Pakistani novelist bags global award at Women Changing the World Awards 2025
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's self-published novelist Alishba Khan Barech bagged the 'Young Woman of the Year' award at the Women Changing the World Awards 2025 program this week, state-run media reported, dedicating her victory to the people of the southwestern Balochistan province she hails from.
Barech is Pakistan's youngest self-published author and a native of Balochistan province's Nushki district, which often features in headlines for militant attacks. She was announced as one of 12 finalists for the Young Woman of the Year award in February 2025, selected from a pool of 751 nominations across over 50 countries.
The Women Changing The World Awards is a global program that honors women making a positive impact across industries such as business, sustainability, leadership, health, education, innovation, and technology. The awards ceremony was held at the Park Hyatt London River Thames from Apr. 2-3.
'As I've said before, my mission has always been to rewrite the narratives that define us,' Barech was quoted as saying by the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP).
'This award is dedicated with all my heart to my parents, my teachers, my beloved province Balochistan, and my country Pakistan.'
The Pakistani writer said winning the award was 'more than a personal milestone' for her, adding that it was proof that stories of resilience rise from Nushki and 'not just headlines of conflict and militancy we've grown used to.'
State-run APP said Barech's work centers on rewriting dominant narratives, particularly around Balochistan, where separatists are fighting the state for a larger share in the province's natural resources.
'She is Pakistan's youngest novelist and memoirist, having written her debut novel at the age of 11, youngest memoirist at 14 and self-published author at 16,' the APP said.
It said Barech has worked with UNICEF Pakistan as its youth ambassador for mental health and polio eradication, adding that she currently serves as a youth adviser to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and is also a member of the National Youth Council.
The Pakistani author serves as a youth ambassador for the cricket franchise Quetta Gladiators and is the first Pashtun woman from Balochistan, South Asia, to secure a merit scholarship to the John Locke Summer University.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
01-05-2025
- Arab News
Pakistani actor Fawad Khan's Bollywood comeback film to release on May 9
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani actor Fawad Khan will mark his Bollywood comeback with the upcoming film 'Abir Gulaal' on May 9, as per a teaser of the flick released this week. The movie features Indian actress Vaani Kapoor in the lead role alongside Khan. Abir Gulaal has been directed by filmmaker Aarti S. Bagdi and produced by 'Indian Stories' and 'A Richer Lens' in association with Aarjay Pictures. Producers of the flick include Vivek B. Agrawal, who has been involved with stellar Indian hits such as 'Queen,' 'Udta Punjab,' 'Sacred Games,' and Avantika Hari and Rakesh Sippy. 'The wait is over!' Kapoor wrote in an Instagram post alongside the teaser on April 1. 'Bringing love back to the big screen with Abir Gulaal and Fawad Khan. See you in cinemas on 9th May!' (please embed Vaani Kapoor Instagram post here) The teaser of the movie features Khan sitting behind the steering wheel of a car, crooning an iconic Bollywood song with Kapoor in the passenger seat beside him while it rains outside. 'This heartwarming tale unfolds in the picturesque streets of London, weaving a love story filled with unexpected turns, tender moments, and pure magic,' the film's synopsis states. 'Audiences can expect a delightful blend of laughter, tender moments, and the undeniable chemistry between Fawad Khan and Vaani Kapoor.' Khan enjoys heartthrob status in both Pakistan and India. He has played the lead in Bollywood hits 'Khoobsurat' (2014) and 'Kapoor & Sons' (2016). He also starred in 'Ms. Marvel' (2022) and 'The Legend of Maula Jatt' (2022), Pakistan's biggest hit of all time. Khan's impressive run in Bollywood came to a halt due to an unofficial ban on Pakistani artists by Indian producers in 2016 as tensions between both neighboring countries escalated. Pakistan has also banned the screening of Indian movies after ties with New Delhi reached a new low in 2019 over the disputed Kashmir region. However, in 2023, the Bombay High Court dismissed a petition seeking to officially ban Pakistani artists from working in India. 'Arts, music, sports, culture, dance, and so on are the activities which rise above nationalities, cultures, and nations and truly bring about peace, tranquility, unity, and harmony in nation and between nations,' the court had said in its ruling. The movie, however, has already earned the ire of India's conservative politician Raj Thackeray. A few hours after the teaser released, Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) party opposed the film's release in Maharashtra. 'We only learned about this film's release today when the makers announced it,' MNS spokesperson Ameya Khopkar told Dainik Bhaskar, a Hindi-language newspaper, on Tuesday. 'But we are making it clear that we will not allow this film to release in Maharashtra because it features a Pakistani actor. Under no circumstances will we permit such films to be released in the state,' he added. Previously, the Indian release of Khan's Maula Jatt film was paused after a right-wing fringe group objected to it.
