Pakistan Gender News Voice of Gender News From Pakistan
Karachi: Each member of the Sindh Assembly on Wednesday had a different interpretation of Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s Oscar win. As Taimur Talpur boasted of his friendship with the filmmaker, women MPAs took pride in the fact that someone from them had achieved this honour for the country.
They also unanimously passed a joint resolution to congratulate Sharmeen on winning an Academy Award for a short documentary on acid burns victims in Pakistan.
“This assembly expresses immense pride in the accomplishment of Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy whose documentary Saving Face tackled the appalling crime of acid burning and not only created awareness about this heinous menace but also won Pakistan its first Oscar Award,” the resolution read.
The house congratulated her on “this spectacular achievement that brought honour to the nation”.Taimur Talpur revealed with awe that Sharmeen happened to be his class fellow and a friend. He suggested that the Sindh Assembly should arrange a warm reception for her.
Women Development Minister Tauqeer Fatima Bhutto urged the Sindh government to announce an award for Sharmeen. Information Minister Shazia Marri said the positive aspect was that the acid burn cases were being highlighted by the media and the victims had demonstrated courage to fight against this crime.
Nusrat Abbasi, taking a totally different line, said it was more important for the government to resolve the issue highlighted in the documentary. Marvi Rashdi said that Sharmeen should be given a red-carpet reception by the government when she returned home.
Heer Soho of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) said Altaf Hussain had already announced a gold-medal for Sharmeen. Farheen Mughal said the doctor in the film also deserved appreciation. According to Senior Education Minister Pir Mazharul Haq, Sharmeen’s Oscar win was also, in a way, an honour for Szabist, as Sharmeen was a faculty member of the institute.
