Daily Times

Hum Network Limited organised first of its kind Hum Women Leaders Award to pay tribute to brilliant and resilient women hailing from different walks of life.

The inspiring award ceremony was held at Sindh Governor House Karachi in which 11 celebrated iconic women from Pakistan and abroad and a dynamic man were presented awards for their contributions and achievement in the fields of diplomacy, finance, social work, healthcare, adventure sports, human rights, journalism and women’s rights. President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi graced the ceremony of first ever women awards while the US Ambassador to Pakistan, HE Paul W Jones, Governor Sindh Imran Ismail, consul generals in Karachi and a large number of celebrities from the entertainment and fashion industry attended the event.

In her address, the President of Hum Network Limited Sultana Siddiqui said that the reason for this event is that we recognize the contributions made by women in society. She said that the event is meant to celebrate their stories and to provide them a platform to share the lessons they learned after crossing each milestone, and most importantly inspire the younger generation to go beyond these milestones. She also made a special announcement of Women Leadership Initiative Fund of HUM, collaborated by Charter of Compassion, which will be given to the award recipients to seed social initiatives for girls and women in the country. It will be one million rupees annual seed money. She further added that her channel always tried to smash the taboos and Hum TV highlighted the issues of child abuse, domestic violence and women empowerment. “We’ll have to bring forward the women and women should be economically empowered,” said Sultana Siddiqui.

The US Ambassador to Pakistan Paul W Jones said on the occasion that the United States is always committed to give equal opportunities to both men and women. We believe in gender equality and both the economic development and social development cannot take place without the women empowerment as empowered women play a vital role in a country’s social and economic development, the US Ambassador said. He was of the view that the US always promoted the women empowerment and it is good to have these awards at a time when the International Women’s Day is also just around the corner. The International Women’s Day is being celebrated worldwide at 8 March 2020.

President Dr Arif Alvi said in his address that Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah once said that nations cannot progress without women working side by side with the men. He was of the view that from one fourth quota system for women in medical and engineering colleges back in the 1980s to almost 80 percent representation of women in these institutions today, our nation has come a long way but only 10 percent these women make it to the workplace. It needs to be changed as we have witnessed that when given the opportunity, women work twice as hard as men. “We have a ceremony of students recently at the presidency and 27 girls were given the gold medals but only three boys could get the same. The girls are far ahead than boys in the education but we can’t see the same girls in the pillars of society after completing the education and this anomaly must be ended,” said the President of Pakistan. Dr Arif Alvi further said that the women are not given the inheritance properly in Pakistan as most of them fail to get share from the property of family despite the fact that our religion has clearly mentioned their due share in the property. In Surah Nisa, Allah has clearly stated the due share of women in property and it is the very point from where the women empowerment starts, Alvi said. He further added that he wants to meet the directors soon to urge them to create characters in their drams on social issues. It is the responsibility of the media to play its role in the nation building, added President Alvi.

President Dr Arif Alvi said in his address that Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah once said that nations cannot progress without women working side by side with the men. He was of the view that from one fourth quota system for women in medical and engineering colleges back in the 1980s to almost 80% representation of women in these institutions today, our nation has come a long way but only 10% of these women make it to the workplace

The first award was presented to Pakistan’s first female mountaineer Samina Baig in recognition of her tremendous achievements in adventure sports and for her efforts towards gender equality, climate change and women empowerment. It was presented by distinguished actress Hina Bayat. I became the first Pakistani woman to climb Mount Everest and I am sure now that Pakistan will definitely produce many Samina Baig in the future, she said. The second award of the evening was given to the first female attorney of Hazara community Jalila Haider in recognition of her selfless devotion to women and children’s rights and her outstanding work with local communities to provide opportunities to vulnerable women and children. It was presented by veteran actress Sania Saeed. The recipient said that she is much honored that she is getting the award from the institution that is also headed by a powerful woman.

Barrister Khadija Siddiqi received her award from Mahira Khan in recognition of her bravery and determination to stand tall against a powerful and corrupt opposition and unsupportive society. Khadija dedicated the award to her father. A video obituary package was also shown to the audience to pay tribute to the iconic women of Pakistan who have left us. The next recipient was acclaimed Iranian film director Narges Abyar in recognition of her contributions for sensitively highlighting the plight of women and children caused by society, war and radicalism in her films and also for defying the war genre’s conventions by featuring female characters that rejected the gender norms expected of them. It was presented by Zeba Bakhtiar. The Iranian film director said that she is honored of receiving the award in a country where a woman held the office of the Prime Minister. The special performance of singing sensation Sajjad Ali and Zaw Ali enthralled the audiences with their soulful voices as the father-daughter combination did a magic there.

Later, Dr Fouzia Saeed received her award from the Italian Consul General Anna Ruffino and Javed Sheikh in recognition of her exemplary services for promotion of Pakistani culture, women’s issues, courageous stand against sexual harassment and commitment to women’s advancement. One of the most acclaimed actresses of our time Bushra Ansari was next to receive her award from Asima Haq and Bunto Kazmi in recognition of her years of contributions to television and cinema. The next award was given to Mary Robinson, the first woman President of Ireland and a forceful advocate for gender equality, women’s participation in peace-building and human dignity. She was unable to attend the event due to work commitments and addressed the attendees via a video message, thanking the awards committee for the honor. The next award was presented to the Executive Director of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre Dr Seemin Jamali in recognition of her outstanding services in the public sector and medical profession. It was presented by Duraid Qureshi, CEO HUM Network. The department where she works has faced several terrorist attacks but Dr Jamali stood valiantly and firmly. Veteran journalist from Dawn Zubeida Mustafa was next to receive her award from Governor Sindh, Imran Ismail for her contributions in the field of journalism and her in-depth investigations and campaigns on education, health care, women’s empowerment, children’s rights and human rights. She was the first woman of Pakistan who started working in the editorial board of Dawn newspaper.

The only man who was awarded was Omar Aftab, a globally recognized campaign strategist for women’s and child health, economic and social development and his work for social justice and human rights. He has the credit for launching far-reaching and courageous interventions in Pakistan such as the Pink Ribbon National Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign and White Ribbon Men’s Movement for Ending Violence Against Women. It was presented by Masarrat Misbah. The next award was given to Dr Shamshad Akhtar in recognition of her illustrious career in the male dominant field of finance where she became the first woman in Pakistan’s history to serve as Governor State Bank. The award was presented by the first lady Mrs Samina Alvi. The last award of the night was presented to Maleeha Lodhi for her brilliant diplomatic career and contributions in presenting positive image of Pakistan at the United Nations as Pakistan’s former Ambassador and Permanent Representative. Maleeha Lodhi was the first woman in Asia to become editor of a national daily. In 1994, Time magazine nominated her as one of hundred people in the world who will help shape the 21st century. The award was presented by Sultana Siddiqui.

The event was moderated by Mira Sethi and Sanam Saeed. The program concluded with a special performance by Hadiqa Kiyani. The awards ceremony will be televised on International Women’s Day on HUM globally. The event was very mesmerizing as powerful ladies narrated their iconic stories of brilliance and resilience. In words of an American actress Dorothy Dandridge: “There is no force more powerful than a woman determined to rise.”