100 PowerfuL women in Pakistan

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T H E M O ST POW E R FU L AN D IN FLU E N T IAL

WO M E N IN T H E WO R LD T O DAY.

T H E LAR GE ST E V E R IN IT IAT IV E O F IT S K IN D PR O M O T IN G T H E M O ST POW E R FU L AN D IN FLU E N T IAL PAK IST AN I

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W IT H IN BR IT AIN , PAK IST AN AN D IN T E R N AT IO N ALLY .

WOME N P OWE R 100 In the inaugural Pakistan Power 100 we have dedicated a whole section just to women. Women who, during the past 60 years, broke records, broke ground, blazed trails, and suffered trials, shattering ceilings of glass and made their mark in a male dominated world. While some are obvious choices and some obscure, all acted to increase our liberty, safety, and prosperity

WOMEN POWER 100 Aamna Taseer Abida Parween Adeeba Malik Aleema Khan Amber Haroon Ameena Saiyid Asma Jahangir Attiya Inayatullah Ayesha Vardag Bapsi Sidhwa Bilquis Edhi Bunto Kazmi Bushra Nasir Faiza Butt Farhat Hashmi Fariha Razak Farkhunda S Ahmed

Painting by Afsana Karim

T hey are politicians, C E O s, bankers, cultural icons, academics and entrepreneurs. All are inspirational. Yet they are a small selection of the thousands of Pakistani women who are shaping today’s global community. T heir contributions have inspired the actions of women for generations to come and ensure Pakistan remains proud of their achievements and conscious of their impact.

In the inaugural Pakistan Power 100 we have dedicated a whole section just to women. Women who, during the past 60 years, broke records, broke ground, blazed trails, and suffered trials, shattering ceilings of glass and made their mark in a male dominated world. W hile some are obvious choices and some obscure, all acted to increase our liberty, safety, and prosperity 52

Farrah Qureshi Farzana Bari Fatima Bhutto Fehmida Mirza Feriha Peracha Hina Rabbani khar Huma Abedin Imtaz Khaliq Jugnu Mohsin Kaukab Rajput Kishwar Naheed Kiswer Falkner Laila H Sarfraz Madeeha Gauhar Maheen K Ali Maheen Khan Maleha Lodhi Maliha Ahmed Marvi Memon Meesha Shafi Meherene Jabbar Mehreen Rizvi Mona Siddiqui Mukhtar Mai Musharaf Hai Nadia F Jamil Nafis Sadik Namira Salim Nargis Sethi Naseem Hameed Naseem Zehra Nasira J Iqbal

First Capital Group Singer QED-UK SAARC Dawn Group Oxford Univesity Press SCBAP UNESCO Vardag Lawyers Author Edhi foundation Fashion Headteacher Artist Al-Huda International Jang Group of Newspapers Associated Liner Agencies Global Diversity Partnership Human Rights Activist Writer and Activist Speaker National Assembly PHD Doctor Foreign Minister Deputy chief of Staff Fashion Designer Publisher Friday Times Consultant Poet House of Lords APWA Writer Karma Fashion Journalist Business Parliamentarian Singer & model Film Director Bonhams Professor Human Rights L’Oreal Actor / TV Anchor United Nations Explorer Politics Athlete Journalist Poet

Nasreen Jalil Nasreen M Kasuri Nasreen Rehman Naz Mansha Nergis Mavalvala Nigar Ahmad Nighat Awan Nilofer Saeed Noshena Mobarik Qaisra Shahraz Rameeza Nizami Reedah El-Sale Roshaneh Zafar Sabiha Sumar Saima Mohsin Saira Wasim Salima Hashmi Salma Maqbool Salma Yaqoob Samar Minallah Samina Ahmad Dr Samina Khan Samina Qureshi Sara Suleri Sarah Belal Sarah Hashwani

Senator Beacon House Academic Nishat Linen Astrophysiscist Aurat Foundation Shere Khan Citizens Foundation M Computer Technologies Novelist Nawa-i-Waqt Group Mica Gallery Kashf founder Film-maker journalist Artist Artist Fighting Blindness Respect Party Film maker Global Wellness Initiative Paper magazine Writer Yale professor Lawyer Hashoo Foundation

Sayeeda Warsi Seema Aziz Sehba Sarwar Sehyr Saigol Shafqat Sultana Shaheen Sardar Ali Shaila Abdullah Shamshad Akhtar Shandana Khan Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy Shazia Hidyat Shazia Marri Shehnaz Wazir Ali Shehrbano Taseer Sherry Rehman Shirin Tahir Kheli Sidra Sadaf Simi Kamal Sophia Khalique Souriya Anwar Sultana Siddiqui Surraiya Zia Syeda Hina Babar Ali Tanveer Naim Tehmina Durrani

House of Lords CARE Foundation Author PDFC First Women Bank UN Author State Bank of Pakistan Rural Support Program Film Maker Olympic Athlete Politician Journalist / Activist Activist Political scientist.

Cyclist Aurat Foundation Doctor SOS Villages HUM TV Doctor Packages, Author and Activist Writer

Painting by Afsana Karim Renowned artist Afsana Karim has been commissioned by Power 100 to create a series of paintings for each global Power 100 title. For private commissions from Afsana please contact: Andrea@hamptonsmanagement.com

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C ONTE NTS

The Women 100 52 The Future Leaders 73 Trailblazers 46 Arts & Literature 30 B us ines s 10 C orporate & F inance 42 Media, Fas hion & Mus ic 18 P ublic S ector 34 S ocial & C ommunity 24 Aamina Taseer Aaqil Ahmed Abdul S attar E dhi Abida Parween Afzal & Akmal Khushi Ahmed R ashid Amber Haroon Ameena S aiyid Amin G ulgee Amir Khan

17 19 27 18 11 31 19 31 31 79

Amjad Hussain Aqeel Karim Dhedhi Arif Naqvi Arif Nizami Art Malik Asif R angoonwala Asma J ahangir Atif Bajwa Ayesha Vardag Baroness Warsi Bilquis E dhi Bunto Kazmi Bushra Nasir E hsan Malik Farrok C aptian G house Akbar Hanif Kureshi Haroon & Farooq S heikh Hassan S heheryar Yasin Hina R abbani Khar Huma Abedin Hussain Dawood Iftikhar Muhammad

40 42 43 19 19 11 25 43 54 39 25 57 56 43 25 11 30 11 23 35 35 11 34

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79

Imam Qasim Imran Aslam Imran Khan Irfan Mustafa Izzat Majeed J ahangir S iddiqui J ames C aan J amil Naqsh Kiswer Falkner Lord Nazir Ahmed Mansoor Karim S haikh Mian G ohar E jaz Mian Mansha Michael Nazir Ali Mir S hakil ur R ahman Moazzam Malik Mohammed Adil Mohammed J awad Monis R ahman Musharaf Hai Naeem G hauri Nafis S adik Nigar Ahmed

25 19 29 43 43 43 15 31 35 38 19 10 11 41 19 37 16 37 48 43 16 35 24

SH AR M E E N O BAID C H IN OY Director

In 2005, Obaid began working with Channel 4 in the United Kingdom reporting on four films for their Unreported World series. Pakistan’s Double Game looked at sectarian violence in Pakistan, City of Guilt explored the Catholic Church’s pro-life movement in the Philippines, The New Apartheid looked into growing xenophobia in South Africa, and Birth of a Nation delved into the politics of East Timor. In 2007, Obaid was named “journalist of the year” by the One World Media awards for her work in the series.

Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy had ambition to do something for her country; she started by writing columns in newspapers about the forlorn and unfortunate events happening in Pakistan. Later, she entered the film making industry just so she could convey her message to the public.

Her career in documentary filmmaking began when she examined the plight of Arghan refugee children in Pakistan for an article. Their situation was so ominous, and their stories so compelling, that Sharmeen decided to return to Pakistan and create a film about them. She petitioned Smith College and New York Times Television production division for the funds that would allow her to accomplish her goals. Intrigued and interested by her story, both organizations gave her the finances as well as production equipment and training.

Obaid began her calling with New York Times Television in 2002 where she produced Terror’s Children, a film about Afghan refugee children, which won her the Overseas Press Club Award, the American Women and Radio and Television Award, and the South Asian Journalist Association Award. Since then, she has produced and reported on more than twelve films around the world.

Obaid produced and accounted on four multi-award winning documentary films for New York Times Television. In 2003, reinventing the Taliban was awarded the Special Jury Award at the BANFF TV festival in Canada, the CINE Golden Eagle Award, the American Women in Radio and Television award, and the Livingston Award. In 2005, her film Women of the Holy Kingdom, which provided an inside look at the women’s movement in Saudi Arabia, won the South Asian Journalist Association Award.

In 2007, Obaid travelled to Afghanistan and reported for Channel 4 and CNN. Her film, Afghanistan Unveiled/Lifting the Veil, focuses on stalled reconstruction and the repression of women in the country.In 2010, she won an Emmy Award for her documentary, Pakistan: Children of the Taliban, which explores Taliban recruitment strategies, their effect on the youth and their methods to radicalize the country’s young and often dejected populace. Children of the Taliban premiered FiLums (2011) - the largest film festival in Pakistan held annually at the Lahore University of Management Sciences.

Known for documentaries focusing on life in the Muslim world, Obaid-C hinoy became the first non-American to win the Livingston Award.

On February 26, 2012, Obaid became the first Pakistani woman to win an Oscar for the co-directed documentary Saving Face, which she made with Daniel Junge (who started the film and titled it before she came aboard as co-director) and which chronicles the lives of acid attack survivors in Pakistan. The film also follows British-Pakistani plastic surgeon Mohammad Ali Jawad who performs reconstructive surgeries on survivors of such terrible attacks. The film was codirected by American filmmaker Daniel Junge.

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AAM IN A T ASE E R First Capital Securities Corporation Limited

Aamna Taseer serves as the C hairman and C hief E xecutive O fficer of First C apital Securities C orporation Limited. She has been the C hief E xecutive O fficer of Pace Pakistan Limited since M ay 2, 2011 and has been the C hairman of the Board at M edia T imes Limited since June 29, 2011.

