Diversity Should Spark Respect by Maria Bhatti

Diversity Should Spark Respect
by Maria Bhatti

Black corolla, red Yamaha, why so excited? Why so serious? Let’s put a smile on that face! Straight, curls, what a cutie? What a beauty? Thin, fat black, white, charming personality, dimples, pimples. OH! are you a doctor? What a nerd. Such a low IQ? High standards, low cast, dependent, independent, disabled. SO MANY LABELS!

AM I EVEN A HUMAN?

I dream of a world where black, white, whatever race you are, you will share the bounties of the Earth, and everyone is free. Why are we so full pride or prejudice? Why this haughtiness and self-loathing, when our reality is that we are all from the same origin and we will all to return to the earth? What’s the point of being great or worse, high or low, superior or inferior?

Even the jungle recognizes the importance of biodiversity- why not us too?

Not everyone is can be a doctor, engineer or scientist, not everyone has the ability to mend small holes like a cobbler, or the ability to make people laugh like a comedian. Not everyone has the guts to be a chivalrous solider. But can’t we just consider “the art of thinking independently, together?” Just like in the State of Madinah (editor’s note: this is the city of Medina, one of the holy cities of Islam), where equity and respect for diversity was the foundation for peace, freedom, justice, security and a sense of being significant.

Diversity should spark respect. Instead, we see: 1867, Urdu-Hindi controversy; 1972, Sindhi language violence, 2007, Samjhauta Express bombings; 2013, Peshawar church bombing; 2019, Christchurch mosque shooting and the slaughters due to the rising anti-Semitism around the world. These incidents show an undeniable truth: there is an aspect of human existence that cannot be eradicated by war, terrorism, or hatred. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Quaid-i-Azam, the founder of Pakistan wrote his vision for the nation: “A free state in which each and every individual belonging to different beliefs and religions will enjoy equal rights”.

Recently, Pakistan presented the 6-point plan in the United Nations to address the plague of partiality, hatred, and particularly Islamophobia. Even all our constitutions say: every citizen must enjoy equal rights!

Let us be free, please let us be free. Let our minds relax, let us unfold and unpack our thoughts out of the narrow, restrictions of “homogeneity.” Let’s focus on the law of diverse nature. Let’s stick to the comm0n agenda of smile, love, peace, and friendship. Let’s promote unity in community. Let’s give away to individuality and let us appreciate diversity!

Wouldn’t it be terrible?
Wouldn’t it be sad?
If just one single color was all the color we had?
If everything was purple? or red? Or blue? Or green?
If yellow, pink and orange was all that could be seen?
Can you imagine how dull the world would be?
If just one single color was all we got to see?

About the author: I am Maria Bhatti from Rawalpindi, Pakistan. I am just another teenager who wishes to inspire young readers through her writing. This is my first time sending an essay to a magazine!

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