March 8 is celebrated globally as International Women’s Day, offering us the opportunity to reflect on the status and rights of women from around the world, and the challenges they have faced and continue to confront.
March 9, 2021
Time:
6.00 pm
Facebook Live
This week we celebrate, honour, and discuss the trials and achievements of Pakistani women, their history of political and social activism, and their continued struggle for equal representation - we discuss obstacles in the path of an inclusive Pakistan and what spaces exist for reform and improvement. Join us for the sixty-seventh session of LUMS Live: #ChooseToChallenge: Creating a Better Pakistan for Women scheduled for
Date: Tuesday, March 9, 2021
Time: 6:00 pm (PKT)
The session will be moderated by Ms. Mehreen Zahra-Malik. Our distinguished panelists include Ms. Meesha Shafi, Ms. Fatima Razzaq, Dr. Nida Kirmani, and Mr. Adnan Malik.
Profiles of Panelists
Ms. Fatima Razzaq
Ms. Razzaq is a journalist who writes on current affairs and social issues. She is a gender rights activist and strives to make an equitable world possible. She has been volunteering as a member of the organising team of the Aurat March Lahore for the past three years. She has also been actively involved in feminist politics and work for survivors of sexual assault.
Ms. Meesha Shafi
Ms. Shafi is a globally renowned actor, singer and model. With millions of listeners worldwide, her musical journey as a recording artist has seen a meteoric rise with many hits to her name. The biggest feather in her cinematic cap came when she starred in the Hollywood movie, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, directed by Oscar-nominated director, Mira Nair. The movie premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and opened at The Venice Film Festival. Ms. Shafi has also sat on the Academy Award Committee as a jury member, where her role included shortlisting Pakistani films to be sent to the Academy for final selection. She has become a symbol of the modern day youth of Pakistan, particularly for her strong feminist views and vocal stance on issues that highlight and empower women’s empowerment.
Dr. Nida Kirmani
Dr. Kirmani is an Associate Professor of Sociology in the Mushtaq Ahmad Gurmani School of Humanities and Social Sciences at LUMS. She was previously Faculty Director of the Saida Waheed Gender Initiative (SWGI) and is currently convener of the Gender and Sexuality Studies Minor. Dr. Kirmani has published widely on issues related to gender, Islam, women’s movements, development and urban studies in India and Pakistan and is a public intellectual who regularly comments on current events and social issues for the national and international press. Her book, Questioning ‘the Muslim Woman’ Identity and Insecurity in an Urban Indian Locality, was published in 2013 by Routledge. Her current research focuses on urban violence, gender and insecurity in the area of Lyari in Karachi. She completed her PhD from the University of Manchester in Sociology.
Mr. Adnan Malik
Mr. Malik is an award-winning actor, director, producer and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Pakistan’s Goodwill Ambassador. He is an Asia Society, Asia 21 Fellow and Young Leader of the World and served on the board of the Citizens Archive of Pakistan and on the organising committee of the Karachi Film Festival from 2004-08. He graduated from Vassar College with a degree in filmmaking and contributed to the Sundance Film Festival-winning documentary, Why We Fight. A majority of his work uses pop culture and identity as a point of investigation and he is a strong advocate of gender rights.
Ms. Mehreen Zahra-Malik
Ms. Zahra-Malik is Senior Editor for Arab News, one of the largest English-language newspapers in the Middle East. She has previously served as Pakistan correspondent for Reuters, Deputy Editor at The News, and as the News Editor of The Friday Times. Her reportage has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, Washington Post, Al Jazeera, Foreign Policy, Newsweek, The New Republic, The Hindu, Indian Express, Tehelka, Dawn, Express Tribune, Daily Times, The Friday Times and others. She is a LUMS alumna and has an MA in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