She is one of the main promoters who established First C apital Securities C orporation Limited (“ FC SC � ) in Pakistan in 1994, a full service brokerage house with equity participation by Smith Barney Inc U SA and H G Asia H ong K ong.

FC SC ser the tone for investment banking services and together with the help of international banks, Amina Taseer successfully laid the background for important advisory and corporate finance transactions.

Since then she has been actively involved in establishing other companies in the financial sectors.

As a Director of Pace Pakistan Ltd, with a listing in Pakistan and convertible bond listing in Singapore, the Pace brand is recognized not only in Pakistan but by international fund managers across the globe.

As a Director of Pace Pakistan Ltd, with a listing in Pakistan and convertible bond listing in S ingapore, she has ensured the Pace brand is recognized not only in Pakistan but by international fund managers across the globe.

Today the group has 6 operational shopping malls in different cities and around eight projects under various phases of development.

First C apital Group also took the lead by introducing the first E nglish news channel in Pakistan Business Plus which was followed by the first exclusive kids channel, Z aiqa C hannel, M edia T imes Limited, a First C apital Group C ompany is one of the fastest growing E nglish newspaper, T he Daily T imes and an U rdu daily by the name of Aaj K al

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THE POWER 100

MEDIA, FASHION & MUSIC

Abida Parween Singer

T H E POW E R BR O K E R S Aaqil Ahmed Abida Parween Amber Haroon Arif Nizami Art Malik Hameed Haroon Hassan Sheheryar Yasin Imran Aslam Mansoor Shaikh Rahat Fateh Ali Khan Salman Ahmad Salman Iqbal Sehyr Saigol Shakil ur Rahman Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy Shoaib Mansoor

BBC Singer Dawn Group Pakistan Today Actor Dawn Group HSY GEO JWT Singer Junoon ARY Libas Jang Group Filmaker Director

Abida Perveen is one of the most well known names in the Music industry, both nationally and internationally. She is of Sindhi descent and started receiving musical training from her father at an early age. She started her professional career in 1973 and is now one of the most sought after singers of this country. Her genres include the Ghazal, Kafi and Qawwali, and she sings in multiple languages including Urdu, Sindhi and Persian. She has had numerous international performances which have led to an avid international fan following.

Amber Haroon Dawn media group

Amber Haroon is the Chairperson of Dawn Group.

Dawn is one of the widest read English newspapers of Pakistan, with a daily circulation of over 30,000 copies. The Dawn Media Group is the trading name of Pakistan Herald Publications (Pvt.) Ltd. The Karachi based group is owned by the powerful Haroon and Saigol families. It’s CEO is Hameed Haroon, and its chairman is Amber Haroon Saigol, daughter of the previous chairman Mahmoud Haroon and the 11th richest individual in Pakistan in 1993.

BAR O N E SS WAR SI House of Lord

A lawyer, a businesswoman, a campaigner and a cabinet minister, Sayeeda Warsi has had many roles, but she is best known for being the first Muslim to serve in a British cabinet and the foremost Muslim politician in the Western world.

One of five girls born to immigrants of Pakistani origin in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, Sayeeda studied law at Leeds University, going on to work for the Crown Prosecution Service before setting up her own legal practice.

Her father, a former millworker and bus driver who set up his own business, instilled in her values of freedom, responsibility and aspiration. These are the values that inspired her to get involved in the Conservative Party and it was there that she became Vice Chairman and advisor to the leader, Michael Howard, in 2004.

She unsuccessfully stood as a Parliamentary candidate in her home town the following year. In 2007 she was elevated to the House of Lords aged 36, making her the youngest peer in Parliament. Later that year she travelled to Sudan and famously helped to secure the release of the British teacher Gillian Gibbons who was on trial for blasphemy.

A racial justice campaigner for many years, instrumental in the launch of Operation Black Vote and serving six years at the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, Sayeeda was chosen to take on Nick Griffin on Question Time in 2009. It was the first time the British National Party leader appeared on a flagship BBC political show.

Her performance singled her out as ‘sharp, articulate, unhysterical and warmly engaging’ (Observer).

In 2010 she was appointed by Prime Minister David Cameron as Minister without Portfolio, becoming the first Muslim to serve in a British Cabinet. The iconic image of her on the steps of No 10 Downing Street in a shalwar kameez (a traditional ethnic outfit) were beamed

In 2012 she led the UK’s largest ever ministerial delegation to the Vatican, gaining global coverage for a speech which called on E urope to strengthen its C hristian identity.

around the world. She was also appointed as Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party – the first Asian to chair a major British political party. In 2012, Sayeeda was made Senior Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Minister for Faith and Communities.

In government she has devoted herself to making the case for faith, declaring in a 2010 address to the Anglican Bishops’ Conference that governments should ‘do God’. In 2011 she provoked support and controversy when she famously declared that Islamophobia had ‘passed the dinner table test’. In 2012 she led the UK’s largest ever ministerial delegation to the Vatican, gaining global coverage for a speech which called on Europe to strengthen its Christian identity.

Outspoken and challenging on the issues that many people seek to avoid, she has become an interesting and distinct voice on topics previously considered taboo. She led the government’s campaign to criminalise forced marriage and spoke out on the sexual grooming of children by gangs.

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SH E R R Y R E H M AN Ambassador to United States

Rehman resigned her post as Information Minister on 14 March 2009, due to differences of opinion with the President Asif Ali Zardari on imposing restrictions on the media and taking away the free will from them.

Sherry Rehman is a member of the Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPPP.) She has been politically active as a politician since 2002 and continues to do so today.

She served as a Member of the National Assembly (MNA) from 2002 to 2007, where she acted as Central Information Secretary. During this time, she was also President of Policy Planning for the PPPP and served on the party’s Foreign Relations Committee.

She was named Pakistan’s Ambassador to United States following the resignation of Hussain Haqqani, who was asked to resign by Prime Minister Gilani in the wake of the “Memogate” scandal.

In March 2008, Rehman was appointed again by declaration as MNA for Sindh province to the reserved MNA seat for women.

Prime Minister Yusuf Gilani appointed her Minister for Information and Broadcasting, and on 31 March 2008 she took oath under the reign of President Pervez Musharraf.

During her tenure in parliament, Rehman authored all five PPP bills tabled in the National Assembly: the Women Empowerment Bill, Anti-Honor Killings Bill, Domestic Violence Prevention Bill, Affirmative Action Bill and Hudood Repeal Bill. She also moved two bills concerning the media: the Freedom of Information Bill and the Press Act, which prevents working journalists from being arrested under the 1999 Press Ordinance.

In civil society, Rehman is the Chair of the Lady Dufferin Foundation Trust, allegedly the largest non-profit provider of women and children’s subsidized healthcare in the province of Sindh.

In January 2009, an article in the International Republican Institute referred to her as “Democracy’s Hero” as a result of her close association with former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s campaign for democratic rule in Pakistan. The reference, picked up by several Pakistani media outlets, received mixed coverage. In the same month, Rehman was named among the “100 Most Influential Asians” by UAE magazine Ahlan.

Rehman’s latest book The Kashmiri Shawl: From Jamawar to Paisley, co-authored with Naheed Jafri, was published in 2006

by Mapin Publishing India and Antique Collectors Club UK. The book was nominated for The R.L Shep Ethnic Textiles Book Award for 2006 in the US.

R ehman’s latest book The Kashmiri S hawl, was nominated for The R .L S hep E thnic Textiles Book Award for 2006 in the US .

She accomplished many things in such a short period of time for example in 2002 she became the first Pakistani to be recognized with an award for independent journalism by the UK House of Lords in its Muslim World Awards Ceremony in the year 2002. In 2006 she won the R.L Shep Ethnic Textiles Book Award, for The Kashmiri Shawl. Two years down the lane, in 2008 Sherry Rehman presented the International Peace Award for Democrats by the Human Rights Commission. She won the title of “Democracy’s Hero” by the international Republican Institute in 2009 for her services to the restoration of democracy. The same year she also won ‘The Freedom Award’ Pakistan by the Association of Television Journalists for her work for media independence in Pakistan/ Then in 2011 she also owned the Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Award by The Women’s Democracy Network (WDN), Washington.

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BU N T O K AZ M I Fashion

much rather let my work speak for me as opposed to speaking about myself in interviews,” she confesses, right before I manage to cajole her into an interview.

For while Bunto may not like talking about herself, there are certainly many people who want to know about her.

Taught by her mother-in-law, the pioneer Sughra Kazmi, Bunto’s bridal couture is in a league of its own. She handles her work with a grace and an intelligence that is rare.

A wall in Bunto Kazmi’s office is decorated with framed embroideries. Some are Bunto’s own creations, while others are samples that she’s collected over the years.

A wooden door is fixed alongside another wall, the intricate carvings surrounding a full-length mirror. Bunto’s work desk stands in a corner of the large room. It is scattered with mementoes, a sample card labelling various Swarovski jewels and a curious case of numerous magnifying glasses which, as I later discover, are used to scrutinise the intricate embroideries of her designs. And while the exquisite formals that Bunto designs are nowhere in sight, this room still reflects her ethos as a designer, her mastery over luxurious detailing, her penchant for the arts and traditions and her predilection for intricate craftsmanship.

It is Bunto’s love for her craft that attracts a sizeable number of clients to her office on a daily basis. Most of them are eager brides-to-be, who are more than happy to dictate nothing more than their preferred color palette, leaving the intricacies to Bunto. “I have been very lucky with my clients,” she tells me. “While I do take the bride’s preferences into consideration, the clothes are often completely based on my own vision. The bride and her family only see the final outfit once it’s completed.Yet, I have never had one disgruntled client.

There are entire families who have had their bridal wear designed by me. My mother-in-law dressed their mothers at their weddings and now I am dressing their daughters and granddaughters.”

In this day and age of media hype and advertising, Bunto’s thriving bridal business is something of an anomaly. She has never advertised nor has she ever invested in a fashion shoot. She hardly ever gives interviews to television or the print media.