Arab News
27-04-2025
- Arab News
No handshake at muted India-Pakistan border ceremony
ATTARI: With swaggering soldiers giving high kicks set to booming patriotic music cheered on by crowds, it was the usual daily border ceremony between nuclear-armed arch-rivals India and Pakistan. But there was one key thing at the show that was missing — the usual symbol of cooperation, a handshake between the opposing soldiers, did not take place. Relations have plummeted after New Delhi accused Islamabad of backing an attack targeting tourists on April 22 — the deadliest attack on civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir for years. Islamabad rejects the claims, and the countries have since exchanged gunfire, diplomatic barbs, expelled citizens — and ordered the border to be shut. The iron gates that separate the two sides remain locked. 'It just fills you with passion and patriotic pride,' said Simarjeet Singh, 17, from the nearby Indian city of Amritsar, his face painted with the national tricolor flag. Many fear the risk of a military escalation in the coming days. For years, the Attari-Wagah border in Punjab has been a hugely popular tourist attraction. Visitors from both sides come to cheer on soldiers goose-stepping in a chest-puffing theatrical show of pageantry. Numbers were muted at the sunset show on Saturday, but thousands of Indians still came to show their loyalty to their nation. 'There were people from all over who looked and dressed different but were cheering and screaming at the same time — for our country and the soldiers,' Singh said, who came with his friends from college. Cheering crowds still filled the stadium-like space around the gates with noise, at least on the Indian side, where on Saturday some 5,000 people — about a fifth of full capacity — watched. There was only a small fraction of the support on the Pakistani side. Enthusiastic spectators sang in chorus, waving flags and chanting 'India Zindabad,' or 'Long live India.' The frontier was a colonial creation at the violent end of British rule in 1947 which sliced the sub-continent into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan. The daily border ritual has largely endured over the decades, surviving innumerable diplomatic flare-ups and military skirmishes. Reena Devi, 54, and PK Nath, 70, tourists from Tezpur in India's northeastern state of Assam, are part of a tour of the country. 'We are just so excited to be here,' Devi said. 'We just wanted to see this ceremony and experience being at the border with Pakistan.' Nath said she and her group planned to visit a Hindu site in Jammu and Kashmir. 'Some of us are now a little apprehensive about the security there,' she said. Nath said he 'totally supported' New Delhi's decision to expel Pakistani citizens and to shut down the border. 'You can't send people to kill here and still not expect any response,' Nath said. 'We don't know what will happen next but we are sure that the government would do the right thing,' he added. As the energetic masters of the ceremony goaded the crowd, the Indian soldiers in red-fanned hats stomped up to the locked gate, kicking their legs up — with Pakistanis doing the same on the other side. Aside from the ceremony, Indian and Pakistani citizens have been crossing the border since both sides canceled visas before India's April 29 deadline to leave — tearing apart families with relations in both nations. 'There is obvious anxiety right now,' said Harpal Singh, an Amritsar-based taxi driver who regularly brings visitors to the ceremony, insisting the spectacle was still worth coming to see. 'There was no one who didn't come back impressed and excited,' he said. KT Ramesh, 57, from Kozhikode in the southern state of Kerala, said that even the scaled-down ceremony 'was worth it.' 'There was no shortage of passion among our people,' Ramesh said. He said that he'd 'seen anger' about the attack in Kashmir 'in whoever I spoke with, from our hotel staff to the taxi driver and other tourists here.' 'Everyone was talking about it,' he said. 'We don't like a war but this time we must teach them a lesson.'
Arab News
26-04-2025
- Arab News
Pakistani filmmaker urges government to ask actors to seek permission for signing Indian movies
KARACHI: Pakistani filmmaker Nabeel Qureshi has urged the government to ask Pakistani actors to seek a no-objection certificate (NoC) prior to signing any Indian projects, following the imposition of a ban by the Indian cinema federation on Pakistani actor Fawad Khan's Bollywood movie 'Abir Gulaal.' The romantic comedy marks Khan's highly anticipated return to the Indian film industry after almost nine years. The movie starring Khan, who is widely famous in India, alongside Indian actor Vaani Kapoor is scheduled to release on May 9. However, Indian media reported on Friday that the movie will not be released in India after the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) asked authorities to ban it, following a militant attack in India-administered Kashmir that killed 26 tourists on April 22. New Delhi has blamed the attack on Pakistan, an allegation denied by Islamabad. Both India and Pakistan have since unleashed a raft of measures against each other as tensions remain heightened between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. 'It's a matter of the country's dignity,' Qureshi told Arab News. 'In future, the way India is imposing a blanket ban on Pakistan, our government should also ask actors to seek NoC before signing up for any project there.' India has a huge film industry and many Pakistani artists want to work there, according to Qureshi. But they should not compromise on their self-respect. 'Our actors should have some integrity not just as artists but also as Pakistanis. [It's] a country that doesn't welcome you at all, irrespective of the recent Pahalgam terror attack,' he said. 'There were speculations around the film's release already, now it's impossible for the film to release in India.' India barred Pakistani artists from working in the country after a militant attack in Uri town in Indian-administered Kashmir, which killed 19 Indian soldiers in 2016. Prior to that, Khan starred in Bollywood films 'Khoobsurat,' 'Kapoor & Sons' and 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.' The promotion of his movie Abir Gulaal began in Dubai, with the music launch. But two songs from the film, 'Khudaya Ishq' and 'Angreji Rangrasiya,' have been removed from YouTube India following the Pahalgam attack. 'It was not like this was unexpected. If it had not been the recent tragedy in Pahalgam, it would have been any other reason, big, small, legit or otherwise,' Kamran Jawaid, a Pakistani film critic and journalist, told Arab News. 'Cinema-goers [in Pakistan] will give the film a warm welcome. However, given FWICE's hard anti-Pakistan stance, the decision to release the film here would only land them in hotter waters in India. Nobody wants to do that.' Nadeem Mandviwalla, a leading film importer and distributor in Pakistan who also owns a cinema in Karachi, said India's ban on the movie's release is 'understandable' under the current circumstances. 'Allegedly, Pakistan has also refused to grant permission to the movie,' he said. 'Actors will always play a part in projecting peace and love. Given a chance, it's commendable for both parties to make this attempt.' Jawaid, on the other hand, said Pakistani actors should have an 'active role' in building up the quality of Pakistani productions, given the wafer-thin, prickly relationship between Pakistan and India. 'They should not run after Bollywood collaborations because the audience-base is bigger or that the pay is better,' he said. 'The 'arts transcend borders' and 'arts can make a difference' mantra can only be beneficial if there is unilateral reciprocation in both industries.' For the latest updates, follow us on Instagram @
