UMT Organizes Online National Conference on Gender Issues
Friday, April 02 2021
The Department of Sociology at University of Management and Technology, Lahore organized a one-day online national conference on Debates in Contemporary Gender Issues: Five years of SDGs in Pakistan on March 31, 2021. The event aimed at highlighting the issues confronting Pakistani women, specifically in the arena of development, in light of Pakistan’s progress on the SDGs.
The guests and participants were welcomed by Dr. Basharat Hussain, Conference Convener and Chairperson, Department of Sociology. Dr. Ambreen Salahuddin, Conference Co-Convener and Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology enlightened the audience about the key conference statistics and deliverables. The welcome address was delivered by Dr. Muhammad Aslam (S.I), Rector, UMT and Patron of the Conference. In his address, he stressed upon the importance of bridging gender inequality, in order to meet our Sustainable Development Goals. The KeyNote Speaker Dr. Arfa Syeda Zehra, renowned public intellectual and Professor of History at Forman Christian College delivered her address on ‘Gender Inclusive Society: A Life Celebrated’ and enlightened the audience about the present-day gender related issues that need to be countered for a progressive society.
The conference featured thirty-two research papers from academics across the country and abroad (Japan, UK), whose presentations were distributed in three different themes: Social Issues and Gender Inequalities in Pakistan: An Overview of SDGs Progress; Contemporary Feminist Debates in Pakistan; Women Empowerment and Economic Development. The working sessions were chaired by Dr. Subah Malik, Chairperson, Gender and Development Studies, Lahore College for Women University, Dr. Wajid Tahir, Gender Expert and Post-Doctoral Scholar, Philips-University Marburg, Germany and Dr. Abida Malik, University of Nottingham, UK. The stated working sessions were moderated by Tayyaba Sohail, Assistant Professor, UMT, Inam-ul- Haq, Lecturer, UMT and Dr. Beenish Malik, Assistant Professor, UMT.
The closing address was delivered by Abid HK Sherwani, Conference Deputy-Patron and Director General, UMT, in which he lauded the Department’s efforts and reiterated the importance of ensuring gender equality. The address was followed by vote of thanks by Dr. Mumtaz Akhter, Dean School of Social Sciences and Humanities.