KARACHI: A two-day international conference concluded on Saturday at the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT), featuring thought-provoking talks by national and international speakers.

The conference — The Warp and Woof of Human Morality — organised by the institute’s Centre of Biomedical Ethics and Culture (CBEC) marked the 20th anniversary of the centre.

The highlights of the second day of the conference included talks by US-based historian and bioethicist Dr Paul Lombardo on philosopher and physician Ibn-e-Sina.

Dr Syed Noman-ul-Haq of the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) spoke on the story of Hayy ibn Yaqdhn, an Arabic philosophical novel written by philosopher Ibn Tufayl in the early 12th century.

Challenges in ethical medical practice in Pakistan highlighted

Dr Nauman Faizi from the School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Lahore University of Management Sciences, discussed different approaches to living an ethical life.

The conference concluded with an Urdu literary event discussing the deep connection between Urdu literature and human values. The panellists included poets Iftikhar Arif, Zehra Nigah, Noor-ul-Huda Shah and writer and poet Harris Khalique, who also moderated the event.

A day earlier, the conference opened with CBEC founding chairperson Prof Farhat Moazam acknowledging the role of Prof Adib Rizvi in the centre’s growth. She then presented the national and regional impact of the facility’s educational programmes, highlighting some of the challenges Pakistan still faces in ethical medical practice.

Prof Anwar Naqvi representing SIUT spoke about CBEC’s achievements in Pakistan and in the region over the past two decades. Later, Prof Aamir Jafarey presented the institution’s milestones while making use of archival media.

Dr Caesar Atuire, a distinguished scholar in bioethics and global health from Ghana and president of the International Association of Bioethics (IAB), presented the keynote address on pluriversality in bioethics.

Dr Atuire critiqued the colonial mindset within bioethical traditions and highlighted the importance of local context and values in shaping human morality.

The afternoon sessions focused on women in Pakistan and included a talk by Dr Arfana Mallah from the University of Jamshoro on challenges being faced by women in Sindh, highlighting the intersection of feudalism and fundamentalism.

Writer Dr Fatima Hasan offered her assessment of women’s voices in literature within the South Asian subcontinent.

This was followed by three presentations by CBEC’s alumni Dr Amjad Mahboob Dr Nida Wahid Bashir and Dr Natasha Anwar. Each described the impact that their ethics education at the centre has had on their personal and professional lives.

The first day concluded with a play highlighting environmental issues performed by schoolchildren.

Published in Dawn, January 12th, 2025