Passing the baton: The next generation of activists takes a stand

A new generation is rising up to take forward the crucial work of freedom of religion or belief.

Earlier this year, we delivered capacity-building workshops to human rights defenders in sub- Saharan Africa. The workshops equipped the group to provide psychosocial support to the people whose rights they are defending.

Nour,* a Sudanese final-year law student, was one of the participants. She also works as a paralegal at a pro bono legal aid clinic, where she assists minorities facing violations of freedom of religion or belief, particularly atheists.

Nour told the group on the last day: ‘I’ve made my mind up: I want to be a human rights lawyer. This is my path.’

‘We are all victims of these violations’

The human rights defenders were asked by the CSW team to provide the same training to two people from their client base who had experienced freedom of religion or belief violations.

Nour approached a friend who belongs to the Orthodox Church, and her friend suggested speaking to a priest. The priest offered Nour a venue, and urged her to deliver the training to more than two people, saying, ‘We are all victims of these violations.’

Nour went on to train not just two, but 58 individuals. The diverse group included Christians and atheists, representing communities from various parts of the country.

As a young Muslim woman, Nour’s ability to build trust with minority religious and belief communities is particularly notable. The fact that the Orthodox priest facilitated the training and that communities from across Sudan were represented, are also testament to this impressive emerging young leader.

A hopeful future?

It’s always encouraging to hear from young people who are passionate about making the world a better place. During the Ministerial Conference in London in July there was a panel discussion between several of these young activists, representing various countries and faiths, and their enthusiasm and drive was inspiring.

‘In Iran there was no education about other religions. That created extremist youths. If they had learned about other religions at school they would not have thought I was weird.’

–Khalida Bakr Halaf, a Yazidi activist from Iran

Elaine Alam, a Pakistani Christian from the Global Campaign on Religious Prisoners of Conscience, explained some of the challenges her country faces.

‘The fact that institutional and societal discrimination has increased over time, as well as state-sponsored hate speech on social media, all of these things drive me in doing the work that I do.’

Rather than becoming discouraged, these increasing challenges have spurred her on to greater action.

These extraordinary young people are proof that young activists are beginning to take up the baton of freedom of religion or belief and run with it. They give us hope that a new generation is emerging, and that we will continue to work together until everyone is truly free to believe.

_{*Name changed for security reasons.}