The HUM TV’s Women Leaders Awards 2021 (to be aired on 20th March) sent out all the right messages to the men and women of Pakistan this year with an intelligently curated programme that reiterated that Pakistani women prove year after year that they are multi-dimensional achievers who succeed at all levels. Held under the aegis of the President of Pakistan in Islamabad, twelve outstanding people, one of them male, were awarded for being role-models and enablers, with the #IWD2021 theme #choosetochallenge in the spotlight.
A select jury comprising a few of Pakistan’s leading achievers, chose winners categorised by their overall impact on arts, culture, society and people in the country, and in some cases globally. While women icons like Hina Jilani and Abida Parveen received awards this year, it was an extremely encouraging moment to see acclaimed historian Ayesha Jalal join the list of awardees, as well as Princess Sarvath al-Hassan of Jordan for her sustained and long-standing social work in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Similarly, it was important to award Malala Yusufzai from this ubiquitous platform, endorsed by the President of Pakistan. As a global spokesperson for girls’ education her impact in the rest of the world must be continually acknowledged in Pakistan.
An elegant awards evening was organised by HUM TV on March 9 at the Presidency in Islamabad. The set-up in classic HUM TV style catered to all the entertainment and awards segments presented that evening. Hosted by actors Hareem Farooq and Sanam Saeed, the show featured short films on each awardee, the award-ceremony itself and some entertainment segments featuring songs by Quratulain Baloch, Umair Jaswal and Strings.
The HUM Women Leaders Awards were preceded by the HUM Roundtable titled ‘Women as Agents of Social Change,’ recorded in the studios of HUM TV in Islamabad showcasing important women leaders including former speaker Fehmida Mirza, human rights spokesperson Hina Gilani, former adviser to the Prime Minister on Digital Pakistan Tania Aidrus, among others.
