Perception of Citizenship among Pakistani Youth: A Case Study of Islamabad

Abstract

The purpose of this st udy is to find the perception of citi zenship among Paki stani yo uth . The resea rch was conducted in Rawal Town, Islamabad. It "vas assumed that the Pakistani yo uth have little awareness abo ut their status of citizen. The methodology use is qualitative and quantitative. Twenty tive in-depth interviews ,vere conducted form yo uth between the ages 18 to 25 of years. There ,ve re cond ucted two Focus Group Di sc uss ions to cross check the data. The study revea ls the 10\11' level of awareness among yo uth abo ut the concept of citizenship. Paki stani yo uth are familiar with the "word s" of duties and rights. HO\vever they have little awareness abo ut the real implementations of their rights and duties at domestic and state leve l. Civics stud ies have a vital role for citi zenship awareness, but youth had not heard the name of this subj ect. Thi s study also reveals that at present yo uth are disappointed by the role of government for providing them their soc ial, economic, political and reli gious rights. In Pakistan every youth member acq uires more than one identity, ,·vhi ch leads towards identity crisis. Because of this heterogeneo us culture the nation identity of masses i.e Paki stani is being affected. Corruption, nepoti sm, injusti ce, inequality, worst law and order, intolerance and etc have influenced their patriotic behavior. Only ~8 percent of the respondents were proud on being a Pakistani and there were only 10 percent of the respo ndents who affi rmed to sacrifice the ir life for Pakistan. Primari ly it is citizenship awareness that gives orientation to an individual about his or her duties and rights. Duties and rights are interd ependent. Government is responsible for this mess. Government should take appropriate meas ures to promote the citizenship awareness. In order to inculcate these characteristics there is a dire need to overhaul the education system, primary as well as secondary. It will enable Paki stani youth to perform their actual role as a ci ti zen.