HYDERABAD: Speakers at the second edition of Lahooti Mello that concluded at Hyderabad Club on Sunday discussed gender issues and revival of Pakistani films and remarked that woman was either talked about from the perspective of victimhood or was over glamorised.

“Eve’s power play” was one of the important sessions moderated by Sahar Gul with panellists Senator Sassui Palijo, university teacher Arfana Mallah, architect Marvi Mazhar.

On Saturday the Mello was inaugurated by Sindh Minister for Culture Syed Sardar Ali Shah and US Consul General Grace W. Shelton. US Consulate Karachi was also partner in the event.

Marvi Mazhar said: “Since I belong to a political family and party like PPP I didn’t face any hurdle but still there are barriers for women. Such support is not usually available for an average woman who will have to assert herself”.

To a question from audience, she said that a woman was most likely not to lie. “It is perhaps because of a woman’s upbringing that her score on honesty’s count is better,” she remarked.

Her co-panellist Arfana Mallah disagreed, saying “it is in fact society’s checks and balances over a woman that she can’t afford being dishonest”.

Moderator agreed with a questioner, Wusatullah Khan, that it was a process and struggle that mattered and there were many heroes like Fatima Jinnah who stood against a dictator and Nusrat Bhutto who fought for democracy and remained unsung in history. At that point, Marvi Mazhar interjected to say that usually society talked about the celebrated heroes.

On women’s security concerns, Ms Mallah pointed out that paradigm regarding woman’s honour was changing and people needed to understand that her honour was not attached to her body. It was in fact everyone’s own lens to look at women’s empowerment. “Society is now questioning such social structure that deals with women,” she said.

She said that woman was not taken as an individual in society but she was either discussed from the perspective of victimhood or was over glamorised.

She disagreed with a suggestion that if a rural woman attended to call of nature in the open fields it reflected her strength and said what was important was where this very woman was placed in society.

She said that women faced patriarchy in every society with different trends. She added that in Sindh woman’s community and class background mattered the most.

Senator Palijo said while answering a question about misconception of feminism that unless women asserted themselves they would not be able to seek empowerment.

Film director Jamshed Mehmood Raza alias Jami while sharing his views at a session moderated by journalist, Rafay Mahmood, on “filmy chukar” with panellist Mehmood Mughal observed that revival of film industry was not that easy but it was gradually picking up pace.

“It is a fact when there were no Indian movies cinegoers were not seen in cinemas. You know one tends to visit a restaurant which is full of customers. Same goes for a cinema house,” he said.

He agreed with a questioner, Saif Samejo, that narrative of Pakistani artists should be collective and not only Punjab’s.

Jami said that his best production was Moor which talked about Balochistan although he was not able to speak about Balochistan’s issues that much.

He said that people of Sindh would have to speak loud and clear. He said that there was a mindset which wanted to invest Rs60m and earn Rs200m. Pakistani film industry was not stable but it would stabilise with passage of time.

The audience showed great excitement in story telling session by journalist Wusatullah Khan who narrated his life’s story and how he became a journalist though he aspired to be a pilot.

He never wrote until he had had a bet with a university friend for having his article published in a newspaper. “I won that bet of Rs200 after writing a piece on South Africa’s nuclear explosion story in a Urdu daily,” he said.

Lahooti Mello was held in perfect weather conditions. All main sessions including musical gatherings were held in the lawn of Hyderabad Club amid sunlight and moderate cold in the afternoon on Saturday and Sunday.

Saif Samejo, the driving force behind Lahooti Mello for which he partnered with US Consulate Karachi, believed that musical diversity was important and he had tried to gather singers and musicians from different areas.

“There were three American performers, one Hungarian and seven Nepalis who performed on fusion music in daylight and solo performances in the evening,” he said.

Published in Dawn January 23rd, 2017