Media Advisory - Inequalities and women's social exclusion in Pakistan: A
lecture by social activist Khawar Mumtaz

OTTAWA, Dec. 8 /CNW/ - When floods ravaged Pakistan this past summer, women once again bore the brunt of suffering and experienced disproportionate malnutrition, displacement, and disease. It's an all-too-common reality in the relentless crises of endemic poverty, political violence, and natural disasters that Pakistan has faced in its six decades of existence.  Pakistani social activist Khawar Mumtaz will deliver a lecture at Canada's International Development Research Centre on December 9^th in which she will examine how inequality, religion, and gender intersect to further women's oppression in Pakistan and inhibit social change.

When: Thursday December 9, 2010, 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Where: IDRC, 150 Kent Street (Corner of Albert), 8th floor, Ottawa, ON

Khawar Mumtaz is the Chief Executive Officer of Shirkat Gah-Women's Resource Centre — a leading Pakistani women's rights organization — where she has worked for more than 20 years.  She is a member of Pakistan's National Commission on the Status of Women, is a founding member of the Women's Action Forum, and served for four years as Secretary of the Pakistan NGO Forum.  In 2006, Mumtaz was conferred Sitara-e-Imtiaz, Pakistan's national award for social service and promotion of women's rights. 

The event is open to the media. French and English simultaneous interpretation is available. Spaces are limited and journalists are encouraged to register by calling Isabelle Bourgeault-Tassé at 613-696-2343 or e-mailing at [email protected]. 

Journalists and the public can join in the conversation through Twitter (#IDRC) and Facebook.  For more information, visit publicwebsite.idrc.ca. 

Watch the trailer for A Small Dream, a documentary on the work of Shirkat Gah. The film tells the story of a Pakistani woman named Humaira as she struggles to educate herself and set up local schools for the children of her impoverished neighbourhood in Karachi.

About IDRC

To achieve self-reliance, poor communities need answers to questions like: How can we grow more and healthier food? Protect our health? Create jobs? IDRC supports research in developing countries to answer these questions. IDRC also encourages sharing this knowledge with policymakers, other researchers, and communities around the world. The result is innovative, lasting local solutions that aim to bring choice and change to those who need it most.

For further information:

Isabelle Bourgeault-Tassé / ([phone] / [email protected]