Racism in Pakistan

Group Members:
Saira Zahid (1503010)
Rania Malik (150301018)
Saba Sohail (150301019)
Zeeshan Tariq (1503010)

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Contents:
• Overview
• Sociological perspective on Racism
• Different forms of Racism
• Preventions
• References

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Definition

“A race is a category of people who have been singled out as inferior or

superior, often on the basis of real or alleged physical characteristics
such as skin color, hair texture, eye shape, or other subjectively
selected attributes.”
Diana Kendall ‘Sociology in Our Times’

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Overview:
• Dates to ancient civilization
• Lives even today
• So what has happened in between?

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Racism is a reality in the greatest of democracies like America and
India where every citizen is very powerful according to the
constitution.

Even Obama couldn’t do much to end hate crimes towards black

Americans during his terms. #Blacklivesmatter has been a popular
hashtag in American Twitter handles.

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Pre- Islamic Racism
• Human trafficking and slavery
• Worst to zero rights of human slaves
• Islam-whistleblower against slavery
• Fundamental rights granted to slaves-turned-Muslims
• Status of Hazrat Bilal (RA)- set as an example

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 Racism in Indo-Pak Subcontinent

01 02 03 04 05
Racism- integral British fueling up Racism in India Rift between Hindus Racial
part of Indian the fire of racial became worst and Muslims discrimination
culture discrimination to during British reign within Hinduism
gain their ambitions
in the subcontinent

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Racism explained by
Sociological Perspectives

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Theoretical Perspective

Theoretical perspectives

Functionalism Conflict Theory Interactionism

Role dominant and

Power disparities and Important sources of
subordinate groups play to
struggles between various individual identity and social
create a stable social
racial and ethnic groups symbolism
structure.

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Functionalism
• A functionalist might look at “functions” and “dysfunctions” caused by
racial inequality.
• Nash (1964) focused his argument on the way racism is functional for the
dominant group, for example, suggesting that racism morally justifies a
racially unequal society.
• How a community might increase solidarity by refusing to allow outsiders access.
• On the other hand, Rose (1951) suggested that dysfunctions associated with
racism include the failure to take advantage of talent in the subjugated group,
and that society must divert from other purposes the time and effort needed to
maintain artificially constructed racial boundaries.

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The Conflict Theory
• A conflict theory perspective of U.S. history would examine the
numerous past and current struggles between the white ruling class
and racial and ethnic minorities
• For example, Vivien Thomas (1910–1985), the black surgical technician
who helped develop the groundbreaking surgical technique that saves
the lives of “blue babies” was classified as a janitor for many years, and
paid as such, despite the fact that he was conducting complicated
surgical experiments.
• Feminist sociologist Patricia Hill Collins (1990) developed intersection
theory, which suggests we cannot separate the effects of race, class,
gender, sexual orientation, and other attributes.
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Interactionism
• Race and ethnicity provide strong symbols as sources of identity.
• In fact, some interactionists propose that the symbols of race, not race itself,
are what lead to racism.
• Famed Interactionist Herbert Blumer (1958) suggested that racial prejudice
is formed through interactions between members of the dominant group:
Without these interactions, individuals in the dominant group would not
hold racist views.
• An example of this might be an individual whose beliefs about a particular
group are based on images conveyed in popular media, and those are
unquestionably believed because the individual has never personally met a
member of that group.
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Effect of Racism on Society
• People are happy to embrace diversity and appreciate the differences
between those of different religions and colors.
• There are many others who see those of other races as a threat and the effect
of this intolerance on our society can have far reaching consequences.
• Racism on a personal level can cause disruption through offensive comments,
poor attitudes and occasionally violent outbursts.
• When racial discrimination occurs at a national level, we see atrocities such
as ethnic cleansing, persecution, discrimination through the judicial system
and detrimental segregation laws.
• Racism can be devastating to the culture and well-being of a country, causing
economic and moral upheaval.
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Forms of Racism

