The Universal Declaration of Human Rights grants every individual the right to freedom of thought (Article 18) and opinion and expression (Article 19). These rights are ratified by the Constitution of Pakistan, granting every citizen of Pakistan the right to think and express freely and safely without fear of discrimination, retaliation or conflict.
The right to thought and speech, however, allows no space for hate speech. Not only does hate speech create an unfavorable environment for healthy and enlightening debates and conversations, it also creates an environment promoting hatred, discrimination and inequality towards anyone holding different views, values, opinions and beliefs.
For decades, Pakistan has been battling the consequences of rising hate speech, particularly directed towards religious and ethnic minorities, women and other marginalized groups. The use of hate speech can have lasting negative physical and psychological impacts on its victims and tends to be directed towards marginalized and vulnerable communities.
Hate speech can often morph into bullying and harassment, both online and offline. Hate speech is not just a threat to certain communities but also a threat to society, hindering any efforts directed towards creating a progressive and enlightened Pakistan.
The government of Pakistan has actively been working towards ending hate speech across all platforms. Section 153A of Pakistan’s Penal Code states, “Whoever promotes or attempts to promote, on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste or community or any other ground whatsoever, disharmony or feelings of enmity.”
Additionally, the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, ensures strict corresponding punishment for online offences, including hate speech, cyber bullying and online harassment. For instance, spreading false information about a person online can lead up to three years in prison along with a fine of Rs1 million or both.
Similarly, cyber stalking can result in three years of imprisonment and fines up to Rs1 million while making someone’s videos or taking pictures without their consent and distributing it on the internet and social media can also lead to similar punishment.
Hate speech has also caught the attention of many and it been a topic of intense discussion both online and offline, such as a recent campaign by Mashal-E-Haq by the name of #BoloMagarPyarSe.
This digital campaign was seen trending on Twitter calling online and offline audiences to adopt a zero tolerance policy towards hate speech, bullying and harassment both online and offline.
Hate speech will hinder any effort to cultivate an environment where there is diversity in opinion, beliefs, values, perspectives and views. Therefore, it is absolutely imperative for us to understand our social responsibility in ending hate speech and the important role each one of us plays in doing so.
(The views expressed in this article are not necessarily those of the newspaper)
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
Comments
Comments are closed.