Needs, challenges faced by girls highlighted

Islamabad :Girl students had an extensive discussion regarding situation of the rights of girl child in Pakistan with experts from United Nations, civil society representatives and parliamentarians at a panel discussion held in The City School Capital Campus.

The students actively participated in the panel discussion; questioning the panellist on their experiences regarding gender inequality in their respective fields, along with advice on how to battle gender stereotypes in today’s world. The school administration collaborated with Connecther, (an Austin-based global non-profit organisation), to host an event in honour of International Day of the Girl.

The event was organised to commemorate International Girl Child Day. The day is celebrated around the globe to highlight the needs and challenges girls face while also promoting women empowerment. The event provided an opportunity for students to come together and learn about the critical issues affecting girls, along with celebrating the work of female change-makers all over the globe.

The event was dedicated to internationally renowned Pakistani chef, Fatima Ali, who recently passed away. Her father and ex-Attorney General of Pakistan, Ashtar Ausaf, attended the event and talked passionately about his daughter, and the empowerment of women in the society.

The event also featured screening of a video prepared by the students titled ‘Women that Inspire You’ to pay tribute to the extraordinary women. They spoke about strong, independent women they look up to, mentioning their mothers, sisters, teachers and even celebrities.

There was an intellectual and informative panel discussion among influential guest speakers. These included MNA and President Parwaan Network Mehnaz Akbar Aziz. Parwaan is an early childhood and development program. Kamran Naeem from Unicef talked about Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) issues concerned with child and female sanitation. Other speakers were International Labour Organization’s Country Director for Pakistan Ingrid Christiansen and appointed Chief in the Unit for Field Programme and Results-based Monitoring in the Technical Cooperation Department Miná Dowlatchahi.