A Review on Punjabi Play “ Kholo Surt Mat di Bari” Organized by ‘Simorgh Women’s Resource and Publication Centre’
On 15th October 2010, a Punjabi play was organized by ‘Simorgh Women’s Resource and Publication Centre’ based upon the findings of an action research project “Ours by Right”. The focus of the play was women’s right of inheritance. The venue of this play was ‘Ali Institute Auditorium, Lahore’. According to the written invitation of the program, the play was to be conducted through a talk and followed by a question answer session with Justice ® Dr. Nasira Javaid Iqbal.
The program started after a delay of one hour, with an introductory note of Naleema Hussain, the coordinator of Samorgh. After the introductory session, Ms.Neleema requested Justice Dr Nasira for her sharing of views on women’s inheritance rights. Dr Nasira, intellectually presented her views focusing the negligence of Pakistani women, over the sensitive issue of inheritance, especially those of women. She enlightened the audience over the proportion of women share in the property of their family as a daughter, sister, wife and even a mother. She further reiterated that women can ask for assistance from court over this issue of inheritance but she should be aware of her rights and she should also make her children aware of their proper rights and responsibilities from childhood. Moreover, she stressed upon the significance of Islamic laws, regarding women share in inheritance, by saying that Islam is the only religion which acknowledges the women equal rights with men but unfortunately our society, due to its patriarchal mind-set is unable to ensure women equality even in such an obvious issues, as inheritance. After the sensitized arguments of Dr Nasira, the theater performance tried to highlight the women share in inheritance, especially in the prospect of rural setting.
After the play, Madiha Gohar, a talented theatre personality was invited to express her views. She disappointed the audience by ignoring the significance of Islamic laws regarding women right of inheritance. She totally disagreed with the views of Dr Nasira and even the views of those performers, who tried to inform the audience about the clear Islamic principles in respect of women inheritance. She further stressed on equal share of women in inheritance instead of the share as described by the Quran. She offended the audience by setting aside the justification of Islam regarding the due share of women in property. Her rather illogical arguments over this sensitive issue were not approved by even her supporters and left the audience in dejection. Before the advent of Islam, the women could not inherent any property and were treated as a house-hold property. Islam granted full share to the male members along with responsibilities regarding their old parents, widowed sisters and other related issues.
According to the program, in interaction and discussion session with participants, when the students from F.C. University and Kinnaird Colleges tried to ask questions over the remarks of Madiha Gohar, but they were “shut off” and the program was concluded by Ms Neelma.
It was completely an inappropriate way to conduct a program, particularly in which the comments of audience (students) were neglected. Moreover, to make this program effective, there was a need to highlight the issue of women inheritance in both rural and urban settings with the addition of academic discussion, accompanied by moderate views.
Shehzadi Zamurrad Awan
Senior Lecturer at Political Science Department
Kinnaird College for Women
Friday, October 15, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Friday, September 3, 2010
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN BY SHEHZADI ZAMURRAD AWAN PUBLISHED in THE NATION, AUGUST 22, 2010
In Pakistan, the issue of domestic abuse has been a focus of attention
for the human rights activists, as well as for the educated women.......
The Pakistani women can achieve their equal status in domestic matters
by equipping themselves with proper education.........
Pakistani society needs to understand the basic principles of Islam,
regarding the equal status of women, so that the miss-interpretation of
Islamic law by orthodox and semi educated mullas, does not take place.........
The first hindrance is deeply entrenched in the social prejudices
against women in the society. Even within families, the mothers
themselves are the biggest culprits, as they provide full support to
their sons, in contrast to their daughters.............
It is vital that the
worth of a woman is taught to boys from early childhood and they are not
brought up to believe that they are of a rank superior to their sisters
and second is to recognise the housework she does is for the male
members of the family to share domestic responsibilities equally.
