ABPAW holds Eid Milan at Rawalpindi Gymkhana

Rawalpindi

The Association of Business; Professional and Agricultural Women (ABPAW) held an Eid Milan get together at a little known but nice venue, the Rawalpindi Gymkhana.

The event was ‘on the house’ and not a fund raiser but a celebration  -- a once a year relaxation of the rules -- not to say the members mind paying the nominal fees charged at regular meetings! There was fun and games and the morning passed in a pleasant atmosphere, with two stalls -- one of clothing and the other of jewellery -- providing the means to satisfy the urge for shopping most women have.

After giving enough time for the members to arrive, president ABPAW, Tahmeena Malik welcomed everyone; said she was not going to give a lecture and announced the programme for the morning, urging the ladies to be sporting and participate without any ‘nakhra!’ (fuss) But, it has to be said, a couple of games were played with lots of laughter and ‘sportsmanship,’ so all went well and the game which had a prize was won by Shaukat Arif. Ladies had also been asked to come dressed in their Eid finery, which they did and the prize for this effort went to Shahida Naveed.

Refreshments were served and members caught up with the latest achievements and events in each other’s lives while enjoying the fare. In the end it was decided that the venue was satisfactory and it would be feasible to use it in future as well -- which may have come as a relief to some members! This is because in the last meeting held before Ramzan, it had been decided to ask members to volunteer their homes as hotels and other public places were not so generous or conscious of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) these days and were now charging too much. This was not a viable option as it decreased the amount of funds collected for welfare projects run by the association.

ABPAW is a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). The association is non-sectarian and n on-political in the sense that it does not interfere in the politics of nations but it does encourage women to take an active interest in the politics of their own country. Briefly, its chief aim is to elevate the status of women and encourage them to play an active role in the economic, social and political life of their country. Branches of the association can be found in all major cities of the country.