Romana Bashir

Bashir, a Catholic woman, began working in 1997 at the grassroots level, working with the community to promote interfaith harmony and women's education.[1] She was a member of the Christian Study Centre, which promotes freedom of expression, justice, dignity and equality.[2] In Rawalpindi, Bashir joined the Christian Study Centre as a trainee and was later promoted to head of programs in 2009.[3]

In 2012, she was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as a consultor of the Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims within the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue of the Vatican.[4] She is the first Pakistani Christian lay woman appointed to such a position.

In 2013, she was Executive Director, Peace and Development Foundation in Rawalpindi.[5][6]

In 2012 she was a member of a panel of five speakers at a press conference by Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS). The panel called for the blasphemy law be revised to prevent its misuse, abuse and exploitation.[7] In November 2012, she spoke at a workshop organised by Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies for young religious scholars representing all sects of Islam and members of the Sikh, Baháʼí, and Christian communities.[8] In 2013, she was a speaker at a seminar on “Tolerance in Pakistan” held at Quaid-e-Azam University’s (QAU). The seminar urged people to speak up against the rising levels of violence and intolerance related to ethnic and religious differences in the country.[9]

• Catholic Church in Pakistan

• Oasis - mutual understanding between the Western world and the Muslim majority world
• Punjab Commission on the Status of Women