KARACHI: “Today we are celebrating your achievements but tomorrow your real life begins,” remarked Academy Award and Emmy Award winning documentary film-maker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy at the Aga Khan University convocation, where 382 degrees and diplomas were awarded, here on Saturday evening.

Sharing her own story of courage and determination that has brought her to the point where she is, Ms Obaid-Chinoy said the choices that one made in one’s life were very important. “Your choices define you,” she said.

“At 14, I started writing articles for newspapers and I was doing investigative reports at 20. I remember how after a story of mine was published in Dawn’s The Review magazine the people I had exposed in my story got back by writing my name in red on the walls of my home. I thought my father would be worried for me and stop me from writing, but instead he had the walls washed and encouraged me to speak out against the wrongs in society,” she said.

“In 2002, I became a documentary film-maker. We only had one or two television channels back then. I would pitch ideas for my films and receive rejections. As my 81st attempt, I pitched an idea to the president of New York Times Television and was invited to make a presentation that got her approval for funding and training.

“But the school of hard knocks has many twists and turns,” she said before sharing her travels to Swat and other areas in the north to see how children there were turned into suicide bombers.

“Children as young as 10 were being separated from their families and fed hate to become human bombs,” she said. “I showed that to the world but again received harsh criticism as the people here were not prepared to face such issues,” she said before going on to speak about her other projects that have unveiled the truth, something that she intends to keep on doing as it is something which she believes in and wants others to also work with an aim of bettering society by having the courage to see truth and opening the eyes of others as well.

Earlier, in his welcome address Firoz Rasul, president of the AKU, said that today we are living in a border-less age that is interconnected globally.

“It is an age of abundance where knowledge allows us to grow as we would like to grow. With any advance in technology a border is opened. So open yourself up to the possibilities through research partnerships,” he said, adding that the AKU’s physicians in Karachi had been involved in teleconsultations in Afghanistan, Tajikistan as well as in remote areas in Pakistan.

Congratulating the first graduating class of midwives, which is also the first in South Asia, he said the AKU would launch a similar programme in East Africa as well.

He also encouraged the fresh graduates to become members of the AKU Alumni Association and its chapters to help maintain a bond with their alma mater and colleagues.

AKU Trustee Munnawar Hamid conferred the degrees and certificates on the graduates.

Published in Dawn, November 30th, 2014