Social Work and Indigenous Rights: Protecting Cultural Heritage and Land Rights: A case study of Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

Even with the constitutional guarantees and international undertakings on the rights of the indigenous communities, the communities in Punjab are still under the process of systematic marginalization by land ownership and cultural heritage protection. The research on Pakistan and similar settings has shown that the deeply rooted land governance structures, patriarchal property laws and informal sources of power have given a disproportionate disadvantage to indigenous and minority groups in securing a land tenure, further contributing to the socio-economic prospects of the groups and cultural continuity. The Objectives of the study research are as follows: To investigate the socio-legal situation under consideration of the protection of the indigenous cultural heritage and land rights in the chosen communities of Punjab, Pakistan. To examine how social work practitioners can advocate the rights of indigenous people and the ways to engage the community into land and heritage protection programs. To find out the institutional, cultural, and policy-level obstacles that limit effective social work interventions to protect indigenous land and cultural rights. The purpose of the proposal is to present culturally responsive and rights-based social work approaches to enhance the defense of the indigenous cultural heritage and the land rights of the indigenous people in Punjab. The research design that was utilized in this study was a qualitative case study research design to examine the role of social work in safeguarding indigenous cultural heritage and land rights in Punjab, Pakistan. It adopted an interpretivist method of research that focuses on the subjective meanings and social constructions of the indigenous rights, their culture, and land ownership. The research was done in some chosen districts in Punjab, Pakistan, especially those areas where the problem of land insecurity and the protection of heritage cultures is eminent such as those with indigenous and nomadic communities. The population of the study included the representatives of indigenous communities, social work practitioners, community leaders, and the interested stakeholders with regard to land rights and the preservation of cultural heritage. The participants were selected using a purposive sampling method to ensure that the sampled individuals had the firsthand experience of the indigenous land rights, cultural heritage, and social work interventions. The data was gathered by conducting semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions, where there was free flexibility to find out the experiences of the participants but in a way that it was tied to the research questions. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the collected data and this included systematic coding, categorization and interpretation of emerging themes pertinent to indigenous rights, social work roles, and institutional barriers.