PESHAWAR: Poets here on Tuesday praised contributions of women to the society and said that no power could stop them from raising voice for their rights.

They read out poems to eulogise the services of women in every field of life, saying they could no longer be caged. Poems were read out in Pashto, Urdu, and Khowar during the poetry recitation session at University of Peshawar.

Around 20 poets participated in the event held in connection with international women’s day.

Prof Owais Qarni presented a brief account of women writers and termed their works a great treasure trove for the society.

The poets said that time had come to break social taboos and sow in new seeds on the soil that would bear fruits of strength, motivation and spirit of serving humanism for women and help them to lead the world.

The event was organised jointly by Khwendo Adabi Lakhkar (KHAL) and Khyber Literary Club (KLC).

Poets, writers, students, teachers and rights activists attended the function in a large number.

Alia Saeed, a student and poet from Chitral, stole the show by reading out a poem in Khowar that was based on oppression and inhuman treatment being meted out to women.

“People refer to Chitrali girls as fairies living in the snowcapped mountains but they don’t know that in fact women in Chitral live a miserable life and need quality education and healthcare,” she rendered.

Chairing the function, senior social worker Miraj Humayun Khan said that she was 11-year-old when she stood up for rights of women and proved to the society that women could achieve their goals if determined.

“I am impressed to see women poets and writers boldly express themselves though much sadness and pal of complaints with society overwhelms their poems. No one denies the strength of women when it comes to patience, confidence and humanism,” said Ms Khan.

Prof Abaseen Yousafzai in his brief talk invited the attention of the audience to the fact that a greater portion of Pashto folk literature had been created by women depicting their life and encompassing their bravery, hard work and even their participation in households.

Kalsoomzeb, the president of KHAL, said her organisation motivated women to make public their poetry and get themselves heard.

Poets including Zeba Afridi, Nazia Durrani, Zunira Haya, Naureen Shama, Zahid Tanha, Aisha Sultan and Zubeda Firdous read out their poetic pieces on the occasion.

Published in Dawn, March 11th, 2020