Click below to read the full article:
http://splus.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/print/Comment/22-Aug-2010/Violence-against-women
Sunday, March 28, 2010
A Report by Zamurrad Awan on 2nd session of CCEP at Kinnaird College for Women,Lhr
Second Session of CCEP (Centre for Civic Education Pakistan) on the “Impact of Terrorism on Youth” at Kinnaird College for Women
On 12th of March 2010, Political Science Department of Kinnaird College for Women Lahore arranged the second session on the “Impact of Terrorism on Youth” with the collaboration of “Centre for Civic Education Pakistan”, which is a non-profitable organization based in Islamabad. The purpose of this session was to sensitize Pakistani youth about the growing threat of terrorism and to make them aware of their responsibilities as an active citizen of their motherland. The session was well-planned as it started with an introduction by Syeda Scherbano Abbas, in which she introduced the efforts of CCEP (Centre for Civic Education in Pakistan) regarding an awareness of Youth and their active role in ensuring good governance. After the brief introduction, a Hamd was recited by Sana Iqbal depicting the current insecure situation due to terrorism. Next to this, Sana Iqbal and Namrah Arooj gave a PowerPoint presentation on the concept of terrorism and the role of youth against unbridled terrorism in Pakistan.
After the presentation the guest speaker Mr. Abrar-ul-Haq delivered a thought provoking lecture on an inspirational role of youth in ensuring peace and harmony in Pakistan which is dreadfully at stake because of acute threats of terrorism. Abrar ul Haq is famous for his Pakistani pop, bhangra and folk singing. At one time, Mr. Abrar was also a part of faculty at Aitcheson College. He is the Founder and chairman of Sahara for Life Trust, which is a charitable organization promoting health and education in remote areas of Pakistan. Mr. Abrar ul Haq is also the chairman of Youth Parliament of Pakistan, which is patterned after the National assembly of Pakistan as a model parliament for young people. The Youth Parliament is a largest youth network in the country and its objective is to educate Pakistani youth about politics and democracy and to serve as a useful forum to voice the views of youth about a range of national and international issues.
While delivering a lecture, Mr Abrar introduced his “Sahara Trust for Life”, which is working on 39 projects of Youth Parliament in Southern Punjab as this area is famous for Extremist Madrassas. The purpose of these projects is to provide opportunities to Pakistani youth especially who belong to an underprivileged area so that they could not only polish their own skills but could also represent Pakistani Youth on national and international fronts. Mr Abrar emphasized on youth involvement in non-governmental Organizations which actually play a role of safety wall in current scenario of Pakistan as this could not only help them to get a clear understanding of an issue but simultaneously it would lead them towards a relevant solution.
After Lecture, while answering in Question/Answer Session, Mr Abrar stressed upon the inter-provincial harmony, deep understanding of Religion and promotion of our instigated values which could play a pivotal role in diluting fundamental elements in Pakistan. At the end, he spelled out the audience with his thought provoking poem ““Sar Utha Kar Daes Main jeeny Ka Mosam A Gaya” and revolutionary Punjabi song “Yad Khudayi kar ly k sanwain muk jana, Awain na kar zulm k ek din muk jana”. Moreover Maria Malik recited a Dua for the safety and integrity of Pakistan. In addition to this, Mr Abrar was presented with a gift and bouquet as a token of appreciation by Political Science Department. The format of the session kept the students involved till the end and a tremendous feedback made this event successful.
The whole program was assisted and guided by Ms. Saira Malik (head of Political Science Dept), Ms. Zamurrad Awan (Senior Lecturer of Political Science Dept) and with faculty of Political Science Department. The media coverage of the event was done by Geo television and City 42, Din News and Khabrain.