“I suffer from sleepless nights every time I read something about myself in the newspaper. I am a very shy person and I’d

Bunto creates veritable works of art, with the fabric serving as her canvas Bunto’s work isn’t just breathtakingly beautiful, it’s representative of our culture and traditions.

“I began working while my children were still young and I knew from the outset that I wanted my work to set a standard of its own and never be run-of-the-mill,” she says. At the recent Fashion Pakistan Week (FPW) in Karachi, one of the highlights was her career’s most iconic designs showcased as the opening act for the event. “I took part in FPW to show my support to the Fashion Pakistan Council, of which I am a founder member,” she says. “To date, I have only taken part in a handful of fashion shows and I, frankly speaking, wouldn’t want to be part of any such event again. Fashion weeks are beneficial for designers who earn by replicating their designs for retail. I am a couturier who creates one-of-a kind pieces on order. I don’t have any stock stowed away expressly for the catwalk and have to borrow clothes from my clients. I don’t want to put that kind of pressure on them again and even business-wise, there is no point in my taking part in fashion weeks.”

When I designed Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy’s outfit for the Oscars, I got numerous calls, asking me to replicate the dress. I refused simply because I had expressly created the dress for Sharmeen, with a lot of love and effort. I just couldn’t reproduce it for the sake of acquiring more business!”

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FAT IM A BH U T T O Writer

publication The News – for two years.

She covered the Israeli Invasion and war with Lebanon from Lebanon in the summer of 2006 and also reported from Iran in January 2007 and Cuba in April 2008.

Fatima Murtaza Bhutto is the granddaughter of former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the niece of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, and daughter of Murtaza Bhutto. She has created her own identity as a Pakistani poet, writer activist and journalist. Despite having all the credentials to be a successful Pakistani politician, Fatima Bhutto has opted not to run for any political office.

Following her father Murtaza Bhutto’s assassination in 1996 at the hands of Karachi police, Fatima continued living with her step-mother Ghinwa Bhutto. Fatima’s birth mother was an Afghan Pashtun, Fauzia Fasihudin Bhutto.

Bhutto received her secondary education at the Karachi American School. She graduated from Columbia University in 2004, majoring in Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures and from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in 2005 with a Masters in South Asian Government and Politics.

Fatima’s work has appeared in the New Statesman, Daily Beast, Guardian, and The Caravan Magazine.Fatima wrote a weekly column for Jang - Pakistan’s largest Urdu newspaper and its English sister

Despite having all the credentials to be a successful Pakistani politician, Fatima Bhutto has opted not to run for any political

She has gained recognition as an author through her books the first of which was ‘Whispers of the Desert’, a volume of poetry, which was published in 1997 by Oxford University Press Pakistan when Fatima was 15 years old. Her second book was titled ‘8.50 a.m. 8 October 2005’, a collection of first-hand accounts from survivors of the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan, was published

by OUP in 2006. Her third book, ‘Songs of Blood and Sword’, tells the story of a family of feudal landlords who became powerbrokers. The book reveals a daughter’s love for her father and her search to uncover the truth of his life and death.

Fatima currently writes and lives in Karachi and despite not being directly active as a politician she continuous to support her step-mother Ghinwa Bhutto’s party Pakistan Peoples Party (Shaheed Bhutto).

office.

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Kiswer Falkner Baroness

Nafis Sadik

Huma Abedin

Fehmida Mirza

Kishwer Falkner, Baroness Falkner of Margravine is a British Liberal Democrat politician and Life Peer. She is Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice in the House of Lords. Prior to her entitlement as a Life Peer with the title Baroness Falkner of Margravine, Falkner worked in a variety of jobs for the Liberal Democrats in the House of Commons and the party headquarters including as Director of International Affairs and Director of Policy. In February 2008 she was appointed as the inaugural chancellor of The University of Northampton..

Dr. Nafis Sadik served as Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), with the rank of Under-Secretary-General, from 1987 through 2000. On her appointment in 1987, she became the first woman to head one of the United Nations’ major voluntarily-funded programmes.

In June 1990, the SecretaryGeneral of the United Nations appointed Dr. Sadik SecretaryGeneral of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), 1994. Dr. Sadik’s work has brought her many international awards and honours.

Huma Mahmood Abedin (born 1976) is a deputy chief of staff and aide to US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Abedin began working as an intern for the White House in 1996 and was assigned to Hillary Rodham Clinton. She currently works for Clinton, now Secretary of State, at the State Department and is known as Hillary’s shadow. In 2010, Abedin was included in Time’s “40 under 40”, a list of a “new generation of civic leaders” and “rising stars of American politics.”

Dr. Fehmida Mirza is the current and 18th Speaker of the National Assembly, a lower house of Parliament of State of Pakistan.

She is the first woman to hold the office to date, and is widely regarded as one of the highest ranking female politicians in the history of Pakistan. Fehmida Mirza hails from the influential Sindhi family, and currently representing the Badin Constituency since 1997 and has continued to be a parliamentarian since then. She runs several welfare projects in her constituency, one of the poorest districts of Pakistan.

Zamir Akram Ambassador

Moazzam Malik DIFID

Michael Nazir Ali

Hina Rabbani Khar

Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali was the 106th Bishop of Rochester, for 15 years, until 1 September 2009.

He is originally from Asia and was the first non-white Diocesan Bishop in the Church of England.

He was appointed in 1994.

Before that he was the General Secretary of CMS from 19891994 and prior to holding this position was Bishop of Raiwind in Pakistan. He holds both British and Pakistani citizenship and from 1999 was a member of the House of Lords where he was active in a number of areas of national and international concern.

Hina Rabbani Khar is the first female and the youngest person to ever head Pakistani’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs since July 2011. She graduated with a B.Sc. in Economics from Lahore University of Management Sciences in 1999 and received her M Sc (Hon) in Business Management from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2001. She won the elections in 2002 from the platform of PMLQ and was the Parliamentary Secretary for Economic Affairs and Statistics.

As Pakistan’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN and other International Organizations in Geneva since 2008, Zamir Akram has been playing a leading role in areas such as Disarmament, Human Rights, Refugees, Humanitarian Affairs, Trade and Development, Intellectual Property, Labour and Health among others. He was instrumental in promoting consensus on contentious resolutions regarding religious intolerance, freedom of religion and freedom of expression.

Moazzam Malik is Director for Western Asia and Stabilisation at the UK Department for International Development (DFID). He oversees the UK Government’s development partnerships in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and stabilisation assistance to address conflict and insecurity in developing countries. Moazzam leads a division comprising over 300 staff and a budget of almost £500m spread across five departments.

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H IN A R ABBAN I K H AR Foreign Minister

Hina Rabbani Khar is a Pakistani stateswoman and an economist who is the current and 26th Foreign Minister of Pakistan. Hailing from the powerful feudal family, she embarked her statesmanship in 2002 in the government of Prime minister Shaukat Aziz and subsequently served in the Finance ministry and Foreign ministry as its minister of state. After successfully contesting in 2008 general elections, she briefly served in the Finance ministry and directed the policies concerning the national economy in the absence of the finance minister in 2010.

Finally, she was ascended as first female foreign minister of the country in July 2011 after the surprise and dramatic resignation of Mehmood Qureshi. Since 2008, she has been a senior and highranking member of the Central Executive Committee, and is widely regarded as one of the highest ranking female officer in the political arena of Pakistan.

Khar was appointed Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, the deputy head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on 11 February 2011, as part of Gillani's cabinet reshuffle.

After Shah Mehmood Qureshi's resignation as Foreign Minister, she became acting Minister of Foreign Affairs on 13 February 2011.She was approved as Foreign Minister on 18 July and was sworn-in on 19 July, becoming the youngest and first female Minister of Foreign Affairs. President Asif Ali Zardari, who succeeded Musharraf in 2008, said the appointment was "a demonstration of the government's commitment to bring women into the mainstream of national life". She was appointed foreign minister during the difficult times of Pakistan, especially when country's armed forces were striking down the extreme elements in Western Pakistan and the huge outcry and an anti-American emotions were at high rise.

Hina R abbani Khar is a Pakistani stateswoman and an economist who is the current and 26th Foreign Minister of Pakistan

On 6 June 2012, Pakistan on Tuesday renewed its call for a U.S. apology over the killing of 24 soldiers in U.S. warplane attacks at the Salala checkpost ,as Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar argued that "higher principles should take precedence over politically popular considerations".

Khar challenged the U.S. to "live up to its democratic ideals by respecting the will of Pakistan’s elected legislature", Foreign Policy magazine said in a Doha-datelined report on its interview with the top Pakistani diplomat. On 15 December 2011, when the United States cut off the financial aid to Pakistan, Khar warned her counterpart Hillary Clinton and quoted: "the United States will be responsible for defeat in war on terror as Pakistan could not fight the war alone".

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Bilquis Edhi Bilquis Edhi Foundation

Asma Jahangir AGHS

rrok Captian LRBT

Seema Aziz Care Foundation

In 1978 Farrokh K Captain lead a major US- akistan joint venture chemical manufacturing business in Pakistan, namely Captain-PQ Chemical Industries (Private) Limited. He is also a distinguished member of the Board of the American Business Council. Mr. Captain now devotes much of his time in the field of social work. He is a Trustee of the Layton Rehmatulla Benevolent Trust and has served as Chairman of the Pakistan Human Development Fund. He is currently serving his eighth three-year term as Director of Shell Pakistan Ltd.

Seema Aziz is an entrepreneur and social activist who has been working for the cause of education in Pakistan since 1988.

In 1985, she started a business, to prove that Pakistan could produce embroidered fabric equal in quality and design to the best in world. Today, 26 years on, Bareeze is a symbol of pride for Pakistan. After the flood of 1988, which devastated a large part of the Punjab, Seema founded CARE Foundation, which is currently the largest non-governmental organization in Pakistan, and perhaps the largest school system in the world.

