SMIU Festival of Arts and Ideas concludes

The event featured 40 sessions, screening of documentaries and classical films

KARACHI: The annual Festival of Arts and Ideas, organised by Sindh Madressatul Islam University (SMIU), concluded on Saturday after weeklong activities, which included 40 sessions on various subjects and issues, screening of documentaries and classical films and quiz competitions.

SMIU Vice Chancellor (VC) Dr Muhammad Ali Shaikh said the event provided a platform to students to showcase their talents and boost their confidence. He was hopeful that they would be able to explore their interests further.

Speaking at the distinguished lecture series, Ameena Saiyid, former managing director of Oxford University Press (OUP), said that women in Pakistan were making a niche for themselves in the country's male-dominated business establishments and it was just the beginning.



Prof Abdurrahman Tufan, a Turkish professor affiliated with school of medicine in Gazi University, Ankara, said that modern day technology had contributed to the field of medicine and helped save precious lives. He said that drones should be improved and used to provide emergency treatment.

A panel discussion on stereotypes for women was held in which Shaista Muhammad Ali said women in Pakistan had enhanced their status through a long struggle spanning over decades.

Dr Masuma Hasan agreed, saying she had witnessed a change in the past decades regarding women's status in the country. Dr Arfana Malah said positive discrimination, by which marginalized communities and segments of societies were being helped to emancipate, should continue until women in Pakistan and elsewhere did not gain status at par with men.

A session on Shakespeare's poetic wisdom was also held among others.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 16^th, 2018.