KARACHI: The German Consulate General Karachi organised an ‘active symposium’ at a local hotel here on Saturday to launch ‘StrongHer’— an initiative by the Goethe-Institut Pakistan in collaboration with Matrix Fit Pakistan — to celebrate and explore the many dimensions of women’s strength and how fitness shapes people’s health, home and professional lives.

The event, which included three keynote addresses and an interesting panel discussion, concluded with a community workout session.

The first keynote was presented by CEO of New World Concepts Yasmin Hyder, who spoke about her journey from sports to the boardroom. She mentioned passion, purpose and persistence as her driving forces.

“There will be challenges but the idea is to keep on going,” she said.

Three keynote addresses conclude with a community workout session

The second keynote address was by two-time Olympian and 15-time German champion in distance running, Christina Hering. “I put in a lot of hard work in improving my speed and endurance and I’m super grateful for everything that sport has given me,” she said.

“Dream big and work hard,” she said, while talking about a training group she started after retiring from competition.

The third keynote speaker, Mintra Tilly, the first female strength coach for a men’s first-division hockey team in Germany, joined in online. She pointed out that respect is not given, but negotiated. “Sport allows women to reclaim autonomy over their bodies,” she added.

Besides, the moderator, journalist, communication design expert and entrepreneur, Sara Munir, the panel discussion included pioneering Pakistani mountaineer Samina Baig, trauma-informed life coach Saman Ghani Khan, human resources, sales and mentoring expert Beenish Kajani, wellness expert and yoga instructor Amafah Mubashir and visionary leader from Pakistan’s fashion industry Parishae Adnan.

Speaking about what wellness is to her, Samina Baig said that it taught her to take care of herself.

“It taught me to put myself first to make things better for myself,” she said, adding that the physical, emotional and mental challenges that she faces as a mountaineer have also taught her to remain humble.

Saman Ghani Khan said that she stepped in her wellness era in her thirties to change things from “I can’t to I can”. She said that movement, now, is a huge part of her journey. It has reacquainted her with her body.

Beenish Kajani said that movement translates in bottom-line results. She said that when interviewing candidates for a job, she asks if they play any sport.

“Those who do put in efforts to achieve goals while not giving up. Persistence shows up at the workplace,” she said.

Amafah Mubashir said that wellness and movement are not about looking a certain way.

Parishae Adnan said that sports allows one to refocus and centralise one’s thought process. “It gave me the discipline that I needed. It is also something to ground you during the highs and lows of life,” she said.

Earlier, the director of Goethe-Institute Pakistan, Andreas Schiekofer, said that sports is not a part of their portfolio but it is very important to have a healthy body for a healthy mind. “And women need to have an equal playing field, not stay in the background,” he said.

The symposium concluded with a community workout session where all the experts as well as guests assembled into teams of three each to take a run around the hall followed by performing some simple and easy exercises.

Published in Dawn, July 13th, 2025