Bilquis Edhi is one of the most well known names in the field of public service. She heads the Bilquis Edhi Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides 24 hour emergency services across the country.

Bilquis Edhi married her husband Abdul Sattar Edhi at an early age and since then the two have been of invaluable service to the people of Pakistan. The BilquisEdhi Foundation, better known as Edhi Foundation, provides shelter and free medical care for the poor, rehabilitation for drug addicts, relief efforts in times of national crises.

Asma Jahangir is currently the President of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan and has been twice elected as Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. She is also a Director of the AGHS Legal Aid Cell, which provides free legal assistance to the needy.

Jahangir was instrumental in the formation of the Punjab Women Lawyers Association in 1980 and the Women Action Forum in 1985. Jahangir has authored two books and five papers. She has been the recipient of a number of international and national awards, Magsaysay Award in 1995.

am Qasi Al-Khair

Roshaneh Zafar Kashf Foundation

Souriya Anwar SOS Villages

Mukhtar Mai Activist

Imam Qasim founded Al-Khair in 2003, Sinc its establishment, the Foundation has been meticulously engaged in charitable work assisting those who are less fortunate than others. Al-Khair has established overseas schools for orphans and shelters for widows and vulnerable women.

The Foundation also constructs water-wells making fresh, clean drinking water accessible to remote communities.

Roshaneh Zafar is the Founder and Managing Director of Kashf Foundation, Chair Kashf Holdings and Founder Kashf Microfinance Bank Limited based in Pakistan.

She founded the Kashf Foundation the first specialized microfinance organization in Pakistan in 1996. Today, one of the fastest growing MFIs in the country, Kashf Foundation was the first microfinance institute in Pakistan to achieve financial self sufficiency and demonstrated the business case for investing in women’s economic empowerment.

Souriya Anwar became President of the International Women’s Club, she turned the socialising club into a service oriented group, which it steadfastly remains, to date. Along the road there have been other projects, each bringing its own brand of responsibility like office bearing for the Muscular Dystrophy Welfare Association, the Fatima Memorial Hospital, the Committee for Crimes Against Women, the Prison Reforms Commission, the Divisional Social Welfare Council, to a fiveyear tenure as a Justice of the Peace!

In June 2002, Mukhtar Mai was the victim of a gang rape.

Although custom would expect her to commit suicide after being raped, Mukhtaran spoke up, and pursued the case, which was picked up by both domestic and international media. She started the Mukhtar Mai Women’s Welfare Organization to help support and educate Pakistani women and girls. In April 2007, Mukhtar Mai won the NorthSouth Prize from the Council of Europe.

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T E H M IN A DU R R AN I Writer & Artist

Tehmina Durrani’s controversial autobiography ‘My Feudal Lord’ was published in 1991. It is now translated into 39 languages and is a European Bestseller.

The book was a pioneer in surmounting the hitherto unbroken silence of Muslim women since the 14th century, reconciling the rights of women with the paramount principle laid down for them in Islam… and yet it was a book before its time.

She recorded the thoughts, inspirations, motives, observations and works of Pakistan’s most revered and renowned social reformer. It’s a guide towards making a personal revolution, which in time would move the collective spirit towards humanitarian Islam. In 1994, ‘A Mirror to the Blind’, Mr. Edhi’s narrated autobiography, an official document of the Founder of Edhi Foundation.

There is a price that comes with all rebellions and revolts that break the status quo. Tehmina has experienced it.

Consistent in her attempt to expose current, social, religious and political contradictions, in the year 1998, she published Blasphemy, a novel inspired by a true story.

Writing was not enough she searched for other ways to express. In 1992 she exhibited her paintings — ‘Catharsis’.

One of the paintings became the cover of her third book ‘Blasphemy’.

Observing that no political party since Pakistan’s inception had raised a voice for the accountability of corrupt public representatives, and recognizing that the silent majority of Pakistan had neither, voice, influence nor resources to make the demand on the affluent, in 1993 she formed an issues oriented movement, Jihad for Accountability of Public Servants.

She went on a hunger strike for seven days.

Her demand was meant to create public awareness towards the core issue facing Pakistan’s progress and prosperity; through the self- preservation of criminal activity and its wide spread acceptance which had shred the moral fabric of the new generation. Today accountability is a household word.

Believing, those who ruled over our people knew nothing about the core issues that confronted the oppressed, deprived and directionless millions in every corner of the country, she sought out the only man who had spent a lifetime in the service of the downtrodden — Abdul Satar Edhi.

As an act of compulsory Universal Compassion, and oneness with human community, in 2002, she stood up for the freedom of Fakhra Yunas, a victim of Acid Terrorism. Fakhra’s son is under the supervision of an Italian family and Tehmina Durrani.

After a great silence now comes; ‘A Love Affair’, oil and water colour paintings along with a coffee table book, symbolizing the freedom of the soul from the bondage expressed in Catharsis, as she says.

“Many forms of expression are required to break out of the multiple confines that imprison the soul. Writing and Painting are just two of them”, says Tehmina.

‘Happy things in Sorrow times’ is a novel with 38 water colour illustrations done at Afghan refugee camps in Kandahar, Turkham and Chaman. It is the first part of a trilogy. A story told from the heart of a child, Basrabia, in war torn Afghanistan from the time of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to the present US War on Terror.

A war, not against soldiers and warriors, but against innocent children…’They’ need another chance in the interest of world peace.

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SEEMA AZIZ

ROSHANEH ZAFAR

Care Foundation

Kashf Foundation

Seema Aziz is an entrepreneur and social activist who has been working for the cause of education in Pakistan since 1988.

In 1985, she started a business, to prove that Pakistan could produce embroidered fabric equal in quality and design to the best in world. Today, 26 years on, Bareeze is a symbol of pride for Pakistan and the most recognizable Pakistani brand both within the country and abroad. The Bareeze group, which now has 7 brands, sells through over 400 points of sale worldwide and is Pakistan’s largest fashion retailer.

After the flood of 1988, which devastated a large part of the Punjab, Seema founded CARE Foundation, which is currently the largest non-governmental organization in Pakistan, and perhaps the largest school system in the world. CARE educates more than 150,000 students through 225 schools providing them with a “quality marketable” education which sets them at par with some of the best schools in the country.

CARE’s mission is to have 1 million children enrolled in its schools within the next 5 years.

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Roshaneh Zafar is the Founder and Managing Director of Kashf Foundation, Chair Kashf Holdings and Founder Kashf Microfinance Bank Limited based in Pakistan. She founded the Kashf Foundation – the first specialized microfinance organization in Pakistan – in 1996 after a chance meeting with Professor Muhammad Yunus of the Grameen Bank. Today, one of the fastest growing MFIs in the country, Kashf Foundation was the first microfinance institute in Pakistan to achieve financial self sufficiency and demonstrated the business case for investing in women’s economic empowerment. In 2002, Kashf Foundation was awarded the Microfinance Excellence Award by the Grameen Foundation-USA for its groundbreaking innovations in the field of microfinance in Pakistan, while in 2005 it won the AGFUND International Prize for Microcredit 2005 out of 98 countries. In 2008, Forbes ranked Kashf Foundation 34th in its top 50 MFIs of the World.

Ms Zafar has also spearheaded and led the team to establish the Kashf Microfinance Bank, the first MFB in Pakistan to mobilize deposits from low income households especially women which received its license in October 2008.

Prior to starting Kashf, she worked with the World Bank in Islamabad in the Water and Sanitation department for several years. Ms. Zafar was one of the first Ashoka Fellows in Pakistan and was also selected as a Social Entrepreneur by the Schwab Foundation in 2002 and the Skoll Foundation in 2007. She represented the Social Entrepreneurs at the World Economic Forum in January 2004 and spoke at the Opening Plenary of the WEF along with Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, President Obasanjo of Nigeria, Carly Fiorina of Hewlett Packard and Mr. Wolfenson of the World Bank, responding to the theme Partnering for Security and Prosperity. Ms Zafar has also been awarded the Tamgha-iImtiaz, one of Pakistan’s highest civilian awards 2005, by the President of Pakistan for her work in the field of development and women’s empowerment. In 2009 Kashf Foundation under the leadership of Roshaneh Zafar was awarded the OneWoman Initiative Award by the US State Department in a ceremony in Islamabad by US Deputy Secretary of State Mr. Jacob Lew. She has also been awarded the Vital Voices Economic Empowerment Award 2010.

AYESHA VARDAG

ADEEBA MALIK

Vardags Solicitors

QED UK

Britain’s top divorce lawyer’ was Ayesha Vardag’s billing by both the Law Society and New York’s prestigious Huffington Post though Easy Living Magazine March 2012 featured her as “The Diva of Divorce”. She is best known for winning the landmark Supreme Court case of Radmacher, changing the law on prenuptial agreements to make them work in England. Vardag entered divorce law from a blue chip City/international/Bar base. She trained and qualified as a solicitor at Linklaters London and Moscow on project finance work with diamond mines and power stations. She dual-qualified as a barrister and was once Nicholas Mostyn QC’s mini-pupil. Her own divorce lawyer hired her away from the Bar to join his team.

Ayesha Vardag established her eponymous firm, now Vardags, in 2005. She has a reputation for hard-hitting litigation, commercial savvy, fearlessness and strategic intellectual; vision. This, coupled with an informal no-nonsense style, gritty life experience and empathy in spades, won her a high-value, high-profile client base within weeks of opening her doors. She has acted against heirs and heiresses, tycoons, international footballers/polo players, celebrities and royalty. She has acted in cases involving the royalty of Arab states and in leading Pakistani divorce and nullity matters.

Ayesha Vardag is one of the very few family lawyers to have received the accolade of the Times ‘Lawyer of the Week’. She is regularly sought by the media for expert commentary on the leading cases and legal issues of the day, appearing not least on BBC TV News, CNN and the Today Programme. She is sought out as a lecturer, appearing recently in the White Paper conference and at the inaugural session of the Law Society’s public debates, on the ‘The End of Marriage As We Know It’.

