PWF " Pakistan Women Festival "

Pakistan Women Festival launches itself with a bang

Karachi, Saturday, August 12, 2017:

A three-day festival focusing on the women of Pakistan, organised by High Events, launched here today at the Global Marquee, Karachi. The festival kicked off with a woman empowerment seminar which culminated in Pakistan Women Festival Awards, and was followed by a health seminar. Concurrently, an art exhibition took place all day. The evening ended with a scintillating concert.

The objective of Pakistan Women Festival 2017 is to honour women, recognize their contributions to society and discuss their issues, whether empowerment-related or health.

Day 1 opened with a women empowerment seminar organised by STARLINKS Pr and hosted by Shanaz Ramzi, featuring the powerhouse of HUM network, Sultana Siddiqui, who gave an inspiring speech on Breaking the ceiling on women empowerment in Pakistan. This was followed by a panel discussion on the same topic. The panellists included renowned names such as Rabya Javeri, Mehtab Rashdi, Justice Majida Rizvi and Fiza Ali Meerza and the moderation was done by Uzma Al Karim. The seminar ended with an award ceremony in which six inspiring women were recognised for their efforts in promoting UN SDG goals.

The award winners were:

Shahnaz Kapadia of Mera Maan for No Poverty

Farzana Ahmed for The Food Project Trust in the category of Zero Hunger

Mantaha Maqsood for Good Health and Well-being,

Sultana Siddiqui for Gender Equality

Majida Rizvi for Peace and Justice Strong Institutions

Sabina Khatri of Kiran School for Quality education

The second session on ‘Improving Quality of Life through Workout’, focused on physical fitness and debated on whether workout alone could guarantee good health. The panel which included both trainers and nutritionists comprised Mr Naseer Munir, Dr Tayyaba Khan, Dr Sarwat Imran and Dosti Zahra Jafri, whereas the moderation was done by Mr Atif Ahmed.

Concurrent to the seminars, people had †he opportunity to enjoy a hall full of beautiful masterpiece and art works by variety of artists who showcased their talents at the art gallery. Jabbar Gul, Zohra Hussain, Mehar Afroze, Margery Hussain, Shahnaz Ismail and students of Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, and Arts Council took part in the exhibition.

The day ended with the most awaited part of the festival, the PWF concert. Sajjad Ali, Asim Azhar and Sanam Marvi gave mesmerizing performances before a packed audience.

All in all, the first day of Pakistan Women Festival was a massive success, building anticipation for the following two days

Second day of Pakistan Women Festival in full swing

Karachi, Saturday, August 13, 2017:

The second day of the three-day PWF, a festival focusing on the women of Pakistan, kicked off here today at the Global Marquees. The day started with a woman empowerment seminar, culminating in Pakistan Women Festival Awards and was followed by a Health Seminar. Concurrently, an art exhibition took place all day. The evening ended with a scintillating concert featuring Ali Zafar, Mai Dai, Natasha Baig and Ahmed Jehanzeb.

The objective of Pakistan Women Festival 2017 is to honour women, recognize their contributions to society and discuss their issues, whether empowerment-related or health.

Day 2

opened with a women empowerment seminar & hosted by Shanaz Ramzi, featuring the first female architect of Pakistan, Yasmeen Lari, who gave an inspiring speech on ‘Creating sustainable economic independence for women in Pakistan’. This was followed by a panel discussion on the same topic. The panellists included renowned names such as Salwa Habib, Roshahneh Zafar and Gul Afreedi and the moderation was done by Ms Shaiyanne Malik. The seminar ended with an award ceremony in which five inspiring women were recognised for their efforts in promoting UN SDG goals.

The award winners were:

Simi Kamal of Raasta for Clean Water and Sanitation.

Fiza Farhan for Affordable an Clean Energy

Roshaneh Zafar of Kashf Fundation for Decent Work and Economic Growth

Mrs Roshan Ali Bhimjee for Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Yasmeen Lari for Sustainable Cities and Communities

A Special Award was presented to Khursheed Begum Khan for empowering the youth of Pakistan for the last 5 decades.

After a short break, Women Health Seminar, also organised by STARLINKS PR took off. The three-day health seminar would be addressing the various health care issues and opportunities in Pakistan. The seminar was divided into two panel discussions. Session one was on 'Humanistic Therapy versus Psychiatric Treatment’. Renowned panellists such as Dr Asma Sartaj, Dr Uzma Naeem, Dr Ayesha Mian and Dr Mehmood Amin-ur-Rehman gave a comprehensive insight on the subject. The discussion was moderated by Dr Atif Mansoor. The second session on 'Allopathic Medicine versus Alternative Treatments’ included renowned panellists such as Dr Asma, Dr Shumaila Ashraf, Dr Shahnawaz and Dr Masooma Zehra. The moderator of the panel discussion was Dr Sumera Harris.

