Month: October 2023

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FJWU empowering women entrepreneurs to promote gender equality

Rawalpindi : In a bid to empower women entrepreneurs and enhance their business acumen, the Women Research and Resource Centre (WRRC) at Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU) in Rawalpindi, in collaboration with Digital Miles, ORIC, and FJWU-BIC, orchestrated a one-day workshop dedicated to Service & Product Design.

This workshop sought to provide aspiring women entrepreneurs with the knowledge and skills necessary to design and develop successful services and products for the modern market. The event featured Mr. Rehan Akhtar, CEO, and Syed Faizan Raza from Digital Miles, as resource persons, leveraging their expertise to guide and mentor the participants.

The participants, comprising students from various departments of FJWU and its affiliated colleges, delved into a wide array of critical topics, including the essence of service and product design, the significance of this discipline in the context of women entrepreneurs, strategies for identifying and validating customer needs, techniques for brainstorming and nurturing innovative ideas, methods for prototyping and testing, and the art of effectively launching and marketing services and products.

The workshop was met with resounding approval from the participants, who lauded the opportunity to learn from accomplished professionals and expand their network within the realm of women entrepreneurs.

One participant expressed her enthusiasm, saying, “The workshop was an enlightening and invaluable experience. I’ve acquired a deep understanding of service and product design, and I’m enthusiastic about applying this knowledge to launch my own business.”

Another participant praised WRRC’s efforts, stating, “This workshop has been a fantastic opportunity to learn from experienced experts and connect with other aspiring women entrepreneurs. The skills I’ve gained here will undoubtedly steer my business towards success.”

Source: The News

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Swat couple shot dead in Baldia house over ‘honour’

A couple became victims of brutal honour killings at their house near Bismillah Chowk in Baldia Town’s Hazaara Colony on Saturday.

Ibrahim Jamshed, 42, and his wife Shakila, 36, were fatally shot in the Ittehad Town police jurisdiction. ASI Shah Hassan reported that they received information about gunfire in the area. A patrolling mobile unit arrived at the scene, where they apprehended a suspect attempting to flee.

Upon entering the house from which the suspect was fleeing, the police discovered the couple in a critical condition, with their children in distress. With the assistance of rescue teams, Ibrahim and Shakila were rushed to a hospital but they were pronounced dead. They had suffered gunshot wounds to their torsos and faces.

During the course of the investigation, the suspect was identified as Hussain, elder brother of the deceased Ibrahim. It was revealed that Ibrahim, originally from Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, had fallen in love with Shakila over a decade ago and had decided to marry her. However, their families vehemently opposed the union. In response, the couple fled to Karachi and began a life together in Hazara Colony.

The police further revealed that during their marriage, Shakila gave birth to six children, and Ibrahim worked as a technician at a copper wire manufacturing factory in Baldia Town. On Saturday, Hussain visited their residence and engaged in a heated argument regarding the marriage. The

altercation turned violent, during which Hussain producing a .30 bore pistol opened fire.

ASI Hassan stated that the police had arrested the suspect and recovered the murder weapon. A case has been registered against the accused, and further investigations are ongoing.

Source: The News

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Exploring a girl’s narrative within constraints of strict patriarchy

The Sanat Initiative is hosting an art exhibition featuring works by Haya Zaidi. Titled ‘Angst: Portrait of an Afterthought’, the show will run at the gallery until October 26.

The catalogue released by the Sanat Initiative for the exhibition quotes Haya as saying that her practice explores themes of quotidian life through a feminist lens and centres around the brown female body.

The artist points out that preceding the 20th century, female representation was often romanticised, reducing women to objects of beauty. She says she revisits historical iconographic elements from Indo-Persian miniature paintings, initially crafted for the male gaze, to investigate their relevance in today’s cultural context.

In doing so, she adds, she strives to reclaim and redefine South Asian feminine representation, addressing the critical themes of race, gender, identity and sexuality.

Haya says that her current collection being displayed at the gallery draws inspiration from Ismat Chughtai, the remarkable feminist writer and film-maker of the 20th century. The artist points out that throughout her literary career, Ismat fearlessly explored themes such as female sexuality, femininity, social norms and the constraints of middle-class gentility, all expressed with an undaunted voice.

She says the works on display are particularly shaped by ‘Lihaaf’, one of Ismat’s most notorious short stories. “They explore the narrative of a young girl navigating a world with limited agency within the constraints of strict patriarchy.”

As a punitive measure, she adds, the girl is sent to her aunt’s home, a woman ensnared in an unhappy marriage, leading a reclusive life marked by ill-fated loneliness in domesticity.

Born in 1993, Haya is a multi-disciplinary visual artist based in Karachi. She graduated from the National College of Arts in Lahore in 2017, securing a distinction in miniature painting.

Her work is an amalgamation of mixed media, collage, miniature painting and digital art. Her work centres around personal experiences while navigating the world through the vessel of the brown female body and explores subjects around race, gender, identity and sexuality within the context of the subcontinental cultural climate.

