Institute of Development Studies (IDS)
Bio
Author Biography
Mariz Tadros is Professor of Politics and Development, IDS, and Director of the Coalition for Religious Equality and Inclusive Development (CREID), a UK‑funded programme which endeavours to integrate freedom of religion or belief in international development. Her books include Resistance, Revolt, and Gender Justice in Egypt (2016, Syracuse University Press), The Muslim Brotherhood in Contemporary Egypt: Democracy Redefined or Confined? (2012, Routledge), and Copts at the Crossroads: The Challenges of Building Inclusive Democracy in Egypt (2013, American University in Cairo Press). She also co-edited IDS Bulletin 51.2 ‘Collective Action for Accountability on Sexual Harassment: Global Perspectives’ with Jenny Edwards (2020).
Bio
Author Biography
Maryam Kanwer is a human rights activist. Her work focuses on the persecution of marginalised groups based on their ethnic or religious backgrounds. She has worked on youth development through community resilience, peace-building messaging, and conflict resolution. Maryam has been working extensively in human development for over ten years and currently is affiliated with the Al-Khoei Foundation. She is also an International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) Alumnus 2015 on countering violent extremism (CVE) and an executive member of a global campaign called Women against Extremism (WaE).
Bio
Author Biography
Jaffer Abbas Mirza is a researcher. In 2016, he was awarded the Chevening scholarship and pursued a master’s programmemin Religion in Global Politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), UK. He has been writing and working on countering violent extremism (CVE) and freedom of religion or belief (FoRB). He focuses on civil society engagement and the political economy of violence against religious minoritiesmin Pakistan.
Volume 52
Number 1
Published: March 25, 2021
This article interrogates whether we should consider ‘religious marginality’ as a qualifier much like the exploration of how gender, ethnicity, and class inequalities are explored when examining Covid-19-related vulnerabilities and their implications for building back better. Drawing on a case study of Pakistan as well as evidence from India, Uganda, and Iraq, this article explores the accentuation of vulnerabilities in Pakistan and how different religious minorities experience the impact of the interplay of class, caste, ethnicity, and religious marginality. The article argues that where religious minorities exist in contexts where the broader political and societal policy is one of religious ‘othering’ and where religious marginality intersects with socioeconomic exclusion, they experience particular forms of vulnerability associated directly or indirectly with Covid-19 consequences that are acute and dire in impact. Building back better for religiously inclusive societies will require both broad-based as well as more specific redress of inequalities.
