By Nihad Amani
Hyderabad: The five-day long exhibition, PathBreakers, aimed at youngsters to get connected with the women of substance from the past ended on Wednesday.
The programme that included daily panel discussion on various aspects of women empowerment was organized by Muslim Women’s Forum, New Delhi, Confederation of Voluntary Associations (COVA) and TMREIS (Telangana Minorities Residential Educational Institutions Society).
The event was inaugurated on August 3 by A.K. Khan, Advisor to the Government of Telangana, while Dr. Syeda Hameed, former Member, Planning Commission and President of Muslim Women’s Forum explained the concept, objectives and the efforts that went into the creation of this unique exhibition. Mr. Jayesh Ranjan, Secretary, IT, Government of Telangana released a special Booklet on The PathBreakers.
The exhibition displayed the sketches depicting the history of 21 women across the country. These women had not only broken the stereotypes but became an inspiration for the country. These women came out of their traditional life styles and took active part in the struggle for independence of the country. After the independence they became writers, teachers, artists, scientists, lawyers, educators, political workers and trade unionists. A few of them also became members of parliament and legislatures while other represented India in international forum, the conference was told.
“It’s high time to break the stereotype of Muslim Women as victims of triple talaq, polygamy, burqa, halala,” Mazher Hussain, Executive Director of COVA, said.
The exhibition had attracted more than 2000 students, 300 visitors and students from 25 schools. Two panel discussions were organized–one each in the forenoon and afternoon.
Syeda Falak (Karate Champion), Syeda Salva Fatima (Pilot) and Nikhat Zareen (boxing sensation) spoke about their hardships they faced in becoming achievers. Dr. Safia Mehdi from Delhi, Prof. Ismath Mehdi, Dr. Avdesh Rani, Dr. Ameena Tahseen, Prof. Salma Faruqui, Dr. Anand Raj Varma, Ms. K. Vimala, Mr. Veda Kumar, Dr. B.V Subba Rao and Ms. Dilnaz Baig spoke during the sessions.