The Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies at the University of Rhode Island (URI) congratulates Saeeda Diep as the winner of our Nonviolence Trainer of the Month Award for May 2022. Diep is the Institute of Peace and Secular Studies founder and chairperson. Her organization promotes harmonious coexistence, especially among youth, despite ideological and religious differences.
Born in the small town of Pakpattan in Pakistan, Diep is an active social activist and humanitarian working tirelessly for decades. Her national and international efforts are significant and impactful. For instance, Diep’s organization produced a film on the life of an ex-militant and his journey in integrating back into society. The organization screened the film in rural areas all over Punjab from 2015 to 2017 through a mobile cinema. Over two years, they conducted 1500 film screenings in over 400 educational institutions. It reached 80,000 students, most of whom were vulnerable to the militant agenda and were at risk of joining militant organizations.
Diep also interviewed five young men from various militant organizations who had spent years fighting ‘Jehad’ in Kashmir and Afghanistan. She recorded their struggles of leaving their respective militant organizations and returning to everyday life as peaceful citizens. Diep engaged 1938 educational institutions to promote peacebuilding among students. Similarly, she conducted a yearlong Youth Deradicalization Campaign in 20 districts of Punjab focused on deradicalizing the youth. As part of this project, students took part in essay writing, poetry, poster making, and documentary competitions.
Saeeda Diep is a certified Kingian Nonviolence and Conflict Reconciliation Trainer from the Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies at the University of Rhode Island (URI). She completed her Level 2 Advanced Leadership Training in Kingian Nonviolence in 2019 and Level 1 Training of Trainers in Kingian Nonviolence and Conflict Reconciliation in 2014, both from the URI Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies.
As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “We still have a choice today: nonviolent coexistence or violent co-annihilation. We must move past indecision to action.” Diep does her best to create and support peaceful coexistence among people in her country Pakistan and its relationship with neighboring India, Bangladesh, and beyond. She organizes protests, discussions, seminars, and workshops promoting peace and people-to-people connection.
Her selfless services earned recognition and appreciation from various organizations with multiple prestigious awards such as the Peace Award from the Gandhi Foundation in 2004, the Peacekeepers Award, Pakistan in 2006, the Human Rights Defender Award from the Government of Pakistan in 2010, the Nirmala Deshpande Award from Gandhi Global Family in 2011, the Mother Teresa Award for Social Justice in 2013 and many others. Her organization is affiliated with many, including the South Asian Against Nuclear Weapons, the People’s Peace Alliance, and the Joint Action Committee of Pakistan.
Diep’s commitment and efforts for harmonious coexistence remain strong. She spends her life imparting peaceful education to youth, engaging in activism for democracy and human rights, and organizing rallies to dramatize public issues or build bridges among people of different communities and countries. She is a courageous and inspirational woman mentoring many in Pakistan and beyond. Again, we sincerely congratulate Diep for winning this Nonviolence Training of the Month Award. To learn more and support her projects, you may visit her organization’s website: https://peaceandsecularstudies.org/