The Sheedi Community of Pakistan | Teen Ink

The Sheedi Community of Pakistan

January 6, 2022
By dua_azhar23 SILVER, Lahore, Other
dua_azhar23 SILVER, Lahore, Other
9 articles 0 photos 0 comments

In Pakistan, a small community descended from East Africans is still combating racism. Police brutality against African Americans was widely discussed and it's high time to spread awareness about the Sheedi community in Pakistan. Between the seventh and eighth centuries, Arab merchants enslaved and brought East Africans to Pakistan, creating the Sheedi community. According to the Young Sheedi Welfare Organization, estimates of the community's population range from 50,000 to slightly under 1 million people. Pakistan is known for having one of Asia's largest populations of Afro-descendants and the Sheedis are primarily found in southern Pakistan, with approximately half of them living in lower Sindh, 20% in Karachi, and 30% in Balochistan. The majority of Sheedi are Muslims, however they have unique traits linking back to their own history.

Nonetheless, from their arrival on the subcontinent, Sheedis have faced discrimination, first as slaves, then as people of color (under British colonial control). Since Pakistan's independence in 1947, little has changed for the afro pakistanis: Sheedis continue to be stigmatized as a result of their African ancestry in a caste-conscious culture where fair skin color is still valued and considered superior. Despite having the largest African immigrant community in South Asia, Sheedis – as they are known – confront social, economic, and political barriers in Pakistan. Many Sheedis lost their languages and traditions as they merged into local life, with numerous Sheedis marrying outside the tribe on purpose to gain respect and freedom. The term Sheedi has become a disparaging epithet in Pakistani culture and among Pakistan's diaspora. Many regard it as oppression, which has stifled the Sheedi community's advancement, and a public reaction is emerging.

Sheedi have always had a low representation in Pakistani politics. Tanzeela Qambrani, the first Black Pakistani elected to parliament in 2018, was tarnished by criticism, including the resignation of a fellow party member. Qambrani has spoken out against discrimination against Sheedis in Pakistan. “We are considered ‘jahil’ [ignorant] and ‘jungli’ [wild] and assumed to be involved in criminal activity. This stereotype has hindered our community from progressing,” Qambrani said, and demanded that funds be set aside for the education of young Sheedis. She noted that many young Sheedis encounter hostility at school and remarked, "Education is our way out of poverty." Poverty, illiteracy, and criminality are all higher among the Sheedi than among other ethnic groups in Pakistan. The bulk of Sheedis in Karachi reside in Lyari, a slum infamous for narcotics, gangs, and failing educational systems. Negative misconceptions about the Sheedis persist in Pakistan, limiting their educational and employment opportunities and keeping them in poverty.

Sheedis still reside in the same parts of the country where their forefathers were enslaved; their position and economic possibilities are essentially unaffected since their emancipation. The majority of them continue to work as farm laborers for feudal lords of high rank. Sheedis in Pakistan endure severe prejudice from other community groups because of their appearance and skin color, particularly in social areas such as marriage and the workplace. Women, in particular, are frequently subjected to discrimination in terms of employment chances and are underpaid by their employers. In recent years, however, there has been evidence of greater community mobilization, including the development of organizations like the Young Sheedi Welfare Organization (YSWO), which focuses on expanding access to education, health, and livelihoods for Sheedis and other underprivileged groups. However, due to limited funding, little to no attention from politicians, and a lack of technical capacity to tackle the difficult issue, the impact of these groups has been limited.

The South Asian community has a communal responsibility to educate ourselves about anti-Black racism in our countries, as well as how we have benefited from both Black people's oppression and their struggles to change it. This responsibility has been continuously ignored  and as a society we have been unable to bring these issues out in front of the eyes of the international media. It's imperative to think about marketing techniques and terminology in terms of race, color, and fairness in our society. When it comes to recruiting employees, it is crucial for Pakistani employees of enterprises or government agencies to apply a critical perspective to their hiring methods. Celebrities and influential people from Pakistan and the diaspora should refer their audiences to resources about systematic persecution of Black people. South Asian academics, photographers, and journalists should tell the stories that have yet to be told. As the youth of Pakistan, we have the power and obligation to engage our parents and grandparents in conversations about the past and present in order to impact the future and social climate of future generations of sheedi community in pakistan, to confront our own and their inherent prejudices, and to normalize the conversation about race and anti-Blackness in our households. We as society need to stand up for Sheedis and other victims of racism, both in Pakistan and in the places we've come to call home. Just as we gave attention and protested for the African Americans, it is important that we raise our voices to help fellow Pakistani Africans.



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