In view of the upcoming International Women’s Day, the conference وجودِ زن (‘wujuud-i zan’) brings together leading women scholars, artists, and activists from Karachi to engage with the notion of a reparative future critically.
Organised by Habib University’s Academic Centres, this day-long event will revolve around a transdisciplinary dialogue that explores the intersections of gender, history, and futurity within the context of Pakistan and the wider Global South.
Focusing on the transformative potential of scholarship, وجودِ زن interrogates historical injustices, colonial legacies, and structural inequalities while foregrounding the contributions of women scholars in efforts to reimagine societal structures in ways that repair harm and centre equity, care, and inclusivity.
Discussions will explore the politics of memory, the role of archives, decolonial methodologies, environmental justice, science and technology and community-centred approaches to social change. This conference is a springboard to build a critical reflection and action platform, envisioning futures rooted in equity, sustainability, and collective care, and highlighting research done on/by women.
The programme will include panel discussions and roundtable sessions, encouraging engagement across academic disciplines, allowing students to achieve gain direct experience of debates in the field and ideas for potential projects and research collaborations
9:30 AM – 10:45 AM
Dr. Yasmeen Jamali
Assistant Professor, Social Development and Policy, Habib University
Young Women’s Agency in Balochistan: What Do They Say?
Dr. Shumaila Ahmed
Assistant Professor, Social Sciences and Liberal Arts, IBA
‘I want to pray but my heart’s just not in it’: Salah, Sincerity, and the Pursuit of ‘Iman- highs’
Moderator: Ms. Zahra Sabri, Lecturer, Comparative Humanities, Habib University
10:45 AM - 12:00 PM
Dr. Coline Ferrant
Assistant Professor and Director Dean's fellowship program Social Development and Policy, Habib University
Simple Cooking Using Fresh Produce: Immigrants’ Recraft of the Quotidian Diet in Paris and Chicago
Dr. Anum Tariq Dada
Assistant Professor, Social Sciences and Liberal Arts, IBA
‘Boþe fysik and Sirgirie ȝhe hadde lerned’: Saracen Knowledge and Agency in Late Medieval Romance
Moderator: Dr. Zoya Sameen, Assistant Professor of History, Arts and Sciences, AKU
12:00 PM - 1:15 PM
Ramsha Siddiqui
Lecturer, Social Sciences and Liberal Arts, IBA
A Discursive Analysis of Midwives in Colonial India
Dr. Zoya Sameen
Assistant Professor of History in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, AKU
“This Woman is a Most Undesirable Person”: Tajo vs. Frontier Crimes Regulation in the Balochistan Agency
Moderator: Ms. Abira Ashfaq, Associate Professor of Practice, Social Development and Policy, Habib University
2:15 PM – 3:30 PM
WOMEN IN ACADEMIA: INSTITUTIONAL BARRIERS, EPISTEMIC RESISTANCE, AND KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION
3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Jovita Alvares
Assistant Professor, Communication & Design, Habib University
Roots that Hover: A Case of Nonbelonging in South Asia
Soha Macktoom
Associate Director at the Karachi Urban Lab and Lecturer, Social Sciences and Liberal Arts, IBA
Climate, Comfort, and Karachi: Thermal Transitions in Architecture
Zahra Sabri
Lecturer, Comparative Humanities, Habib University
North Indian Wedding Songs among Urdu-Speaking Migrant Families in Pakistan
Moderator: Zuha Asif Siddiqui, Visiting Assistant Professor of Practice, Communication and Design, Habib University
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
FOUZIA SAEED’S
"TAPESTRY: STRANDS OF WOMEN’S STRUGGLES WOVEN INTO THE HISTORY OF PAKISTAN"