Speakers laud achievements of Mountain Women
Rawalpindi, March 10: (PR) The achievements of the ‘mountain women’ were highlighted and their contemporary challenges-they face in the current era, were deliberated at a gathering at Rawalpindi Arts Council Sunday. Hundreds of women from the Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral (GBC) regions-resided in the twin cities, gathered at an event to mark the achievements of the women of the GBC regions on occasion of the International Women’s Day.
The event was organized by the Initiative for Promotion of Pamiri Arts and Culture (IPPAC) in collaboration with the Aurat Foundation, the Aga Khan Youth and Sports Board (AKYSB) and the Rawalpindi Arts Council with the theme “Inspiring Change”, in connection of the International Women’s Day.
Renowned women rights activists and gender specialists from the GBC regions and other parts of the country delivered their lectures on various issues pertaining to women during the lecture session of the event. A question-answers session was also held to provide an opportunity to the female folk to openly ask questions from the specialists regarding the female’s rights and different issues they face in the society. Children through, tableaus, shorts skits and some cultural performances highlighted different issues, faced by the female folks of the region, during the event.
Speaking on the occasion renowned women’s rights activist Tahira Abdullah stressed the need for provision of equal rights to the women in the society. She demanded of the government and especially urged the female parliamentarians to chalk out new legislations to ensure the due rights to the women across the country. “Living in a patriarchal society, women have still a long way to go in order to come at par with men in terms of their rights. Said Yasmin Karim, gender specialist from Gilgit-Baltistan. She said such events must be held frequently as it provides an opportunity for the women to look back and ponder at what they have achieved and what needs to be achieved in the future Other women’s rights activists including Aysha Jahangir, a prominent women activist and social worker from GB urged the women of the country to rise their voice for their rights.
The speakers highlighted the landmark achievements in every wake of life. They paid homages to the leading women of Pakistan including samina Baig, Malala Yousufzai, Irfa Karim Randhawa and the others, who have proved their metal in their professional as well as private lives. The participants, mostly youth, appreciated the effort and stressed the need for arranging such fruitful events frequently to provide opportunity for the women folk to celebrate their achievements and discuss issues their issues.
Addressing the gathering head of the IPPAC’s Women Wing Neelum Nigar said the event is an effort to bringing together the women from the mountain regions of Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral to acknowledge and celebrate their achievements. Referring to the achievements of Samina Baig, Nigar said She said that despite being from the backward areas of GBC the brave daughter of the region have proved that they are not lesser then anyone in the world, ‘they are source of inspiration for all of us’, she added.
