A special seminar and resistance poetry session were organized under the auspices of the Progressive Writers Association of Pakistan and the Pakistan Media Foundation, Islamabad, to commemorate International Women’s Day and the birthday of renowned subcontinent poet and film lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi.
The seminar was titled “Woman is Not a Gender, She is Human” and “We, the Sinful Women”. The session was presided over by Zareen Suleman (Panna Ji), while special guests included Dr. Amjad Tufail, Bina Goindi, Zahid Hassan, Almas Shabi (USA), and Ayesha Tasleem.
Speakers included Comrade Tanveer Ahmed Khan, Raza Naeem, Comrade Jahangir Sandhu, Zahida Parveen, Maha Maryam, and Dr. Zarqa Naseem Ghalib. The seminar was hosted by Javed Aftab.
The resistance poetry session drew inspiration from Sahir Ludhianvi’s verse: “Woman gave birth to men… men turned her into a market”, and from Dr. Khalid Javed Jan’s poem on women, “I Am Not Half”. The session was chaired by Dr. Khalid Javed Jan and Musarrat Kalanchvi. Special guests included Shehzad Nayyar, Bina Goindi, Zahid Hassan, Almas Shabi, Rubina Rajput, and Shabnam Mirza. Featured poets were Javed Aftab, Waqar Ahmed Waqar, Rizwan Rizvi, and Khawar Shah. The session was hosted by Fatima Ghazal.
A soulful musical performance was presented by Munaahil Khan, captivating the audience with her expressive voice. The event commenced with an Iftar for the guests in honor of the holy month of Ramadan, arranged by Syed Sajjad Bukhari and Zia Chawla, who were duly thanked.
The event’s organizing committee included Comrade Tanveer Ahmed Khan (Central President, Pakistan), Syed Sajjad Bukhari (Chairman, PMF Islamabad), Javed Aftab (Central Secretary, Pakistan), Zamad Grewal (Information Secretary, PWA Punjab), Raza Naeem (President, PWA Lahore), Mubeena Aseem (Deputy Secretary, PWA Lahore), Mir Hadi Abbas (Vice President, Lahore), and Nabeela Akbar (Information Secretary, PWA Lahore).
