Critical Thinking Forum’s Grant Project

“Consciousness Raising of Pakistani Women on Contemporary Academic and Social Issues (2015-2017)”

Orientation Workshop of the Project

An orientation workshop about the grant project “ Consciousness Raising of Pakistani Women on Contemporary Academic and Social Issues (2015-2017)” was held on 17thSeptember 2015 in the Seminar Room, Hazrat Fatima-tu-Zahra block, Women’s Campus, International Islamic University, Islamabad. The grant project was approved under the “Women Empowerment Program” and is being carried out in collaboration with the Department of State, Public Affairs Section, US Embassy, Islamabad.

ONE-DAY SEMINARS

“Encountering Violence against Women” (First Quarter)

The one-day seminar titled “Encountering Violence against Women” was organized by Critical Thinking Forum (CTF) in the Lincoln Corner of the Central Library on 18thNovember 2015 and was attended by over 50 participants. The guest of honour Ms. Christina Tomlinson discussed the United States’ commitment to the provision of human rights in general and women’s rights in particular and appreciated the contribution of Critical Thinking Forum in the consciousness-raising of Pakistani women. The other guests for the seminar were Dr. Ammar Nasir (Religious Scholar and Researcher, GIFT University Gujranwala), Dr. Rakshinda Perveen (Writer, Director and Producer of Program Gender Watch and Human Rights’ Activist), Ms. Saba Ghori (Mission Gender Advisor, Department of State, US Embassy) and Dr. KehkashanArouj (Chairperson, Department of Psychology, IIUI). The religious, social and psychological aspects of the violence against women were discussed by the guest speakers with reference to the multiple examples from the society. 

“World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development” (Third Quarter)

The Critical Thinking Forum (CTF) organized a seminar on the “World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development” on May 06, 2016. The young female discussants represented their region highlighting cultural diversity of Pakistani society. The discussants brilliantly presented details regarding their rich ethnic culture, traditions, local festivals, wedding ceremonies, local cuisine, folk music and dances. They also discussed the changing roles of women in their regions and dismantled various misconceptions existing about their communities. Ranging from KPK, Chitral, Gilgit Baltistan, Waziristan, Kashmir, Balochistan, Sindh, and Punjab all parts of Pakistan were represented while the majority of the female presenters belonged to the remote areas and kindled a hope about the bright future of Pakistan.

“World Day for Elimination of Violence against Women” (Fifth Quarter)

On 9th November 2016, Critical Thinking Forum arranged a one-day seminar on “World Day for Elimination of Violence against Women”. The event was attended by students and faculty members from various disciplines. The discussion revolved around the different forms of gender discrimination prevalent in our society and the dire need to work from grass root level to bring about a gradual yet sustainable change.

“International Women’s Day”(Sixth Quarter)

CTF organized a one-day seminar on International Women’s Day on 7th March 2017. The guest speakers for the seminar were Dr. Humera Ishfaq (Urdu Department), and Dr. Sarwat Rasool (Head of the Department of English FJWU Rawalpindi). Dr Humera presented an astute analysis of the conditions of colonial India and women’s constant struggle to make space for themselves, making sure that their voices are heard in a patriarchal society. Dr. Rasul asserted that equality becomes impalpable, and it is Equity that we demand; an acceptance of our existence, recognition of the way we are and acknowledgement of the impact created by our presence. The session concluded after determining a way forward through reliance on education, not opposition but negotiation, systematization, focus, and prioritization.

1. On September 13th, 2017, CTF hosted a lecture by the distinguished scholar, Prof. Dr. Waqas Khwaja from Agnes Scott College, USA. The subject of the talk was Ta Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me. Participants gained an insight into the Black Civil Rights movement and the poignant parallels that can be drawn at the heart of the struggle with the colonization. Prof. Khwajaemphasized the importance of seeing the linkages between racial stereotyping and understanding the resistance as common to all people of color.
2. On 3rdApril 2017, CTF organized a Lecture on ‘English Language Imperialism and Confused Nations’. The lecture was organized with the collaboration of Prof. Dr. Shaheena Ayub Bhatti (Associate Prof. English & Director, Center for Women’s Studies, FJWU). The guest speaker for the session was Dr. Asantha Barborich. Dr. Barborich is a Fulbright scholar and her field is ELT. Currently she is working as a Senior Lecturer in English Language Teaching Unit (ELTU) University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. The main focus of the discussion was the impacts of colonialism and imperialism on the usage of the English language within the colonized nations. It was a very interesting and engaging session which generated very useful discussion about learning and teaching English as a foreign language.
3. On 5thApril 2017, CTF organized a Lecture on ‘Hyper-Reality and the Future of Political Science’. The guest speaker for the session was Adam Lawrence Barborich who is an American political scientist and a Ph.D. Candidate at University of Peradeniya. The focus of the discussion was the analysis of the US Elections campaign 2016 and its implications through the cannon of Hyper-Reality. He also discussed the concept of hyper reality with reference to the manipulation of facts done by media and he shared Trump’s policy of ‘No Publicity is a Bad Publicity’ which he followed during his campaign as an example in this regard. It was a very engaging and eye-opening session which addressed a lot of existing confusions in the minds of the students about the unexpected success of Trump as a president.
4. A Lecture on ‘Manuscripts Don’t Burn: Saving Literature’ was held in the CTF seminar room on 10th April 2017. The guest speaker was Dr. Adele Marie Barker. Dr. Barker is a Professor Emeritus of Russian and Comparative Cultural and Literary Studies at the University of Arizona. She is the author of The Mother Syndrome in the Russian Folk Imagination and coeditor of Dialogues/Dialogi: Literary and Cultural Exchanges between (Ex) Soviet and American Women. The session focused on the importance of Literature in any social and political history. Dr. Barker foregrounded the significance of Literature and writers by tracing the roots of Soviet Revolution and the role played by Literature in it. The session proved to be a very enlightening one, providing the audience with intriguing food-for-thought.

