KARACHI:
Among the 12 colourful pages of the United Nations Girls Education Initiative’s (UNGEI) calendar for this year, contains a drawing made by 14-year-old Shaheer Ahmed, a class VIII student at the Bahria Model School Karsaz.
The dozen pictures in the calendar were selected from over 3,000 submissions to the UNGEI Asia-Pacific Drawing Contest 2011. Youngsters, below 18 years of age, from 24 countries from Asia and the Pacific region applied to the competition. The theme of the drawing contest was, “How does girls’ and boys’ equality in education help us all?”
“The aim of the calendar was to raise public awareness about regional issues of gender equality in education, and to paint a picture of the benefits reaped from gender equality in education,” said United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) Bangkok director Gwang-Jo Kim.
Shaheer wanted his elders to follow suit. “I would like to see older people upholding the country’s name through good deeds, like the ones children have been doing,” Shaheer told The Express Tribune.
Shaheer had used wax crayons to outline the drawing and then painted it in watercolour during his summer vacations last year. “In my drawing, I placed a male and a female student on a weighing scale, [which is] perfectly balanced.” The star to the left of the scale represents a compass, which shows that the scale would remain balanced, regardless of the direction it is viewed from.
Apart from Shaheer, other youngsters whose drawings made to the calendar belonged to China, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Papua New Guinea, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines, Laos, New Zealand, Malaysia and Cambodia.
Despite having an interest in painting, Shaheer is more fascinated by astronauts and wants to pursue a career in aerospace engineering.
“Our children are not less talented than children of other countries,” said Shaheer’s father, Rehmatullah Shaikh. “We only need to provide them equal opportunities to help them utilise their talent while competing all over the world.”
Pakistan is a country where female students frequently become victims of discrimination, and the net primary school enrolment ratio is 76 per cent for boys but only 57 per cent for girls, said Bahria Model School Karsaz principal Rakhshanda Kaukab.
Kaukab told The Express Tribune that her school receives invitations for numerous events and competitions, and she lets students participate in activities they are interested in.
“This was a big competition and I’m proud that [Shaheer] bagged the prize,” said Kaukab. Kaukab also recommended Shaheer’s name for the Chief of the Naval Staff Award, which is given by the Pakistan Navy to students who excel in academic and extracurricular activities.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 2nd, 2012.
COMMENTS (12)
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WONDERFUL - where can we see the drawing??
@Sky: Well done Shaheer! keep it up !!! This is a great success to uphold the name of the country in a forum of joint world community and in my opinion the credit equally goes to your parent and teachers as well. They too deserve the congratulations from all of us.
Tauqir Syed Bokhari
Oh God guide us to the right path : a path of love, a constant, profitable, gentle path. We as a nation did wrong to our first Aerospace Engineer - the Physicist and Noble Laureate Prof. Abdussalam who founded SUPARCO but was removed by our ignorance (and thanks to certain elements from abroad who wanted to put distance between him and us; so our country does not benefit from the brilliant minds we have nourished through our blood and tears and sweat). May God honor our people and make us pretty and wealthy and loving like the westerners.
Pakistani boys and girls are second to none when it comes to intellect. Pakistan's problem is mullah based culture.
Geo Pakistani!!
First let me congratulate the young man.
@Rational: Countries like Pakistan are supposedly full of God fearing people. Did it help in any way? Are people are tolerant? Are people not killing each other in the name of God? Are people leading quality life? Do law & order exist? Are women respected? Is corruption is non existent?
hats off Shaheer,
Congrats......good to see young generation understands importance of gender equality
Good Shaheer Keep it up…!
good going..we need lots of ur kinds
Well my dear,
Only education doesn't help........George Bush and Tony Blair were quite educated from our standards but they waged a war without any justification and killed thousands of people......
It was because they were educated but not "God fearing individuals"strong text
Can we see the drawing please.