Meeting of the Parliament
Meeting date: Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Official Report
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Time for Reflection
Good afternoon. The first item of business this afternoon is time for reflection. Our time for reflection leader today is Trishna Singh, who is director of the Sikh Sanjog and the Punjabi Junction social enterprise project in Leith.
Trishna Singh (Sikh Sanjog and Punjabi Junction Social Enterprise Project): Presiding Officer, I thank you for inviting me to address Parliament.
Today I am representing the Scottish Sikh community in my capacity as founder and director of Sikh Sanjog, which is Scotland’s only organisation that works with Sikh women and their families. Since 1989, we have been empowering and inspiring women of all ages and races to rise above the internal and external discrimination that hinders their progress.
We have developed and established a range of methods of connecting with women, and of encouraging them in their learning and creating practical opportunities for them to develop their skills and knowledge. Our aim is to close the equalities gap, especially in terms of disadvantage and exclusion relating to education, skills, training and employment.
Our ethos is based on the teachings of Sikhism. Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of Sikhism, taught us that there is, in addition to the spiritual dimension, an important social dimension to the Sikh religion that focuses on social equality, rejection of caste discrimination and centrality of community service. The most revolutionary declaration of Sikhism in the 15th century was equality asserted to women. Essentially, Guru Nanak created an equal seat for everyone at the table and an opportunity for dialogue where none had existed. Guru Nanak embraced the entire human race. He said:
“Recognise the divine light of god in each individual, treat all equally without prejudice of race, caste, religion, gender or social position.”
As Sikh Sanjog goes forward to celebrate its 25th anniversary this year, we continue to improve communication between professions and political parties on the needs of the Sikh and other black and minority ethnic women. The needs of Sikh women have changed over the past 25 years but, sadly, they have not gone away and, as within many disadvantaged groups, the women are further marginalised. Today, the voices of women from within BME communities are still unheard. There is still discrimination in terms of opportunity, and barriers still hold them back from making an effective contribution to Scottish society.
As Guru Nanak inspires every Sikh to respect every individual, I see that reflected in the Scottish Parliament. Social justice is a natural consequence of civic responsibility and reminds us that we cannot be insular.
Many Sikhs, including my parents, made this their home over 70 years ago and have added to the rich cultural heritage of this country. We are proud to be known as Scottish Sikhs. What happens in Scotland matters to all of us, irrespective of where we have come from.