Zamurrad Awan
Senior Lecturer at Political Science Dept
Kinnaird College for Women, Lhr
On 12th of March 2010, Political Science Department of Kinnaird College for Women Lahore arranged the second session on the “Impact of Terrorism on Youth” with the collaboration of “Centre for Civic Education Pakistan”, which is a non-profitable organization based in Islamabad. The purpose of this session was to sensitize Pakistani youth about the growing threat of terrorism and to make them aware of their responsibilities as an active citizen of their motherland. The session was well-planned as it started with an introduction by Syeda Scherbano Abbas, in which she introduced the efforts of CCEP (Centre for Civic Education in Pakistan) regarding an awareness of Youth and their active role in ensuring good governance. After the brief introduction, a Hamd was recited by Sana Iqbal depicting the current insecure situation due to terrorism. Next to this, Sana Iqbal and Namrah Arooj gave a PowerPoint presentation on the concept of terrorism and the role of youth against unbridled terrorism in Pakistan.
After the presentation the guest speaker Mr. Abrar-ul-Haq delivered a thought provoking lecture on an inspirational role of youth in ensuring peace and harmony in Pakistan which is dreadfully at stake because of acute threats of terrorism. Abrar ul Haq is famous for his Pakistani pop, bhangra and folk singing. At one time, Mr. Abrar was also a part of faculty at Aitcheson College. He is the Founder and chairman of Sahara for Life Trust, which is a charitable organization promoting health and education in remote areas of Pakistan. Mr. Abrar ul Haq is also the chairman of Youth Parliament of Pakistan, which is patterned after the National assembly of Pakistan as a model parliament for young people. The Youth Parliament is a largest youth network in the country and its objective is to educate Pakistani youth about politics and democracy and to serve as a useful forum to voice the views of youth about a range of national and international issues.
While delivering a lecture, Mr Abrar introduced his “Sahara Trust for Life”, which is working on 39 projects of Youth Parliament in Southern Punjab as this area is famous for Extremist Madrassas. The purpose of these projects is to provide opportunities to Pakistani youth especially who belong to an underprivileged area so that they could not only polish their own skills but could also represent Pakistani Youth on national and international fronts. Mr Abrar emphasized on youth involvement in non-governmental Organizations which actually play a role of safety wall in current scenario of Pakistan as this could not only help them to get a clear understanding of an issue but simultaneously it would lead them towards a relevant solution.
After Lecture, while answering in Question/Answer Session, Mr Abrar stressed upon the inter-provincial harmony, deep understanding of Religion and promotion of our instigated values which could play a pivotal role in diluting fundamental elements in Pakistan. At the end, he spelled out the audience with his thought provoking poem ““Sar Utha Kar Daes Main jeeny Ka Mosam A Gaya” and revolutionary Punjabi song “Yad Khudayi kar ly k sanwain muk jana, Awain na kar zulm k ek din muk jana”. Moreover Maria Malik recited a Dua for the safety and integrity of Pakistan. In addition to this, Mr Abrar was presented with a gift and bouquet as a token of appreciation by Political Science Department. The format of the session kept the students involved till the end and a tremendous feedback made this event successful.
The whole program was assisted and guided by Ms. Saira Malik (head of Political Science Dept), Ms. Zamurrad Awan (Senior Lecturer of Political Science Dept) and with faculty of Political Science Department. The media coverage of the event was done by Geo television and City 42, Din News and Khabrain.
Zamurrad Awan
Senior Lecturer at Political Science Dept
Kinnaird College for Women, Lhr
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Lecture on Structure and Functions of Bureaucracy at Kinnaird College for Women
Lecture on Structure and Functions of Bureaucracy at Kinnaird College for Women
On 24th February, Political science club of Kinniard College for Women had arranged a lecture of a senior bureaucrat and a chairman of TEVTA (Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority), Mr Saeed Ahmad Alvi on Structure and functions of Bureaucracy in Pakistan. Mr Alvi had started his lecture by defining the term bureaucracy derived from two words Bearu and Cracy, Bearu is a French word means an office and Cracy is a Greek word means rule or power. Therefore, the word bureaucracy reflects the rule of Bearu to handle the administrative actions in any state. The prime function of bearcats is to formulate policy by keeping in mind the needs and demands of public and to execute those policies after getting them pass by legislative branch of government. While defining the structure of bureaucracy in Pakistan, Mr Alvi told that the Federal Public Service is an authority to recruit the civil servants on the basis of merit. He coded Max Weber who presented three points while defining bureaucracy. First is that its a merit base achievement, second is that its bound by rules and the one who deviate from those rules is not been accommodated, thirds is that it’s a non-partisan service and the one who is being selected should not have any party affiliation.