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Adeeba Malik MBE has held numerous ministerial and non-ministerial high profile regional/national board level appointments in large, complex and diverse organisations over the last 15 years. She has been the “first” Asian woman or non white person to serve on most of these boards. These include Yorkshire Forward, British Waterways, the National Clinical Assessment Authority, Advisory Board on Naturalisation and Immigration, Waterways Trust. In 2007 she was appointed Chair of the National Ethnic Minority Business Forum based in the Department for Trade and Industry and became a Commissioner for the Women and Work Commissioner set up by the then Prime Minister Tony Blair. As a result of her very varied experience of board and non executive appointments, she has been promoted and highlighted as a role model in national media campaigns led by the Cabinet Office and the Governments Equalities Office over the last 12 years.

She is also Deputy Chief Executive of a leading and respected national economic development agency QED-UK, which is currently celebrating its 21st anniversary. Some of QED-UK’s highlights include runner up to the National Charity of the Year Award, Winner of the Charity Finance Award and winner of the Professor Charles Handy Alchemist Award. QED-UK has ran campaigns for the private and public sector aimed at the disadvantage communities and it delivers public sector contracts. QED-UK is currently delivering a European Commission funded programme in Pakistan, a first of its kind to help women with language and citizenship skills.

She continues to speak at high profile events at national and international level and has won numerous mainstream awards. Currently she is a Commissioner of the Northern Economic Futures Forum set up by the leading national think tank IPPR, whose remit is to look at the drivers for a northern economic growth. She is also a governor of Sheffield Hallam University, one of the largest universities in the country.

FARRAH QURESHI

BUSHRA NASIR

Global Diversity Practice

Headteacher

delivering keynote addresses for the World Bank in Washington to delivering innovative solutions for large corporates such as Wal-Mart, Shell Santander, Dell, Microsoft, Walt Disney,Lloyds of London Kellogg’s,DHL, Aviva,RBS, JPMorgan, Nike, Nuvo Nordisk,ABB,KPMG, MOD DFID,UN, EU, and many more.

Farrah Qureshi is the Managing Director and owner of the Global Diversity Practice Ltd. She is recognised as one of the foreamost experts of International repute on Global Diversity Consultancy and training in the world.She is a leading authority on combining the disciplinesof Behavioural Economics, Psychology, Leadership and Organisational consulting with Human Capital issues of Diversity and Inclusion. Farrah has put the mission of Equity and the full utilisation of Human Capital at the heart of her professional life, initially inspired by the experiences of her professional father who migrated to the UK in the early 60s and now further motivated by the aspirations of her two teenage daughters to excel and contribute as third generation British Pakistanis.

Farrah had delivered unique and innovative learning and consultancy products and specialises in advising and coaching CEO’s, Boards and top teams.

The impact of her work and global footprint has left an indelible mark on her clients and has been experienced in 93 countries spanning an impressive portfolio of corporate and public sector clients.This diverse range of clients and pioneering solutions ranges from leading the team that was commissioned to develop the award-winning Diversity collateral and Strategy for theOlympic Games 2012 to

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Farrah has 24 years’ experience in her field, her early career combined Academic rigour as Head of Consultancy Solutions for the University of Leeds, then she was headhunted to join the private sector where for the past 18 years,she has developed and led both European and Global Diversity Practices. Prior to her current position, Farrah was Managing Director within Norman Broadbent, a leading Global Executive Search Business.

Three years ago she gained ownership of the business and has gone onto to be a successful entrepreneur.

Bushra Nasir is a secondary Headteacher with 19 years experience at Plashet School in the London Borough of Newham. She was the first Muslim female Headteacher of a secondary school in the UK. In 2003, she was awarded a CBE for her services to education and in 2005 won the ‘Asian Professional Women of the Year’ award.

She served on the General Teaching Council from 20002005 and was President of the Muslim Teachers’ Association for 3 years. In 2006, Mrs Nasir was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from University of East London

She is the author of ‘Understanding Diversity – An Organisational Guide which was her first book. Farrah has also contributed to “Understanding Dignity @ Work.”

for her services to education and in 2007 she received a

Farrah has been the recipient of numerous awards including Grattan Award winner for her work in Diversity. She has been shortlisted for Asian Women of Achievement 2004/7 Corporate Category (nominated by Aviva), 2005 Opportunity Now Award for London Underground.

The Aviva Toolkit won the UN World Diversity Award 2008 for Innovation DFID was short-listed for the CIPD People Management Awards in 2009 for her work. Farrah has also been included in the Asian Power100 publication in 2009

by RBS and was recognised as one of the “Top Twenty leaders to look out for in 2010!” In 2010, Farrah received an award from Walmexfor her services to Global Diversity.

minority backgrounds, a high percentage with free school

Fellowship from Queen Mary College London.

Plashet is an 11-16 comprehensive Girls’ School with 1355 students. 90% of the students are from ethnic meals. Plashet gained Beacon status in September 2000, Leading Edge status in 2004 and Science Specialist College Status in September 2007. The school was ‘Outstanding’ in its OFSTED inspection in March 2005 and March 2008. It was featured in a national report produced by OFSTED entitled ‘12 Outstanding Schools – excelling against the odds’.

Mrs Nasir has spoken at a wide range of conferences and events related to educational issues for parents, headteachers and educationalists. She is co-author of a book called ‘Breaking Stereotypes’ which aims to provide positive role models for ethnic minority young people.

FEHMIDA MIRZA

FAUZIA AZIZ MINALLAH

Speaker of National Assembly

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Dr. Fehmida Mirza, born on December 20, 1956 in Karachi, is an agriculturist and business woman by profession and is politically affiliated with the PPPP. She was previously elected MNA in 1997. Fahmida Mirza is the current and 18th Speaker of the National Assembly, a lower house of Parliament of State of Pakistan.

She is the first woman to hold the office to date, and is widely regarded as one of the highest ranking female politicians in the history of Pakistan. Fehmida Mirza hails from the influential Sindhi family, and currently representing the Badin Constituency since 1997 and has continued to be a parliamentarian since then. A graduate of Liaquat Medial University in 1982; she is a practiced physician and did her house job in gynecology and pediatrics. . She is one of the few women elected from a non-reserved constituency.

Before entering politics, Dr. Fahmida Mirza ran an advertising agency Informachine, later renamed Information Communication Limited (ICL). Dr. Mirza is married to Dr. Zulfiqar Mirza, a close friend of Asif Ali Zardari, the cochairman of the Pakistan People’s Party. Both her husband and her brother, journalist, Qazi Asad Abid, are former Members of the National Assembly. Zulfikar Mirza is also currently a member of the Sindh Provincial Assembly and was former Provincial Home Minister. She runs several welfare projects in her constituency, one of the poorest districts of Pakistan.

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Artist and Writer Fauzia Aziz Minallah is an artist and writer of children books.

Fauzia’s work encompassing, stone carving, painting, photography, illustrating and writing for children converges with her activism through writing and campaigning for tolerance, peace, heritage conservation, environmental and social matters. Through children literature she raises these issues. Her book 'Sadako's Prayer' is published by the Asian Network of Trust in Hiroshima, in Japanese, English, Dari, Urdu, Pashto and Torwali. It is the winner of Hiroshima Citizen's Award for Peace Education and was distributed free of cost among nearly 10,000 children in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Japan. Another peace book " 'Titli and the music of Hope' written and illustrated by her is published by the National Book Trust of India under the International Center for Literacy and Culture's Peace Book Project in South Asia.

Her involvement with children is through a platform that she has provided to them in the shape of an NGO called Funkor Child Art Centre, carrying out art and book reading workshops for children living in shanty towns, for special children; refugee and Internally Displaced children (IDPs) and so on. Funkor distributes picture books and notebooks with messages on Hygiene, Sanitation and environment protection, free of charge among children. Funkor was short listed for the Bremen Peace award in Germany in 2009, as one of the nominated projects and organizations, which are exemplary in their work for peace, justice and integrity of creation. For democratizing art education and making it accessible to kids from low-income families, so that they too can playfully discover their own creativity.

Fauzia is the winner of the Ron Kovic Peace Prize, USA in 2010. She is also the only female editorial cartoonist of Pakistan to have won the All Pakistan Newspaper award for ‘Best Cartoonist’ of 1986-87. Her winning entry lampooned dictator Zia’s version of democracy with each member of his Majlis-i-Shoora shown as an identical copy of the general himself. In January 2008,during the lawyer’s movement against the imposition of emergency by General Musharraf , her cartoon depicting the general as the ‘emperor without clothes’ was used on the cover of HIMAL magazine published from Nepal.

Fauzia is a graduate of the Pratt Institute NewYork. She is one of the few artists of Pakistan, who revived a dying craft and used it as a medium of her art too.

She is dedicated to promoting, ‘Chitarkari’ or slate engraving, found in the cemeteries of Gangar mountain range, Hazara, Pakistan.

MEHREEN RIZVI KHURSHEED

DR SOPHIA KHALIQUE

Bonhams

Doctor

Dr Sophia Khalique is a partner in private medical practice in Wimpole Street giving great support to charitable causes around the world and helping people in different spheres of medical needs.

Mehreen Rizvi currently head the ModernArt Dept at Bonhams, London. Fluent speaker in Urdu and English she started her working career as an intern at Sotheby’s Islamic Department in 1992 and then moved to the company’s Finance Department. She moved to the Modern Indian Paintings Department as a cataloguer and introduced Pakistani paintings for the first time.

She researched and introduced modern Arab Art in this department and organized the first sale for it in 2001. From the years 2003 to 2008 Mehreen Rizvi Khursheed was a consultant at Bonhams for the Indian and Islamic Department, where she became responsible for Modern Indian and Pakistani art sales.

During her career Mehreen Rizvi Khursheed organized the first international Arab Art auction at Sotherby’s in London, helped to organize Sotherby’s jewellery talks and courses in Riyadh and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. Mehreen was part of a team of three people responsible for the entire Middle Eastern region, travelling extensively on behalf of the company to Beirut, Amman, Saudi and Bahrain and Dubai. She also helped to put together talks and courses on jewellery and Art for Sotheby’s Institute. She worked at Sotheby’s for a total of ten years. She also

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discovered a number of unrecognized Indian paintings, and initiated the unique first sale of Francis Newton Souza Works on Paper.