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Forms of Racial Conflicts:
• Racism on the basis of Color
• Racism on the basis of Religion
1. Sectarian conflicts
2. Discrimination of Non-Muslim minorities
• Racism on the basis of Ethnicity

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Racism on the basis of Color
Factors motivating Racism:
• Advertising
o Most effective communication tool and Billboards
o The message behind selling lighter skin products
• Inferiority complex
o Lack of self esteem and self confidence
o Body image as a standard
• Social Pressure:
o In Chinese traditional culture there is an idiom “One white covers up three
ugliness."(Bray, 2002)
o Fear of marriage rejection
o Different treatments in society
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 Examples of Whitening cream Ads:

Source: MangoBaaz Sociology 18

 Examples of Campaigns and shoots:

Source: Express Tribune

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 Examples of Makeup Products:

Source: Sheaffer.karachi / Facebook

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Others:

Source: MangoBaaz
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Racism on the basis of
Religion
1. Sectarian conflicts
• Pakistan constitutes 96.4% Muslims. Out of which, 85-90% are Sunni
Muslims and 10-15% Shia Muslims. The rest includes Christians,
Hindus and other minorities. (CIA)

Source:  Pew Research Centre, 2012.

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 Demographics:
Source: South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), 2012

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Factors leading to Sectarian conflicts:
• Zia’s Islamization
• Emergence of Sectarian Organizations
o Imamia Students Organization (ISO):
o Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP):
o Sepah-i-Muhammad Pakistan (SMP):
o Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ):
• Religious Madrassahs (Seminaries) and ‘Ulama

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 2. Discrimination of Non-Muslim Minorities

Source:http://census.gov.pk/Religion.htm”

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 Demographics:

Source: The US Commission on international religious freedom Sociology

Source: Factsheet Pakistan, 2014 27
Factoring generating Religious Racism:
• Pakistan’s Educational System
o Impact of curriculum
o Impact of hate literature
• Lack of knowledge
• Lack of social justice
• Impact of Family Background and Peer Pressure
• History

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Racism on the basis of
Ethnicity:
 Demographics:

Source: ACLED, 2018

Source: Wikipedia
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 Cases:

Source: MangoBaaz

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Factors sponsoring Ethnicity:
• Allocation of resources
• Economic disparities
• Language and culture

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 Prominent contributions by Non-Muslims

Muhammad Zafarullah Air Marshal Zafar Ahmed

Khan Chaudhry

Dr. Abdus Salam Atif Mian

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 Others: Major General (Retd)
Kaized Maneck Sopariwala

Dr. Alexander John Malik

Mary Emily Gonsalves

Dr. Mira Phailbus

Harcharan Singh Sociology 34

How Islam has interpreted Racism?
• “Whoever kills a person who has a truce with the Muslims will never smell the
fragrance of Paradise.” (Sahih Muslim)
• “And among His wonders is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the
diversity of your tongues and colors. For in this, behold, there are messages indeed
for all who are possessed of innate knowledge!” (Quran 30:22).
• "As for those who divide their religion and break up into sects, you have no part of
them in the least. Their affair is with Allah; He will in the end tell them the truth of
all that they did." (6:159)
• “An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor a non-Arab has any superiority
over an Arab ... a white person has no superiority over a black, nor does a black
have any superiority over white except by piety and good action.” (Sahih al-
Bukhari)
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Preventions:

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Racism on the basis of Color
• We should stop portraying color dominance in beauty. Face color
doesn’t define beauty.

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Steps taken to stop color discrimination

• Toys

• Cartoons

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Steps taken to stop color discrimination

• Makeup products

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Present Models:
• Women in Korea recording videos of destroying their make-up
products.
o First woman anchor to wear glasses in a news channel

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Present Models:
• Certain Morning Shows celebrating people of different color, religion
and ethnicities.

