was 18 and could legally marry Jinnah.
In a country where women are killed in the name of honour for choosing to marry a partner of their liking, Humaira believes that the fact that the country’s founding father himself married a woman who chose him even though her parents were against it, students need to think about it.
Similarly, while citing a scene from the movie where Jinnah admonished a man during a press conference for blaming him of having deviated from the teachings of Islam by encouraging Fatima Jinnah to participate in politics, she said it was important that the nation knew how rigorous a proponent of women empowerment Quaid-e-Azam was.
Veteran political activist, Azhar Jamil, who was invited as a speaker, was of the opinion that the film although not entirely historically accurate and was made from the director’s perspective, it did highlight Jinnah’s love for minority communities, his stance on women empowerment and his peaceful politics.
While referring to the violence that ensued following the partition, Jamil said it was actually the British administration’s failure to follow through a peaceful transition. “There were extremist elements on both sides of the border that used the circumstances to their benefit.”
Considering the extent to which religious fundamentalism had permeated through our society, he observed that dialogue and discussions were the need of the hour.
Admiring the students’ enthusiasm, Jamil said the questions might have been very simple but they were encouraged to read more about Jinnah.
Having pulled off the event amid the precarious law and order situation in the city, Humaira further plans on organising a similar event with students of elite schools paying for the tickets of students belonging to underprivileged schools.
She also plans on starting an essay competition with respect to the white colour in the flag denoting the representation of minorities in the country.