Young film-makers highlight gender, tax nexus

Short films portray effect of tax laws on women’s economic, social and political lives

RAWALPINDI: A large number of university students from Punjab and Sindh came together to highlight gender insensitive tax laws and their adverse effect on women’s economic, social and political life through films.

Focused on creating awareness on fiscal justice, the second National Tax Justice Youth Film Festival under its Fair Tax Campaign provided a unique platform and opportunity for the youth of Pakistan to showcase their talent through short films and documentaries.

Held at the Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi (PMAS-AAUR) on Wednesday, around 32 entries by students from 20 public and private universities of the country showcased films on the theme of gender and tax nexus.



Speaking on the occasion, Netherlands’ Ambassador Jeannette Seppen said that she was impressed to see so many talented young students be to engage the subject of taxes through films.

Nobody likes to pay taxes, she said, adding that taxes were a key source of income for any democratic government to finance sustainable development and economic growth for all.

PMAS-AAUR Vice Chancellor Dr Rai Niaz Ahmad said the country’s tax system was based on progressive tax model, higher the income; the higher would be the tax.

Farzana Bari, the former head of gender studies at Quaid-e-Azam University, said that women in Pakistan were confronted with complex challenges. She said that both urban as well rural women lacked accesses to economic and political opportunities.

During his welcome remarks Oxfam Country Director Mohammed Qazilbash said that only a pro-poor tax law along with a fair tax system could lead to improvement in the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 30^th, 2017.