Join us at the Karachi Library as we celebrate the launch of “Mightier” – an anthology spotlighting the voices of women writers from the Zeenat Haroon Rashid Writing Prize for Women, offering fresh perspectives, bold narratives, and untold stories waiting to be explored.
The session will be moderated by Syra Rashid Vahidy – the founder of the ZHR Prize for Women – and will feature Sadia Khatri, Arsala Jameel Faruqui, Saira Mahmood, and Ayesha Alizeh Arbab on the panel.
Event attendees will have the opportunity to meet the panel and take part in the discussion.
- This event is FREE and for ages 15 and above.
- Date: Tuesday, 5 March 2024
- Time: 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM
- Location: The British Council Karachi Library
MODERATOR
Syra Rashid Vahidy is the founder of the Zeenat Haroon Rashid Writing Prize for Women which she established to honour the memory of her mother. Now retired, Syra has worked as a journalist, copywriter and teacher, as well as a consultant anthropologist to the Sind Department of Culture based in Hyderabad.
PANEL
Sadia Khatri is a writer, teacher, and filmmaker. She writes fiction and non-fiction, often about cities, gender, and faith. She is also an archivist and translator with Amrit Pyala, a filmmaking project about Sufi and Bhakti poetry in Pakistan.
Arsala Jameel Faruqui is a dentist from Karachi who is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Epidemiology and Biostatistics. For nearly ten years she worked as a freelance writer providing original content for various projects, including articles, blogs, and websites for remote clients.
Saira Mahmood is currently a graduate student at the Department of English at the University of Karachi as well as a teacher at the Government Elementary College of Education (GECE) at Hussainabad. She was previously a staff writer at The Tempest, and her current research and writing interests include gender, media, and Muslim womanhood.
Ayesha Alizeh Arbab is a writer, artist, and architect from Karachi, interested in exploring the relationship of the political to different art forms.
ABOUT THE ZHR PRIZE
Named in honour of Zeenat Haroon Rashid (21 Jan 1928 - 8 April 2017), a founding member of the Womens National Guard at the time of Independence, a prize of PKR 100,000 is awarded annually through a competition for writing in English. The competition is open to all women of Pakistani nationality or Pakistani heritage