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Present Models:
• White people adopting black children

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Present Models:
• Production of Super-hero movies and diversification of cast

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General Recommendations:
• Establishment of Non-sectarian Madrassahs (Seminaries)
• Curriculum Reforms
• Religious tolerance
Imam Shaf‘ī said, ‘I consider my opinion accurate, but I do profess that
possibility of error lies in it; I consider others’ opinion wrong, but I do not
neglect that possibility of accuracy lies in it.’
• Anti-sectarian Legislation and its Effective Execution
• Diversification in political and social organizations
• Ban on promoting stereotype notion and whitening products

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End note:

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References:
[1] D. Kendall, Sociology in Our Times, 2010-2012.
[2] J. M. Henslin, Essentials of Sociology, Edwardsville.
[3] J. Richeson’, "Science of Racism Examined in New Set of Research Articles," Association of Psychlogical Science, 2018.
[4] “Theories of Race and Ethnicity | Introduction to Sociology.” [Online]. Available:
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/sociology/chapter/theories-of-race-and-ethnicity/. [Accessed: 19-Dec-2018].
[5] H. V. James, H. Griffiths, E. Strayer, M. B. Johnson, and S. Cody-Rydzewski, Introduction to Sociology 2e. 12th Media Services, 2017.
[6] “Racism and Its Effect - Be United.” [Online]. Available: https://www.be-utd.org/racism_effect.html. [Accessed: 19-Dec-2018].
[7] Saman Ismail, Samiya Loya, Dr. Jawed Hussain, “Obsession for Fair Skin Color in Pakistan,” IJIRES, vol. 2, no. 6, pp. 445–449, 2015.
[8] “The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency.” [Online]. Available: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-
factbook/fields/2122.html?countryName=Pakistan&countryCode=pk&regionCode=sas&#pk. [Accessed: 19-Dec-2018].
[9] “The World’s Muslims: Unity and Diversity,” 2012.
[10] “Sectarian Violence in Pakistan.”
[11] Farmanullah, “SECTARIANISM IN PAKISTAN: CAUSES & REMEDIES.” .
[12] Abdul Majid, “RELIGIOUS MINORITIES IN PAKISTAN,” JPUHS, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 1–10, 2014.
[13] “PAKISTAN: Not the country the founding father envisaged,” Asian Human Rights Commission. [Online]. Available:
http://www.humanrights.asia/news/ahrc-news/AHRC-ART-046-2015/. [Accessed: 19-Dec-2018].

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References:
[14] “Pakistan Factsheet.pdf.” .
[15] “Culture of Pakistan,” Wikipedia. 19-Dec-2018.
[16] E. Beahm, “Culling the Competition: Electoral Violence in Pakistan,” Acled Data, 11-Oct-2018. .
[17] “Academic OneFile - Document - Ethnic Fragmentation and Dynamics of Politics in Pakistan.” [Online]. Available:
https://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&u=googlescholar&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA499281079&sid=classroomWidge
t&asid=1cc95638. [Accessed: 19-Dec-2018].
[18] “Sana Safinaz faces backlash for what people call racist campaign,” The Express Tribune, 08-Mar-2018. [Online]. Available:
https://tribune.com.pk/story/1654567/4-sana-safinaz-faces-backlash-racist-campaign/. [Accessed: 19-Dec-2018].
[19] A. Jadoon, “This Pakistani Morning Show’s Racist Makeup Looks Are Absolutely Ridiculous And People Are Enraged,” MangoBaaz, 15-
Mar-2018. [Online]. Available: https://www.mangobaaz.com/morning-show-racist-makeup-looks-and-people-are-enraged/. [Accessed: 19-
Dec-2018].
[20] Zoha, “This Pakistani Brand Claims To Sell Halal Makeup But It’s Actually Being Extremely Racist,” MangoBaaz, 08-Jul-2018. [Online].
Available: https://www.mangobaaz.com/a-racist-pakistani-brand-is-selling-halal-makeup/. [Accessed: 19-Dec-2018].
[21] “Here’s Why Pakistan’s Behavior With Pashtuns Is More Racist Than Trump Is With Muslims.” [Online]. Available:
https://www.mangobaaz.com/racist-behavior-of-pakistanis/. [Accessed: 19-Dec-2018].

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 Thank You…..!
Any Question?

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