Cavish Development Foundation (CDF).

Cavish Development Foundation (CDF) has been working in Pakistan for over a decade, with a mission to empower deprived communities and disadvantaged groups so that they can improve their quality of life. Good governance, human rights, participatory approaches and education and literacy have remained core areas of CDF’s work throughout, for achieving this. Peacebuilding and conflict resolution are part of CDF’s recent projects, and has initiated the ‘Inter-faith Harmony and Peace Project’ along with a project on eliminating violence against women in Pakistan. Their geographic area of focus is in the provinces of Sindh, Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

The Inter-faith Harmony and Peace Project works in two districts of Punjab – Khanewal and Rajanpur. The project’s long-term goal is to “improve social co-existence and to promote inter-faith harmony among Pakistan’s majority Muslims and the country’s religious minorities.” The project does this by creating awareness around the need for inter-faith harmony by educating Muslims and religious minorities on the importance of peace and social co-existence through puppetry, theatre, and dialogues. This way, they have been able to reinvigorate public discussion on the issue, and have even run a national-level conference.

CDF aims to play a major role in enhancing support for ending violence against women in Pakistan, and, in early 2010, started a two-year project focusing on this issue. The project is funded by European Union, and in partnership with Bedari – a women and children’s rights organisation. The project takes a holistic approach towards addressing the issue of domestic violence, working on policy advocacy, capacity building and mass awareness building.

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An Interfaith Harmony Project in Pakistan

The CDF of Pakistan has been active in the area of peacebuilding in regions of country where such work is much needed. Here, the Director of CDF, Hassan Nasir Mirbahar, explains to Zahid Shahab Ahmed why a development organization has felt it necessary to move into peacebuilding.

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PRESS RELEASE: Cavish holds National Conference on Interfaith Harmony and Rights of Minorities

To highlight the issue of inter-faith harmony and rights of minorities, Cavish Development Foundation held a National Conference on Interfaith Harmony and Rights of Minorities.

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