Initially Sophia specialised in Anasthesia where she sat for the Fellowship of the Royal College of Anaethetists and was awarded the rare Gold Magill medal, awarded only when a candidate is deemed extraordinary.

The new department evolved out of the Indian and Islamic Department, headed by Claire Penhallurick, which has grown the Modern and Contemporary area so productively that the time has come to establish a stand-alone specialist area.

Sophia is extremely driven, competitive and commited to alleviate suffering. Her biggest passion in is her commitment to charitable causes. Mere months after giving birth to her third child Sophia raised tens of thousands of pounds for Luekaemia research by competing in the gruelling Ultra Triathlon finishing in an astonishing 3 hours. She has dedicated much of her adult life working hands on in the third world recently returning from a trip to Sierra Leone working closely with Wherever the Need assisting their work on improved sanitation.

Mehreen Rizvi Khursheed who has extensive understanding in this area will now head the new Department.

Her team includes Farah Hakemi, an Iranian art specialist, and Charlie Moore who has recently joined the department. The team which is based at 101 New Bond Street, supervises sales in Dubai and London as part of its brief. She has discovered a number of unrecognized Indian paintings which sold for six figure sums.

At Bonhams she initiated and organized the unique first sale of Francis Newton Souza Works on Paper. This was the first time any auction house had dedicated a sale to one particular Indian artist. Mehreen helped to develop the Pakistani market which has led to record prices for the artists Sadequain, Jamil Naqsh and Chughtai among others.

YASMIN QURESHI MP

Yasmin Qureshi has been the Member of Parliament for Bolton South East since the 2010 General Election.

Yasmin began her legal career with the Crown Prosecution Service as an in-house Barrister. She prosecuted on behalf of the crown in numerous criminal cases. Later she became a specialist casework advocate dealing with complex and sensitive cases. Since becoming a Member of Parliament Yasmin has been elected as a member of the Justice Select Committee and a member of the Political and Constitutional Reform Select Committee. Yasmin is the Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on International Justice and the Secretary of the All party Parliamentary Group on Legal and Constitutional Affairs.

MEHREEN JABBAR

MALEEHA LODHI

Film Director

Journalist

Mehreen Jabbar is a film and television director with 16 years of experience in the industry, with a prolific career making of gritty, hard-hitting films for Pakistani television.

Over the years she has earned a reputation for professionalism and excellence, and is quoted widely as an expert in her field.

Mehreen began her career in television directing TV films and drama series under the banner of TasVeer Productions, all of which were critically acclaimed by the Pakistani press.

‘Ramchand Pakistani’, her first feature length film, was released theatrically in Pakistan, India and the UK in 2008/2009 to wide critical and audience acclaim. The film premiered in the competition section of the Tribeca Film Festival in New York in 2008. It won the FIPRESCI PRIZE from the International Federation of Film Critics and received many other awards at film festivals around the world. It was shown at the MOMA (Museum of Modern Art), New York for a week long screening in 2010. The film continues to screen in film festivals and college campuses.

Mehreen has been a member of the National Board of Film Censors in Karachi, a founding member of WAR (War Against Rape), the KaraFilm Festival in Karachi, has served as a juror at the Leeds International Film Festival in 2002 and was the Artistic Director at the Maisha Film Lab in Uganda, a non-profit training lab founded by director Mira Nair.

Over the years Mehreen has won numerous awards including the Indus Drama Award (2004), best Director for Harjai, IndusVision Young Achievers Award (2002), Lux Style Awards (2002) Aur Zindagi Badalti Hai nominated for Best TV Series, Kara Film Festival (2001) Best Director & Best medium-length Film for Daughters of the Late Colonel and the 9th Lux Style Awards (2010) Best TV Director for Doraha.

Dr Maleeha Lodhi, is a journalist, academic and diplomat from Pakistan. She was the High Commissioner of Pakistan to the United Kingdom and is a former Pakistani Ambassador to the United States. In the fall of 2008, she was a Resident Fellow at the Institute of Politics, John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. She has also been a member of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament.

She obtained her Ph.D in Politics from the London School of Economics in 1980, having received her B.Sc (Econ) from the same institution in 1976. She taught Politics and Sociology at the London School of Economics for five years, 1980-85, before returning home to embark on what was to be a remarkable career in journalism. She also briefly taught for a year at the Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, in the Department of Public Administration. Lodhi has been the editor of Pakistan’s leading English daily, The News and is considered amongst the country’s top political commentators.

Dr. Lodhi became Pakistani Ambassador to the US under two different presidents from 1994–1997 and then during 1999–2002 (in the process of becoming Pakistan’s longest ever serving Ambassador to the US), before leaving her post on the completion of her second tour of duty. Since 2001, she has also served on the UN Secretary General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Affairs (2001–2005) and continued to do so while holding the post of Pakistan’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (2003–2008). She has addressed top Think Tanks and other foreign policy forums across the world, drawing on her diplomatic skills and media background.

She married a banker in London but they divorced five years after marriage. She has a son, Faisal from this marriage. She has been awarded Hilal-i-Imtiaz award in Pakistan (2002). She received an Honorary Fellowship from the London School of Economics (2004) and an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters from London’s Metropolitan University (2005).

Dr. Lodhi is also the author of two books: Pakistan’s encounter with Democracy and The External Challenge both collections of her essays on contemporary issues.

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QAISRA SHAHRAZ Writer

Qaisra Shahraz, born in Pakistan and living in the United Kingdom, is a critically acclaimed novelist, scriptwriter and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Her novels The Holy Woman, Typhoon have been translated into several languages including Mandarin. She has completed her third novel and is working on her fourth Silence.

Her first novel The Holy Woman was awarded the title ‘Best Book of the Month’

by Waterstone booksellers, won the ‘ Golden Jubilee award’ and has now become a best seller in Indonesia and is published as a ‘Gold edition.’ She has taken part in many international literary festivals and book fairs including Jaipur, Beijing, Ottawa, London, Philadelphia, Abu Dhabi, Istanbul, Kerala, Bali and Dubai.

Her drama serial The Heart is It (Dil Hee To Hai) won two TV Awards in Pakistan.

Her award-winning short stories are studied in schools and colleges, especially A Pair of Jeans in Germany and UK. Her work is studied in many universities around the world. A text book, The Holy and the Unholy – Critical Essays on Qaisra Shahraz’s Fiction published recently, celebrates her literary achievement.

Qaisra Shahraz has an excellent academic record with four degrees including two masters in literature and script-writing for

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TV. Qaisra feels passionately about education and women’s issues. She enjoys a second highly successful career as an inspector for Ofsted, an international education consultant, school governor, teacher trainer and visiting professor at universities around the world. Under the auspices of the British Council she has trained thousands of teachers and heads of institutions in many countries, including in India, Germany, Morocco, Indonesia, Dubai and Pakistan; promoting quality and equality in education and adult literacy (lifelong learning)– especially for women.

She is devoted to empowering women through her novels and drama serials, as well as encouraging them into education and the world of work. She a former Director of Gatehouse Books.

At a global level Qaisra through her literature and lectures successfully achieves her mission to challenge Islamophobia, build cultural bridges and promote a better understanding about the Muslim world. At a local level she works with many communities including the Chinese, Hindu and the Jewish community to promote community cohesion. As an executive member of Faith Network for Manchester and MuslimJewish Forum, she is dedicated to promoting respect for other faiths.

She is proud of and enjoys her multiple identities as a British Muslim woman of Pakistani origin, regarding it as an extremely enriching life experience. She has excellent personal and work links with Pakistan. She is devoted to her family life, siblings and three sons.

REEDAH NIJABAT EL-SAIE

Reedah Nijabat El-Saie, of Pakistani origin, is the founder and Director of Mica Hub, which includes Mica Gallery, Mica Home and social enterprise Mica Creative CIC. The company was established in 2007 and specialises in Modern Islamic & Contemporary Art and has been said to be “…forging an entirely new market.” (Roxane Zand, Director of Middle Eastern Art, Sotheby’s).

Reedah has recently curated ‘My Place On The Isle; Exploring Faith & Identity’ an art competition capturing a snapshot of Britain in the prelude to the Olympic Summer 2012, judged by Roxane Zand (Sotheby’s), Dr Venetia Porter (The British Museum) & Professor Ben Quash (King’s College), the winners of which were announced at the Saatchi Gallery in July 2012. She also curated ‘The Brit Pak’ showcasing the Best of British Pakistani artists, which toured at the Southbank’s ‘Alchemy’ Festival in April 2012. She co-curated ‘From Facebook To Nassbook’ part of the London Mayor’s Arab Art Festival ‘Shubbak’ promoting contemporary Egyptian art, which toured in Frankfurt. Reedah is also developing Mica Home’s contemporary Islamic home furnishings range.

Reedah regularly comments on emerging art markets and artists and advises a wide range of international buyers and institutional collectors. She is increasingly being invited to speak on Modern Islamic & contemporary art and has been featured in The Times Women’s Power List, MoneyMarket UK, Choice Magazine, The Guardian, The Independent, Al Masry Alyoum, Blue Chip Magazine, Hello! Pakistan, International Herald Tribune Pakistan, AlJazeera, CNN and more recently BBC’s ‘Hidden Art of Islam’. Reedah has completed a Foundation in Art at Chelsea College of Art & Design, a Diploma in Islamic Art at VITA (Visual Islamic Traditional Arts) as well as a number of executive courses at Sothebys.

DR NIGHAT AWAN

SURRAIYA ZIA

Business woman

Doctor

Dr. Zia is a GP Principal with Special Interests in Gynecology, Dr Zia has been running her own practice for over 7 years, managing 3500 patients. Dr Zia manages all the chronic diseases herself at the practice.

She is a fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners. Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare of the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists.

