The five-day festival to mark the International Women’s Day concluded with a souvenir distribution ceremony to reward participants here at Shakarparian on Monday.
According to a press release issued by the organisers, the chief guests at the ceremony, NDMA Chairman Dr Zafar Iqbal Qadir said the purpose of taking part in the event was to highlight the efforts and achievements of women with regards to livelihood, health, and media reporting during various disasters.
An array of colourful activities were organised during the festival by way of setting up 56 stalls to reflect the needs and issues related to women, girls, children and other vulnerable groups. The main attraction of the festival remained women artisans-at-work, who were seen busy in producing beautiful handicrafts. Prominent artisans were Khalida Parveen for Multani embroidery, Fouzia Naheed for doll making, Yasmin and Robina Ghazi for their embroidery and Mrs Azhar for jewellery making and Spozmai Balochi embroidery.
Other features were traditional food court, stalls by home-based women workers, song and dance performances and entertainment facilities for families. Thousands of visitors from various walks of life attended the festival and praised the organisers for their efforts in presenting such a beautiful event. The festival was jointly organised by Lok Virsa (National Institute of Folk & Traditional Heritage) and Devcom.
In his address, Lok Virsa Executive Director Khalid Javaid thanked all contributors, specially National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) , Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority and UN for extending support and making the event a success. He assured that Lok Virsa, being a prime cultural body charged with the mandate for collection, documentation and preservation of Pakistan’s traditional heritage, will continue to provide an opportunity to the traditional practitioners including master artisans, folk performers and folk dance groups to not only get recognition of their talent but also serve to alleviate poverty among them.
With additional reporting by Sehrish Ali
Published in The Express Tribune, March 13th, 2012.
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