to being neglected (there are still signs of the burnt-out houses in the area) and also encouraged residents to be more socially involved in their community. The project helped to raise the profile of the community with local MPs, who attended the official opening of the plant, when they would normally only come to the area during election time.

Following the success of the plant, the Ravadar Committee is turning its attention to other matters of community development, such as education.

Related content

Analysis
Hazara Shi'a woman carrying religious flag in Quetta, Pakistan. Credit: Asef Ali Mohammad
Taking a Stance on Feminists’ Prejudice Against Religious Minority Women

Since researching the experiences of gender discrimination against women in poverty who belong to religious minorities, many fellow feminists have turned their back on me.…

VIEW THIS RESOURCE
Podcast
Black on white microphone icon with soundwaves
What About Us? Global Perspectives on Redressing Religious Inequalities – interview between Michael Woolcock and Mariz Tadros

Between the Lines, is podcast series produced by the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) which explores books with ideas for positive social and environmental change.…

VIEW THIS RESOURCE
Event December 6, 2022
Tackling poverty and protecting freedom of religion or belief: lessons for future UK policy and programming

A joint CREID / APPG FoRB event chaired by Fiona Bruce, UK Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief , featuring lessons and highlights…

VIEW THIS RESOURCE
Back to top
  • Accessibility
  • Terms of use
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy & cookies
  • Contact

[email protected]

CREID team
Institute of Development Studies
Library Road
University of Sussex
Falmer BN1 8RE
East Sussex, United Kingdom

Sign up to our newsletter

Our mailing list is managed by
Institute of Development Studies

© 2023 CREID. Made by Surface Impression.



These options can change the way this website looks, which may help you to use it more easily.

Accessibility options


  •   Text options

Text options

Standard text

Standard text size

Large text

Large text size

Extra large text

Extra large text size