Since 2017 she has exhibited nationally and internationally, and has earned critical acclaim for her unique visual language, acquiring a distinct position on the basis of her originality, experiments and ideas.

Source: The News

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Plea of man serving life sentence for wife’s murder rejected

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has dismissed the appeal of a man against the life imprisonment sentence awarded to him for the murder of his wife.

Manzoor Ahmed was sentenced to life in jail by the additional district & sessions court (Central) for committing his wife Sajan’s murder in the jurisdiction of the Khawaja Ajmair Nagri police station in March 2017.

According to the prosecution, the appellant strangled his wife to death on suspicion of having an affair with another man. But the appellant’s counsel claimed that his client is innocent.

The counsel said the police wrongly implicated the appellant in the case at the instance of the complainant party on the basis of his judicial confession recorded on the third day of his arrest that he retracted and that was also in conflict with the medical evidence.

He said the appellant should be given the benefit of the doubt, adding that his client is liable to be acquitted of the charges by extending him the benefit of the doubt.

However, the additional prosecutor general supported the impugned judgment and sought the dismissal of the instant appeal by contending that the judicial confession made by the appellant was true and made voluntarily, and that it was not in conflict with the medical evidence.

After hearing the arguments of the counsel and the perusal of the evidence, a single SHC bench headed by Justice Irshad Ali Shah said the appellant had admitted his guilt before the police and the complainant.

The court said that although the incident was not seen by anybody, the complainant and his son, who were the father and the brother of the deceased, said the appellant had admitted his crime before the police in their presence.

The bench said that according to the medical evidence, the deceased was found to have suffered seven injuries on her person, and her death occurred due to the constriction of the neck as a result of strangulation, leading to a cardiorespiratory failure.

The court said the appellant had admitted to murdering his wife by strangling her with a dupatta for being disobedient and suspecting her to be in contact with someone else at a private clinic.

The bench said that the appellant’s judicial confession appears to be true and made voluntarily, so it cannot be disbelieved only for the reason that it has been retracted by the appellant during the course of his examination under Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code by saying that it was obtained by putting him under pressure.

The court said that the confession is not found to be in conflict with the medical evidence to a large extent that may justify the court to make the conclusion that the deceased was killed in the manner other than the one disclosed by the appellant in his judicial confession.

The bench said that neither any of the police officials who conducted the case investigation nor the judicial magistrate who recorded the appellant’s judicial confession have any enmity with him to have him wrongly implicated in the case.

The court said that the trial court was right to make the conclusion that the prosecution had proved its case against the appellant beyond any shadow of a doubt, and that the appellant made the judicial confession admitting his guilt that is found to be true and made voluntarily.

The bench said that no illegality or irregularity has been committed by the trial court in convicting the appellant for the crime, and thus dismissed his appeal and upheld his life imprisonment sentence.

Source: The News

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NCSW seeks swift justice in Noor Mukaddam case

ISLAMABAD: In a letter addressed to Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faiz Essa, the National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) on Sunday called for immediate and comprehensive action to combat the alarming issue of violence against women in the country, while demanding swift justice in the Noor Mukaddam case.

The NCSW, a statutory body dedicated to promoting and protecting women’s rights in Pakistan, commended Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Essa on his recent appointment, highlighting his wealth of experience and dedication to justice. The organisation expressed confidence in his leadership and the judiciary’s ability to uphold fairness and integrity.

“A shocking and deeply disturbing incident that sent shockwaves throughout the nation. The murder of Noor Mukaddam has spotlighted the urgent need for a strong and effective response to address the pervasive issue of violence against women in Pakistan,” said NCSW Chairperson Nilofar Bakhtiar in her letter.

She said as Noor Mukaddam’s birthday approached on October 23, it served as a solemn reminder of lives lost and countless others at risk. The NCSW urged Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Essa to recognise the broader implications of such cases on the safety and well-being of women across the nation.

Nilofar writes letter to chief justice, demands action to combat gender violence

The letter emphasised the critical importance of expeditious justice.

“A swift and transparent legal process not only provides closure to victims and their families but also serves as a deterrent to potential perpetrators. Accountability is identified as the key to breaking the cycle of violence against women,” she said.

The NCSW implored the Supreme Court to prioritise and expedite cases related to violence against women. Timely trials and appropriate punishment for those found guilty would send a strong message that such heinous acts would not be tolerated in Pakistani society.

Furthermore, a swift judicial response could significantly alter the narrative concerning women’s safety in the country.

Nilofar Bakhtiar said her office expressed its unwavering confidence in Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Essa’s leadership and the judiciary’s role as a beacon of justice for all citizens.

“His commitment to upholding the rule of law and protecting the rights of the vulnerable is deemed crucial in fostering a society where every individual feels secure and valued,” she said.

The letter concluded by thanking Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Essa for his attention to this critical matter and expressed trust that his tenure would bring about positive and transformative changes in the legal system.

The National Commission on the Status of Women’s letter underscored the urgency of addressing violence against women in Pakistan and appealed to the highest judicial authority to use his office to promote justice, accountability and the safety of women in the country.

Source: Dawn

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