Concurrent to the seminars, people had the opportunity to enjoy a hall full of beautiful masterpieces and art works by variety of artists who showcased their talents at the art gallery. Jabbar Gul, Zohra Hussain, Mehar Afroze, Margery Hussain, Shahnaz Ismail and students of Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, and Arts Council took part in the exhibition.

One of the highlights of the day and the talk of the town was the fashion show hosted by the PWF and choreographed by Vinny. With a bustling Red Carpet and top of the line designers, the fashion show started with glitz and glamour. Designers that showcased were Fahad Hussayn, Ahmed Bilal, FunkAsia, Lajwanti by Ana Ali, Adnan Pardesy, Nida Azwer, Sobia Nazir and Mehdi.

The day ended with the most awaited part of the festival, the PWF concert. Mai Dhai, Natasha Baig, Ali Zafar and Ahmed Jahanzaib gave mesmerizing performances before a packed audience.

All in all, the second day of Pakistan Women Festival was a massive success, building anticipation for the the grand finale when Stereo Nation is expected to perform

The PR of the event was handled by STARLINKS PR and Events, while event management of PWF was done by High Events.

Third day of Pakistan Women Festival

Pakistan Women Festival 2017 pays tribute to women on Independence Day

Karachi, Monday, August 14, 2017:

The third and final day of the three-day festival, paying tribute to the women of Pakistan, culminated here, today at the Global Marquees. The day started with a

Woman Empowerment Seminar, culminating in Pakistan Women Festival Awards and was followed

by a Health Seminar. Concurrently, an art exhibition took place all day. Free Yoga classes and a cooking show was also organized. The evening ended with a scintillating concert featuring an international performance by Stereo Nation.

The objective of Pakistan Women Festival 2017 is to honour women, recognize their contributions

to society and discuss their issues, whether empowerment-related or health.

The final day opened with a women empowerment seminar organised by STARLINKS PR and hosted by Shanaz Ramzi, featuring Khushbakht Shujat, who took the stage and gave a motivating speech on ‘Women tackling challenges in Education in Pakistan’. After the speech, a panel discussion took place on the same topic i.e.: ‘Women tackling challenges in Education in Pakistan’. The panellists included: Nargis Alvi, Shaha Tariq, Ameena Saiyed and Ambreena Ahmed, whereas the moderation was done by Sahibzadi Mahin Khan. The seminar ended with an award ceremony in which five inspiring women were recognised for their efforts in promoting UNSDGs.

The award winners were:

Dr Quratulain Bakhteari for Reduced Inequalities

Shireen Halai for Recycle for charity in the category of Responsible consumption

Sabiha Zaman for Climate action

Tahira Mohammed Ali Shah (LATE) for Life below water

and Dr Aamena Hasan for Life on Land

After a short break, Women Health Seminar also organised by STARLINKS PR took off. The three-day health seminar addressed the various health care issues and opportunities in Pakistan. The seminar was divided into two sessions. The panel for Session One was of 'Paediatric Care Essentials in the 21st Century' and included Dr Fareeduddin, Dr Anokhi Khanum and Dr Sohail Thobani, whereas Dr Atif Mansoor was the moderator.

The second session was on the subject of 'Oral Hygiene for Healthier Living'. The panellists consisted of Dr Babur Ashraf, Dr Javeria Qureshi, Dr Wajeeha Rehman and Dr Nadia Hussain. The moderation of the panel was done by Dr Sidra Khan.

Hussain, Mehar Afroze, Margery Hussain, Shahnaz Ismail and students of Indus Valley School of

Art and Architecture, and Arts Council took part in the exhibition. Free Yoga classes were also taking place in the adjacent Hall. Three chefs from HUM TV also conducted a free cooking session for women.

The day ended with the most awaited part of the festival, the PWF concert. Amanat Ali, Zoe Viccaji, Alycia Dias and the internationally acclaimed Stereo Nation gave mesmerizing performances before a packed audience. All in all, the last day of Pakistan Women Festival was a massive success. Women and men participated from different walks of life and enjoyed it. It is to be noted that Pakistan Women Festival aims to be an annual event.