April 27, 2006

The idea behind the Women’s Expo is to develop a national women's interactive platform to integrate the efforts of all the concerned quarters that are working for women empowerment and development, writes Sumera S. Naqvi

The diehard feminist would perhaps raise an eyebrow over two things at the recent Women’s Expo: one, the intense commercial hype, as one could see a swarm of companies and multinationals humming to the buzz-words, ‘celebrate the woman in you’, and luring women to spend a fortune buying a multitude of products displayed at the approximately 400 stalls at the Expo Centre. And two, what were men doing in a women’s event?

Well, since radical feminism is a thing of the past, such cynicism needs to be ignored to yield to the new change in the woman of today. “I am happy to be part of this event,” said Zahra, a student of the University of Karachi who believes that humanism is a better replacement to feminism. “You feel you are a team player rather than an outcast.”

Despite heavy odds like the major bomb blast in a religious congregation in the city, the Women’s Expo held recently from April 13-16 was quite a runaway success. According to an estimate, around three million women attended the Expo, and one wouldn’t be surprised if the figure was actually true. The long queues of families up to the reception area and of cars outside the gates were ample proof. In collaboration with the Ministry of Women Development and and Fourth Dimension, the Expo was also attended by many NGOs, multinationals and local companies that target women as their niche market.

The first two days had a lukewarm response due to the strike in the city but by Friday evening people started pouring in, lured by a variety of stuff –– clothing materials, dresses, cosmetics, household goods, furniture, books, accessories etc. The inaugural scheduled for April 13 had to be shifted to a later date while some sessions on a variety of issues relating to women had to be postponed due to the lack of audience. Saturday morning’s inaugural and the following sessions on women’s individuality, empowerment and leadership, their diet and lifestyle, and on how to be a complete woman, were sufficiently attended.

Though critics were quick to find the same old rhetoric presented by the government officials on how much they are doing for women, Senator Nilofar Bakhtiar, Advisor for Women Development, said that the idea behind the Women’s Expo was “to develop a national women’s interactive platform to integrate the efforts of all the concerned quarters that are working for women empowerment and development.” Such an event will also help in reducing the gap between the government, non-governmental sector, the corporate sector and the public, said an organiser. Whether that turns into reality or remains a deliberate glitch is a million dollar guess.

A worth seeing hall was the ‘Hunarmand Aurat’ pavilion where stalls were put up by almost 200 women from interior Sindh, NWFP, Balochistan, Punjab, FATA and the earthquake ridden areas, exhibiting a variety of handmade stuff including linen, decorative items, clothes, accessories etc. “These women have been able to received a lot of exposure from potential buyers through the Expo,” said Zeeshan Jafri, chief coordinator for the event.

Presentations were made by Sabahat Tatari, chairperson of Working Group for Women at the Aga Khan University, Dr Abid Hasnain, chairman of Department of Food Sciences and Technology at Karachi University, and Ghazala Nadeem, manager at a multinational. The speakers exchanged viewpoints that helped delineate ways to a new perspective to woman empowerment. “Women’s roles are changing,” said Sabahat Tatari, “They are uniting to protest against injustices and taking control of the influences shaping their lives and that of their families.” She pointed out that Pakistan was the only country to have a female major-general, and the only Muslim country to have women fighter pilots. A major challenge for women has been to strike a balance between their homes and careers. “The need is to plan priorities by proper planning and time management to create a balance,” she said.

Ghazala Nadeem said that the corporate woman has played a vital role in making the work environment more conducive for other women. Discussion on women’s health and integration of new lifestyles was quite upbeat as Dr Abid Hasnain cleared many misconceptions and emphasised more active lifestyles. “In trying to get thinner, young girls opt for intense dieting which affects their health in the long run,” he said. Besides, women develop health risks due to irregular lifestyles, erratic sleep patterns, lack of exercise, dieting, and also, negative thinking. “Today, a woman’s best friend is the television. Women tend to spend hours in front of it and becoming couch potatoes. It has also been observed that a housewife tends to put on more weight than a working woman as housewives spend more time on the dinner table to see that everyone has eaten.” His parting note was ‘change your lifestyle, save your life, eat right, get active, stay healthy and enjoy life’.

The spotlight fell mostly on Nayana Karunaratne, a female entrepreneur in hairstyling and beauty who had travelled all the way from Sri Lanka to attend the event. People came to listen to her talk about the ingredients that make a complete woman –– how to carry herself, behave, become confident, and make use of her strengths –– and to see a beauty workshop by her the following day. Karunaratne is the founder and President of Sri Lanka Association of Hair Dressers ad Beauticians, and the owner of a chain of unisex beauty salons in Sri Lanka and India along with an institute on personal development. She has also written three books entitled Matter of Hair, Beauty Therapy and The Look.

“From a cute cuddly child to becoming a grandmother, a woman is the embodiment of love and care. Whether she is a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother, a mother-in-law, a sister in law or a grandmother, she plays an integral role in society. That is why she needs to capitalise on woman power,” she maintained. She was happy to note some Pakistani women wearing veils and yet forging ahead in society. “There is nothing wrong with following personal beliefs. The important thing to remember is that you are not a doormat or a dustbin,” she said.

The beauty workshop was a rather mismanaged feature though it pulled the maximum turnout. It began hours after the scheduled time. Karunaratne was at her best despite severe problems backstage, churning out beautiful and unique hairdos of wafer-thin models.

The president of the Pakistan Hair and Beauty Association (PHABA), Ruhana Iqbal regretted that some salon owners disappeared in the time of need. “Also, we were told at the eleventh hour that the costumes should not be sleeveless so we made last minute arrangements to comply with the ministry’s requirements.” She however, was happy to have put up a good show through the collective effort of sincere hair stylists in the city.

It was quite encouraging to see many men attending the event. “I could see men picking women’s loads and helping them put up stalls, which is so encouraging,” said a visitor. As they say, there has always been a woman behind a successful man, perhaps the time has come for men to pay back.

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