Women conference ends with pledge to promote Hindko language, culture

PESHAWAR: The First Hindkowan Women Conference concluded at the Archives Hall here with the pledge to take steps for the promotion of Hindko language and culture.
The conference was organised jointly by the Gandhara Hindko Academy and the Gandhara Hindko Board as part of the annual activities the two literary and cultural bodies carry out for the preservation and promotion of Hindko, second main language of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and sixth of the country.
According to the organisers, the moot was convened by Prof Dr Samina Zahid. Its aim was to take women on board in the efforts being made for the promotion of the Hindko language and culture.
Farhat Jabeen, widow of Prof Dr Zahoor Ahmad Awan, the founding-chairman of the Gandhara Hindko Board, presided over the conference.
A noted writer from Peshawar and broadcaster, Aftab Iqbal Bano, was the chief guest.Fashion designer Farishta Awan and painter Faseeha Zia were the guests of honours.
The conference was attended by a large number of women from various sections of the society. They included doctors, teachers, lawyers, writers, poets and members of the civil society organisations.
The participants of the conference — all women - also came out of the Archives Hall and released pigeons and balloons into the air to mark the opening of the programme.Research officer at the Gandhara Hindko Academy, Hina Tahir, conducted the proceedings of the conference.
Representing the Gandhara Hindko Academy, a noted writer, poet and research scholar, Muhammad Ziauddin, welcomed the participants. He urged the women to play the role in the promotion of the Hindko language both inside and outside their homes.
Dr Samina Zahid said the conference showed that women take pride in the Hindko language. She said women accounted for almost half part of the population of the country. “Their participation is a must to get success in every field of life,” she stressed, adding the Hindko language and culture would prosper fast if supported by the women.
The convener extended special thanks to the Gandhara Hindko Board, Gandhara Hindko Academy, private and public sector universities and all those who put in efforts to arrange and make this all-women conference a success.
The woman speakers read out papers to highlight various aspects of the Hindko language and culture. Among the speakers were Aftab Iqbal Bano, Bushra Farukh, Farishta Awan, Prof Dr Umme Salma, Professor Ghazala Yousaf, Resident Director of Aurat Foundation, Shabina Ayaz, Haneefa Bibi, Dr Gulnaz Arshad, Dr Shakira Noreen and Prof Dr Tazeen Gul.
Several resolutions were passed at the conference unanimously. The participants called for efforts to give Hindko language the status that it deserved. They sought arrangements to facilitate children to learn respective languages at schools as optional subject. The conference urged the government to take proper steps for the promotion of all the 30 languages spoken in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Skits were presented by the schoolchildren on the occasion that spotlighted various social problems.
The venue for the conference had been decorated with banners which were inscribed with slogans.Vice-Chairman of the Gandhara Hindko Board and an eminent cultural activist, Dr Salahddin, extended the vote of thanks to the audience at the end of the moot.