Rights advocacy: Palestinian poet, activist for joint network

Ambassador Abu Ali appreciates the support of Pakistan for the Palestinian cause.

ISLAMABAD:

The Palestinian people are fighting for a free, liberated land where human rights are protected, said Dr Hanan Awwad, a Palestinian scholar and rights activist who is currently visiting Pakistan.

Awwad was speaking at a gathering at the residence of the Palestinian Ambassador Waleed Abu Ali on Friday. The reception was organised by the Palestinian embassy and the Pakistan chapter of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) for the poet and rights campaigner.

The gathering was attended by writers, poets, human rights activists and members of the diplomatic community.

Awwad, who is the President of the WILPF’s Palestinian chapter, had arrived in Islamabad after attending a peace conference in Lahore.

In her speech, she said she is touched by warm welcome of friends in Pakistan.

She described the difficulties Palestinian people are facing under occupation and said they [Palestinians] are committed to getting freedom.



“The people of Palestine are demanding an urgent end to Israeli occupation and waiting for the dawn of freedom and human dignity,” Awwad said.

She said a network of Pakistanis and Palestinians could work closely to advocate rights of women and children who have been facing human rights violations under the Israeli occupation. Awwad, who is an award-winning writer and poet, recalled late Yasir Arafat for his struggle for the liberation of Palestine and also read one of her poems in Arabic and English.

In his welcome speech, Ambassador Abu Ali appreciated the support of Pakistan for the Palestinian cause and highlighted Awwad’s contribution for freedom through her poetry and writings and as a human rights defender.

When a resolution for Pakistan was being passed at Minto Park (now Iqbal Park) in Lahore back in 1940, one of the twin resolutions that were passed alongside it showed solidarity with the people of Palestine.

Sameena Nazir, the president, WILPF Pakistan and the Executive Director of Potohar Organisation for Development Advocacy, reiterated the civil society’s resolve to continue solidarity with and advocacy for the restoration of human rights in Palestine.

Nazir recalled the words of South African leader, Nelson Mandela, who said the world is not free without Palestine’s freedom. WILPF representatives presented a souvenir to Awwad and to the ambassador.

The WILPF is an international volunteer organisation working for peace and women rights since 1915, in over 30 countries including Pakistan. Its Pakistan chapter was established in 2011 and meets every month in Islamabad to highlight issues of women and peace.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 28^th, 2013.