Mr Alvi said that Bureaucracy is in hierarchy, and it has its own grade structure from 1 to 22. The first category is from 1 to 5 which includes peons, office boys and low cater staff, the second category is from 5 to 15 which include ministerial staff (clerks), and the third category from 16 to 22 includes the executive hierarchy. There are special services staff that are outside the hierarchy as they are not recruited through the proper channel but they serve on certain terms and conditions for short or a long time period on the basis of their expertise in certain fields. There is a miss-perception among people that the policies are formulated by legislature (parliament), but the fact is that the policies are initiated and formulated by bearcats, which make a draft law then legislature pass it through a proper debate.
While answering one of the questions Mr Alvi expressed his views about civil bureaucracy and Military Bureaucracy. He said that there isn’t any such kind of division in any country of the world. The bureaucracy is always civil but as we all know we have been a victim of long military rule therefore the history witnessed military intervention in governmental affairs of our state. So it’s a miss-conception. He also encouraged the women in bureaucracy as he stated it’s a good profession for women although they do face chauvinistic attitudes but they have all abilities to stand with men in all fields. If they remain firm about their roles, they can prove their visible presence in every field.
Zamurrad Awan
Lecturer
Kinnaird College for Women
On 24th February, Political science club of Kinniard College for Women had arranged a lecture of a senior bureaucrat and a chairman of TEVTA (Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority), Mr Saeed Ahmad Alvi on Structure and functions of Bureaucracy in Pakistan. Mr Alvi had started his lecture by defining the term bureaucracy derived from two words Bearu and Cracy, Bearu is a French word means an office and Cracy is a Greek word means rule or power. Therefore, the word bureaucracy reflects the rule of Bearu to handle the administrative actions in any state. The prime function of bearcats is to formulate policy by keeping in mind the needs and demands of public and to execute those policies after getting them pass by legislative branch of government. While defining the structure of bureaucracy in Pakistan, Mr Alvi told that the Federal Public Service is an authority to recruit the civil servants on the basis of merit. He coded Max Weber who presented three points while defining bureaucracy. First is that its a merit base achievement, second is that its bound by rules and the one who deviate from those rules is not been accommodated, thirds is that it’s a non-partisan service and the one who is being selected should not have any party affiliation.
Mr Alvi said that Bureaucracy is in hierarchy, and it has its own grade structure from 1 to 22. The first category is from 1 to 5 which includes peons, office boys and low cater staff, the second category is from 5 to 15 which include ministerial staff (clerks), and the third category from 16 to 22 includes the executive hierarchy. There are special services staff that are outside the hierarchy as they are not recruited through the proper channel but they serve on certain terms and conditions for short or a long time period on the basis of their expertise in certain fields. There is a miss-perception among people that the policies are formulated by legislature (parliament), but the fact is that the policies are initiated and formulated by bearcats, which make a draft law then legislature pass it through a proper debate.
While answering one of the questions Mr Alvi expressed his views about civil bureaucracy and Military Bureaucracy. He said that there isn’t any such kind of division in any country of the world. The bureaucracy is always civil but as we all know we have been a victim of long military rule therefore the history witnessed military intervention in governmental affairs of our state. So it’s a miss-conception. He also encouraged the women in bureaucracy as he stated it’s a good profession for women although they do face chauvinistic attitudes but they have all abilities to stand with men in all fields. If they remain firm about their roles, they can prove their visible presence in every field.
Zamurrad Awan
Lecturer
Kinnaird College for Women
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