Nighat Awan is one of the country’s most successful and high profile businesswomen. She successfully heads one of Manchester’s most recognisable Asian food businesses, The Shere Khan Group. In addition her new ventures are property development and interior design.

Her previous achievements include successes in diverse companies encompassing fashion, floristry, property as well as food.

From a modest start packing tights for pocket money at the age of 11 to printing T-shirts at 17 and starting her own fashion business at 20, hard work combined with tenacity has earned the diminutive 56 year old numerous honours and awards, most notably an OBE in 2004 for her services to export and charity. In July 2006 received an honorary doctorate from Manchester Metropolitan University.

A supporter of many charitable causes and a versatile individual, Nighat is also the creator, director and lead

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presenter of 2005 documentary ‘Another Pakistan’. This self funded documentary was aimed at putting Pakistan in the right light and put paid to the negative publicity around that time, hence the interest by BBC Worldwide who distributed and aired it in 22 countries. The film is also used as an educational tool for further and higher education.

Nighat has been Chair of the North West Development Agency supported Ethnic Minority Business Forum (EMBF) since 2006. In 2011, Nighat was appointed Chair of Mosaic, one of HRH the Prince of Wales charities.

Dr Zia also currently a GP tutor for Postgraduate and Undergraduate students from University College London Medical School teaching Women’s Health in the practice. Dr Zia feels community base teaching is very important for medical students as they are learning everyday health problems which they do not see on the hospital wards.

She is involved with charities focused to help people who are affected in natural disasters and is one of the Directors in Peace of Mind and B.F.C.O in (Bagh, Azad Kashmir), which are non-profit organizations. She has helped many people who have been affected by the earthquake in Pakistan in 2005, Floods in Balochistan in 2007, Floods in Sindh in 2010, earthquakes in Indonesia, floods in Bangladesh and the Haiti earthquake disaster in 2010. She aims to respond rapidly to any disaster and has provided the affected with acute medical relief, humanity missions, food and water. While these disasters quickly come and leave devastating effects, but relief works goes on for many months and years to rebuild lives for those who were effected. Dr Zia offers rehabilitation missions, with a mobile team to manage chronic diseases, giving counseling and psychotherapy.

She has also completed water supply schemes, to help those who were affected by the disasters. A Medical Centre has been built, to help with managing chronic diseases and was supplied with medication which are free. In Balochistan, arrangements were made to organize a medical camp to help and treat patients.

M E E SH A SH AFI Actor & music

Meesha S hafi became famous in the fashion industry as a model, the television industry as an actor and the music industry as a singer, she established herself in every arena she has chosen and made sure she excelled in each of these.

Meesha Shafi is a Pakistani singer, actress and model. Meesha started her career as one of Pakistan’s charming models and took over Pakistan’s fashion industry in a very short time in her professional career being ranked as a leading Fashion model. From there she began her acting career as well, and she now plans to make a renowned position in the field of singing as well.

Having charm and chic, Meesha is amazingly establishing her name as a versatile lady; by working in various fields at a time. Currently, Meesha Shafi, is also working as the Brand Spokesperson of L’Oreal Pakistan.

She has acted in different and versatile television programs such as “Muhabbat Khawab ki Soorat” and “Ye Zindagi to woh nahi”. And she is set to appear in Hollywood Mira Nairs adaption of Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist. This project also starred well known Hollywood actress Kate Hudson, Live Schreiber, Riz Ahmed, Kiefer Sutherland, and an Indian actor Om Puri. Meesha Shafi is also playing a role in Bilal Kashani’s WAAR. She grew fame in the fashion industry as a model, the television industry as an actor and the music industry as a singer, she established herself in every arena she has chosen and made sure she excelled in whatever she chose.

Meesha was lead the vocalist for Overload from 2008 until 2011.

She was also featured in Coke Studio with Arif Lohar and as a solo artist. The single with Lohar gathered over 9 million views on YouTube, the most-viewed Coke Studio song yet, the song was currently featured in a Bollywood movie called Cocktail. She has also contributed to the soundtrack of The Reluctant Fundamentalist in a track produced by her husband, musician Mahmood Rahman. Shafi will also be on Adil Omar’s debut album, The Mushroom Cloud Effect, releasing in 2012 and also featuring guests such as Xzibit, Everlast, Cypress Hill, and DJ Lethal of Limp Bizkit

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SAM IN A AH M AD Doctor

Doctor Ahmad has led a gifted life. It is rare that one can combine two distinct, but totally dissimilar, careers and achieve unprecedented success in both endeavors.

Dr. Ahmad has done just that.

A graduate of the University of Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan with a Medical Doctor degree, she began her medical career at Services Hospital as an Internal Medicine Physician in the Senior Gastroenterology Department where she assisted with fiber optic video endoscopic procedures.

Thereafter she accepted an appointment with the National Institute of Child Health as a Casualty Medical Officer working with emergency patients. She rapidly progressed with that clinic to Assistant to the Director, assisting in all areas of the clinic. Thereafter, she started her own practice - Family Practice Health Care Clinic for Women and Children, providing all types of medical healthcare services for women and children.

Deeply concerned about healthcare and its availability to underprivileged women and children, Dr. Ahmad subsequently opened and administered a hospital in Karachi, the Al-Rehman Welfare Trust & Medical Center in Karachi, Pakistan. With boundless energy, Dr. Ahmad hired and trained competent staff, organized all functional areas of the clinic and facilitated assessment, treatment and care for thousands of women and children who might not have otherwise had ready access to such medical services. In addition to the hospital, a school was also built to serve underprivileged children.

As though her medical career wasn't enough to fill a busy day, Dr. Ahmad concurrently developed a second career in scriptwriting, directing, producing and hosting numerous highly popular television programs targeted at healthcare, nutrition, family planning and social issues.

Comparable to a Martha Stewart of Pakistan, for many years, Dr. Ahmad hosted television programs on healthful cooking, family issues and nutrition.

She has graduated as a Health Counselor and qualified for national certification as a Holistic Health Practitioner by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners. She has also received a certificate of completion for educational outreach from the Teachers College of Columbia University.

Dr. Samina is a Chopra University certified Perfect Health Consultant and Ayurveda coach and runs her Wellness Center called ''Samina's Wellness'' in New York.

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Dr. Samina Ahmad has been the Business Manager for Junoon (www.Junoon.com) a highly acclaimed, internationally renowned, Pakistani rock band that specializes in Sufi music promoting peace throughout the world.

She organizes tours, books engagements, and manages business affairs, finances and publicity for the band. She recently negotiated in collaboration with the United Nations, a south Asian college tour for the band, to travel to Bangladesh, India and Pakistan to raise AIDS awareness. Samina led the band to memorable venues such as the Nobel Peace prize concert in Oslo in December 2007 and a historic first ever concert in Kashmir in May 2008.

Samina, along with her husband Salman have launched their latest initiative the Salman and Samina Global Wellness Initiative [SSGWI].The New York-based NGO focuses on three main areas: interfaith and cross-cultural dialogue; global health and wellness; and education. They organized a concert for Pakistan at the United Nations General Assembly Hall, New York on September 12th ,2009 to increase awareness of the 3 million internally displaced persons in Pakistan.

SSGWI is working on two projects in Pakistan , the ‘’Model village project’’ in Sajawal, Thatta in Sind Pakistan, where they have adopted a village Suleman Mallah and are building houses for the flood affected villagers, this will be the first model village of its kind and will provide Holistic Health , education, vocational training, playgrounds and solar energy to the villagers.

Through the SSGWI ‘’ Women’s Wellness Initiative “ Samina has adopted a school in Mansehra, Pakistan where she is providing Academic and Holistic Health education to local girls in order to empower them to raise healthy families.

M U K H T AR M AI Activist Mukhtaran Bibi now known as Mukhtar Mai is a Pakistani woman from the village of Meerwala, in the rural tehsil (county) of Jatoi of the Muzaffargarh District of Pakistan. In June 2002, Mukht r M ’ was the victim of a gang rape as a form of honour revenge, on the orders of a panchayat (tribal council) of the local Mastoi Baloch clan that was richer and more powerful as opposed to her Tatla clan in that region.

Although custom would expect her to commit suicide after being raped, Mukhtaran spoke up, and pursued the case, which was picked up by both domestic and international media. On September 1, 2002, an anti-terrorism court sentenced 6 men (including the 4 rapists) to death for rape. In 2005, the Lahore High Court cited “insufficient evidence” and acquitted 5 of the 6 convicted, and commuted the punishment for the sixth man to a life sentence.

Mukhtaran and the government appealed this decision, and the Supreme Court suspended the acquittal and held appeal hearings. In 2011, the Supreme Court too acquitted the accused.

Though the safety of Mukhtaran, and her family and friends, has been in jeopardy she remains an outspoken advocate for women’s rights. She started the Mukhtar Mai Women’s Welfare Organization to help support and educate Pakistani women and girls. In April 2007, Mukhtar Mai won the North-South Prize from the Council of Europe. In 2005, Glamour Magazine named her “Woman of the Year”.

According to the New York Times, “Her autobiography is the No. 3 best seller in France , and movies are being made about her. She has been praised by dignitaries like Laura Bush and the French foreign minister.

“Her autobiography is the No. 3 best seller in France and movies are being made about her. S he has been praised by dignitaries like Laura Bush and the French foreign minister.

She recieved the Fatima Jinnah gold medal for bravery and courage. Mukhtaran spoke at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

In an interview with United Nations TV, Mai said that “she wanted to get the message across to the world that one should fight for their rights and for the rights of the next generation. Mukhtaran’s memoir was released in the United States as In the Name of Honor: A Memoir.

Mukhtaran formally received the 2006 North-South Prize of the Council of Europe for her contribution to human rights.In April 2007, Mukhtaran Mai won the North-South Prize from the Council of Europe.In October 2010, Laurentian University of Canada decided to award an honourary doctorate degree to Mukhtaran.