On 4th August 2017, CTF conducted two workshop sessions on ‘Critical Thinking in Peace Building Efforts’ in PUAN International Peace Building Conference, ‘Together for Peace’. For CTF members it was a wonderful experience to interact with people from diverse backgrounds who shared their thoughts and viewpoints about the importance of critical thinking and why it is necessary to have critical thinking in peace building process.

Workshops conducted in the Second Quarter
January –March 2016

Workshop II of the Grant Project
Title:“Consciousness-Raising of Pakistani Society and the Role of Critical Thinking Forum (CTF)”
Venue: COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Lahore

A workshop on “Consciousness-Raising of Pakistani Society and Role of Critical Thinking Forum” (with a special focus on women) was organized by Critical Thinking Forum (CTF) on 5th January 2016 at COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Lahore. Dr. Munazza Yaqoob, Ms. Farhat Meher, Ms. Sofia Hussain and Ms. Sonia Irum were the resource persons of the workshop. Dr. Filza Waseem (Head of Humanities Department, COMSATS) was the workshop coordinator at COMSATS. The workshop was attended by over 50 faculty members and students (both male and female) of different departments of COMSATS, Lahore.
The workshop included three sessions focused on the history, objectives and significance of the Critical Thinking Forum as well as the Consciousness-Raising project.

Workshop III of the Grant Project

Title:“Consciousness-Raising of Pakistani Society and the Role of Critical Thinking Forum (CTF)”
Venue: Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi

The Critical Thinking Forum conducted a workshop on “Consciousness–Raising of Pakistani Society and the Role of Critical Thinking Forum (CTF)”(with a special focus on women) at Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi on 19th February 2016. Around fifty participants attended the workshop. Ms. Farhat Meher, Ms. Sofia Hussain, Ms. Farhana Shamim, Ms. Sara Rashed, Ms. Mehwish Haider and Ms. Sumaira Batool were the resource persons of the workshop. Dr. Sarwet Rasul (Associate Professor, FJWU) was the coordinator of the workshop.
The productive use of social media along with the organization of educational workshops and seminars were suggested as some of the means of creating awareness about consciousness-raising and achieving its objectives.

Workshop IV of the Grant Project

Title:“Consciousness-Raising of Pakistani Society and the Role of Critical Thinking Forum (CTF)”
Venue: Iqra University, Islamabad
The Critical Thinking Forum conducted a successful workshop on ‘Consciousness-Raising of Pakistani Society and the Role of Critical Thinking Forum (CTF)’ at Iqra University, Islamabad, on 25th March 2016 which was attended by over fifty participants. The resource persons of the workshop included Ms. Farhat Meher, Ms. Sofia Hussain, Ms. Farhana Shamim, Ms. Sara Rashed, Ms. Mehwish Haider and Ms. Sumaira Batool. The Project Director, Dr. Munazza Yaqoob was also present via Skype. Dr. Humaira Ahmed, (Director, Students’ Affairs, Iqra University, Islamabad) was the coordinator of the workshop.
The young female students and faculty debated and argued about the various aspects of gender bias and agreed to develop a culture of inquiry and critique to devise solutions to deconstruct different forms of discrimination faced by women.

CTF’s Follow-up Workshop at COMSATS Lahore

Team CTF visited COMSATS Institute of Information Technology Lahore Campus on 22nd and 23rdDecember 2016. During this visit, a follow up “Consciousness-Raising” workshop was conducted as part of the project activities with the help of Dr. Filza Waseem who made sure that the workshop turned out to be a great success. On the first day, an informal meeting with the faculty and students took place, whereas the workshop was conducted on the second day. Both the faculty and the students actively participated in highlighting various social, cultural and political problems of contemporary Pakistani society and possible solutions which would have the potential to pave the way for a just and equitable society.

1. Dr. Munazza Yaqoob represented the Critical Thinking Forum at PUAN IWEC 2015 and conducted a workshop on "Socio-cultural trends in Pakistan and Question of Women Empowerment."
2. A two-day workshop on creative and script writing was conducted by CTF in collaboration with The Department of English (Female Campus), IIUI on 24th and 26th August 2015. Ms. QaisraShahraz, a renowned Pakistani fiction and script writer was the resource person for the workshop.