Christian International Professors Forum presents a Lecture: InterFaith Engagements - A Catalyst for Democracy, Human Rights, and Sustainable Development in Pakistan?

Dr. Rubina Feroze Bhatti, a renowned Pakistani human-rights and peace activist, is this month’s featured speaker at the Christian International Professors Forum, hosted jointly by the Instituto dos Juristas Cristãos do Brasil and the Wagner Faith & Freedom Center at Spring Arbor University. Known for her decades of work advancing communal harmony, gender equality, and the rights of religious minorities in Pakistan, Dr. Bhatti brings a deeply practical and hard-won perspective to questions of faith, public life, and human dignity. 

Dr. Bhatti has long worked at the intersection of faith and public justice. She founded and led the Taangh Wasaib Organization (“Longing for the Fullness of Humanity”), which addresses violence against women, religious intolerance, and discriminatory laws in Punjab. Through this work she has confronted honor killings, acid attacks, domestic abuse, and other forms of gender-based violence, while also promoting human-rights education across schools and communities.   Her efforts have been recognized globally, including nomination among the 1,000 women for the Nobel Peace Prize and receiving the UNDP N-Peace Award. 

In her lecture, “InterFaith Engagements – A Catalyst for Democracy, Human Rights, and Sustainable Development in Pakistan,” Dr. Bhatti explored how relationships across religious lines are not merely “dialogue” projects, but essential infrastructure for a just and stable society. Drawing on her experience as a Christian from a minority community in a Muslim-majority nation, she described how mistrust and fear between communities can be manipulated by extremists and political actors—undermining democratic institutions and leaving marginalized groups most vulnerable to abuse. 

She highlighted concrete examples from her work: training community leaders, activists, and journalists in peace-building and human-rights advocacy; promoting Sufi-inspired spaces like her “Peace Garden” as places where poetry, music, and shared reflection soften prejudices and open doors for cooperation; and developing human-rights curricula for schools that teach young people to view neighbors of different faiths as partners rather than threats.   In each case, interfaith engagement became a catalyst—reducing social tensions, elevating the status of women and minorities, and creating local habits of consultation that mirror democratic practices at the national level.

Dr. Bhatti also connected interfaith work to sustainable development, arguing that development projects fail when they ignore the religious and cultural fabric of communities. When faith leaders are included in planning—whether for girls’ education, disaster relief, or economic initiatives—they can leverage their moral authority to challenge harmful practices, protect vulnerable populations, and encourage long-term, community-owned solutions. Her stories from flood-relief and rural development in Pakistan illustrated how collaboration among Muslim, Christian, and other leaders prevented aid from being captured by elites and ensured it reached those most in need. 

The Wagner Faith & Freedom Center, housed at Spring Arbor University, exists to defend freedom of thought, conscience, and religion and to equip the next generation to engage culture from a Christian worldview.   In partnership with the Christian International Professors Forum and the Instituto dos Juristas Cristãos do Brasil, hosting Dr. Bhatti perfectly embodies that mission. Her life and work testify that robust religious conviction and deep respect for others’ freedom can grow together—and that interfaith engagement, grounded in human dignity, is indispensable for democracy, human rights, and sustainable development in Pakistan and beyond.