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N ASR E E N M AH M U D K ASU R I Beaconhouse Schools

Nasreen Mahmud Kasuri, nèe Nasreen Monnoo, comes from a business family. She is married with three children. She has had her schooling at the Convent of Jesus and Mary – Lahore, and Sacred Heart Convent – Faisalabad. She did her Bachelor’s in Applied Psychology and History from Kinnaird College – Lahore. She studied Child Psychology at the postgraduate level at the Punjab University. She has also done her Master in Business Administration (MBA) and holds a joint degree issued by the Universities of NYU (USA), LSE (UK), and HEC (France).

Mrs. Kasuri founded the Beaconhouse Schools in 1975 which are the largest and oldest private school system in Pakistan, and perhaps one of the largest system of its kind in the world. Today, Beaconhouse Schools are located in over 31 cities across Pakistan, and in 8 other countries including the UK, Malaysia, Thailand, Oman, UAE, Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines. Beaconhouse has a combined student body exceeding 220,000 and a staff of over 18,900.

Beaconhouse schools prepare student for the Cambridge ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels, the International Baccalaureate and the local Matriculation systems.

Beaconhouse is a progressive school (it is an equal opportunity employer – though currently 62% of its employees are women; it has a broad based approach to education with a view to producing global citizens).

Beaconhouse is also active in the professional development and training of its teachers, and was the first and the

Today, Beaconhouse S chools are located in over 31 cities across Pakistan, and in 8 other countries including the UK , Malaysia, Thailand, Oman, UAE , Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines.

only school in Pakistan which has its own teacher-training programme in collaboration with the Bradford and Exeter Universities, UK. For her philanthropic and humanitarian work Mrs Kasuri was awarded the ‘Sitara-e-Eisaar’ by the Government of Pakistan in 2006.

Mrs. Kasuri has traveled widely and has attended many seminars and courses on education and management. She has served on the Boards of many Government and NonGovernment organisations, and is currently serving as the Chairperson of the Beaconhouse National University, a University Chartered by the Pakistan Government.

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N ASR E E N R E H M AN Academic & writer Nasreen is Chair of British Muslims for Secular Democracy, an organisation she co-founded with the journalist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, who was its first Chair. She has served on the Runnymede national commissions on antiSemitism and Islamophobia. She values her association with NECE (Networking European Citizenship Education).

Her intellectual debt to the great economist Mahbubul Haq, who steered her towards development, took her to Islamabad, to work as the Director of his Human Development Centre. She continues to work at the grassroots with development projects in India and Born in Pakistan, Nasreen Rehman lives between England and South Asia. She believes in challenging political

Her translation from Urdu into English of Kaifi

borders that separate people and countries, as well as the

and I, the autobiography of Shaukat Kaifi was

disciplinary boundaries between the arts and academic

published to critical acclaim in 2010. Her book

disciplines. She believes in the power of the arts and

on M.S Sathyu’s film Garm Hava is due towards

dialogue to understand the human condition and

the end of this year. Nasreen’s biography of,

transform lives.

Nur Jahan, Melody Queen will be published by

Nasreen is an award-winning screenplay writer who has worked with the Canadian Deepa Mehta on the

Penguin, India and Oxford University Press, Pakistan, in 2013.

screenplay and dialogue of Earth 1947, and wrote the

Nasreen has two daughters, Mariam Fazal

tele-films, Marhoom Colonel ki Betiyaan; Maya; Rehmat;

Faruqi, a lawyer, and Nasheed Qamar Faruqi, a

Jazba-e-Dil; Panchi and the serial Aur Zindagi Badalti Hai

filmmaker and teacher.

for the Pakistani director Mehreen Jabbar. She co-wrote with Aditya Chopra the screenplay and dialogue of the director Yash Chopra’s Veer Zara.

She is Artistic Director of The Grand Trunk Road, a performing arts and literature organisation, linking artists and writers between Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. She serves on the Board of Akademi, the lead organisation for South Asian dance, in the U.K.

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Pakistan.

N ADIA JAM IL Actor In 2009, Nadia began hosting Jago Duniya (‘Wake up World’), the flagship morning show for Duniya TV, one of Pakistan’s leading satellite channels. As the host of Jago Duniya, Nadia highlighted a number of social, economic and political issues, not hesitating to comment on topics considered controversial in Pakistan.

Following the incredible success of Jago Duniya, Nadia was offered a position hosting Nai Rahain (‘New Directions’), the morning show for Samaa TV, a leading news and opinion channel launched by JAAG Broadcasting Systems (Pvt) Ltd – owners of CNBC Pakistan.

Nadia Jamil is one of Pakistan’s leading television and stage personalities, and is widely acclaimed as one of the most talented and versatile actors of her generation.

Nadia was born in London on October 2, 1972. Her love for the dramatic was evident from her early years. After moving to Pakistan at the age of 9, Nadia continued to pursue her passion for drama at the Convent of Jesus and Mary from where she completed her O’ Levels in 1988. This love for the stage continued through Nadia’s A’ Levels, including the title role in an Urdu adaptation of Sophocles’ Antigone opposite renowned stage veteran Shoaib Hashmi. During this time, Nadia also helped produce and direct, as well as starred in, Pakistan’s first fully amateur production, Phantom of the Opera.

Nadia went on to complete her Bachelors in Liberal Arts from Hampshire University, Amherst, Massachusetts, with a major in Theatre and minors in Creative Writing and South Asian studies.

While at Hampshire, Nadia also became a student and mentee of Dr Eqbal Ahmad, a renowned Pakistani scholar, author/journalist and anti-war activist. Under Dr Ahmad’s tutelage, Nadia developed a keen socio-political conscience, and found ways in which to use her art as a tool for social change. After finishing her Bachelors in 1996, Nadia returned to Pakistan and took up acting in earnest. She has since appeared in a number of stage and television productions, including the critically acclaimed commercial hit Meray Pass Pass (which was subsequently followed up with a sequel). She has also seen much national and international acclaim for her roles in films such as the short Beauty Parlour by Mehreen Jabbar, and Raat Chali Hai Jhoom Kai, for which she was awarded the Best Supporting Actress Ciepie at the 1st KaraFilm Festival.

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In addition to her role as an actor and TV anchor/host, Nadia is also actively involved in a number of social projects. Nadia is an active member of the Punjab government’s Youth Task Force and is also a member of Zimmedar Shehri – a youth organisation dedicated to cleaning up the streets of Lahore. Nadia also spearheaded a media campaign in collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature to raise awareness of waste management and its affect on the environment and local wildlife and fauna. Nadia is also a patron of the Pakistan Society for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled (PSRD) and has used her show as a platform for promoting the rights of disabled youth in Pakistan. She was responsible for getting disabled youth involved in the Punjab Government’s Youth Task Force.

She has currently worked on a production of an Urdu version of The Taming of the Shrew with the theatre troupe, Theatre Walley-KASHF, which was performed at the Globe Theatre in London as part of the run up to the Olympic Games this summer. The ‘Globe to Globe’ initiative is an unprecedented multi-lingual programme of all 38 of Shakespeare’s plays produced by Shakespeare’s Globe theatre as part of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad and World Shakespeare Festival.

Over six weeks, every one of Shakespeare’s plays was performed by a major company from a different country in its own language. Starring Nadia Jamil and Umair Rana and directed by Haissam Hussain, the ‘Taming of the Shrew’ was performed in Urdu on May 25th and 26th, 2012, at the Globe Theatre to a standing ovation both nights.

N AM IR A SALIM Explorer & Artist

Namira Salim, is a prominent designer and adventurer based in the Principality of Monaco. She is well renowned as the first Pakistani and first potential South Asian space tourist to go to space aboard Virgin Galactic —the world’s first private spaceline.

In March 2006, Sir Richard Branson, Chairman Virgin Group, personally introduced Namira to the world press as one of the earliest founders of Virgin Galactic. Subsequently, in August 2006, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of Pakistan, officially launched Namira as the “First Pakistani Astronaut” earning her instant celebrity status. In October 2007, she qualified to go to space after successfully completing her spaceflight training in the US. Namira holds an Ivy League Masters degree in International Affairs from Columbia University. Her tireless efforts lead to the establishment of diplomatic relations between Pakistan & Monaco in 2009. Subsequently, on 1st August 2011, His Serene Highness Prince Albert II, the Sovereign Prince of Monaco accepted Namira Salim’s nomination as the first Honourary Consul of Pakistan to the Principality of Monaco. In March 2012, His Serene Highness, the Prince inaugurated the Consulate of Pakistan in the presence of the highest Monegasque authorities.

As Pakistan’s Ambassador for Tourism and during the International Polar Year, in April 2007, Namira became the first Pakistani to reach the North Pole and in January 2008, the first Pakistani at the South Pole, as well as the first Asian to skydive (tandem) over Mount Everest (third pole) in October 2008. At all three poles, she raised her native flag, along with her universal peace flag, Peace Making with Nation Souls which was first unveiled during the United

Nations General Assembly in May 2002.

Namira Salim’s daring adventures have generated positive press for Pakistan worldwide and made her a continuous source of inspiration for women and youth internationally. Based on her exemplary achievements, on 23rd March 2011 Namira was conferred with a civil decoration of Tamgha-i-Imtiaz (Medal of Excellence) by His Excellency Asif Ali Zardari, President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

The philosophical foundation of her creations rests in “A•SOUL•AFFAIR,” –her private label of decorative arts from Monaco which is regularly presented to Heads of State and Royalty. Her innovative art with built-in music and messages in the actual voices of world leaders have promoted peace and goodwill at the SAARC Summit in January 2004, the United Nations General Assembl in May 2002 and during UNESCO’s Executive Board in October 2000. Namira also represented Pakistan at UNESCO’s OIC Day in Paris in September 2011.

In 1993, she became the Founding President of AIESEC (International Association of Students in Economics and Business Management) in Pakistan –which is the largest student run NGO of the world. She trained as a student pilot in 1995 and is a PADI certified advanced scuba diver.

Namira Salim’s daring spirit serves as a paragon for peoples of all cultures and for today’s youth to reach for the stars.

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