The inaugural edition of Women Conference was held at the Karachi Arts Council last weekend, on March 6 and 7, to celebrate the International Women’s Day 2020. Open to public, the two-day event invited a diverse group of women from different walks of life and had discussions surrounding issues that matter.
Seasoned journalist and the honorary spokesperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, I A Rehman, while addressing the audience on the first day of the conference, asserted that the primary objective of marking International Women’s Day is to remember and recognise the efforts, achievements and sacrifices of the textile and garment factory women workers of North America and Europe, who initiated a struggle against the capitalist system.
A panel titled Role of Media in Women Empowerment featured Sania Saeed who emphasized on the need to present women in empowered roles onscreen. She recently persuaded a director to incorporate a professional role for a character she was playing in a drama serial and though the playwright didn’t want it, the director agreed to it.
Guests on the first day included prominent activists and authors Zehra Nigah, Kishwar Naheed, Syeda Shehla Raza, Zubaida Mustafa, Ameena Saiyed, Fatima Hassan, Anis Haroon and Sadiqa Salahuddin.
On the second day, a talk on women’s role in parliament highlight that in order to improve the condition of women in the country, what is required is the implementation of the existing laws rather than making new ones.
