Gender Programme

Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) through its funds for ACU Gender Program scheme, awarded Sindh Madressatul Islam University a grant to promote, gender rights awareness among the masses.

Legal Awareness Session I – ACU Gender Programme Phase 1 The first session on legal rights awareness was held in Sir Shahnawaz Bhutto Auditorium on 08 March 2019. Many students participated in the session as an audience. Ms. Chandni Kumari, session facilitator delivered a comprehensive presentation on the subject. Information related to different aspects of law was shared, including its sources, parts and implementation, etc. Participants were also informed about their legal rights and how to secure them and guided regarding their obligations and ways to be better citizens by fulfilling said duties. The students took great interest in the session and asked questions regarding their rights and duties. At the end of both session, a quiz competition was arranged, where students were awarded cash prizes for correct answers.

Legal Awareness session II – ACU Gender Programme Phase 1

Legal Awareness Session II under the Association of Commonwealth Universities Grant, was held at Quaid-e-Azam Conference Hall on 14 March 2019. The session was conducted by Mr. Muhammad Kamil Lakho, who holds expertise in law. He educated students about their rights bestowed under different laws and how to be benefited by them. He also advised students about their legal obligations and duties which have to be performed by them.
To keep the interest of students in the sessions, a quiz competition was also arranged at the end of the session. Students who gave appropriate answers were awarded cash prizes.

2-Day Cybercrime Awareness Sessions – ACU Gender Programme Phase 2

SMIU’s Office of Research, Innovation and Commercialization organized 2 days’ Awareness Sessions for its students in connection with Phase 2 of Gender Programme executed with the financial support of The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) on 16 and 17 April 2019 at Quaid-e-Azam Conference Hall.
Cyber security professionals were invited as guest speakers who briefed students about different types/methods of cybercrime such as cyber bullying, harassment, stalking, violence, fraud, hacking, phishing, etc. while also elaborating on the cyber safety measures. Session I was conducted by Ms. Sharafat Bibi, Vice President - Standard Chartered. In Session II, Mr. Muhammad Maad, Chief Information Security Officer - Faysal Bank, was invited as the session facilitator. Short films on Cybercrime were also screened on both sessions.

Cybercrime Short Film Competition - First Screening Round; ACU Gender Programme Phase 2

First screening of Cybercrime Short Film Competition with the financial support of The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) was organized by Office of Research, Innovation and Commercialization (ORIC) in collaboration with Character Building Society (CBS) and Directorate of Student Affairs (DSA) on Thursday, 16 May 2019. Eight short films made by the students of SMIU from various departments were screened on the occasion, out of which six made it to the final round as per the decision of the jury panel consisting of three faculty members from the Department of Media and Communication Studies. A good number of students attended the event in support of the filmmakers.

Cybercrime Short Film Competition – Final Screening Round; ACU Gender Programme Phase 2

The final screening round of “Cybercrime Short Film Competition” organized by Office of Research Innovation and Commercialization in collaboration with Character Building Society and Directorate of Student Affairs, with the financial support of The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) was held on Monday, 20 May 2019 at Sir Shahnawaz Bhutto Auditorium. Three winning entries were picked out of 6 short films.
“Hacker” by Jamal ul Deen and Quratul Ain Arif secured the 1st prize of Rs. 10000. The film revolves around a female character who is cyber harassed and loses Rs. 1 million in an online banking fraud.
“Enemy of the State” by Maaz Khan and Shajia Seher secured the 2nd prize of Rs. 7000. The film shows vehicle cyberattack and theft by a gang of tech-savvy criminals.
“Stalker” by Fakeeha Ali Khan and Zia secured the 3rd prize of Rs. 4000. The short film story revolves around a psychopath who cyber stalks and blackmails a girl with photoshopped images.
Participants Omer Wali, Aqsa Razzaque, and Nabeel Khan were amongst the finalists of the competition.

Debate Competition & Lecture Session - ACU Gender Program Phase-III & IV

Gender Program with collaboration of ACU (Association of Commonwealth Universities) Phase-III and Phase-IV was organized by ORIC and DSA, the aim of this program was to create awareness among SMI University students about gender related issues, i.e. Gender Sensitization, Gender Discrimination and Harassment of Women at Workplace Act,2010. In Phase-III, on 20th September 2019 a debate competition was arranged. In this competition number of students participated and shared their point of views in English and Urdu on the topic “Men are Better in Sciences while Women are Better in Humanities.” Dr. Abdul Malik Abbassi (Chairperson, Department of Allied Subjects) and Dr. Syeda Rakhshanda Kaukab (Chairperson, Department of Education) performed the duties of Jury.
While in Phase-IV, on 24th September 2019 an awareness seminar on “Gender Discrimination at Workplace” was arranged. In this seminar speakers shared their point of views on three different topics i.e. Gender Discrimination and Conflict Resolution (Dr. Syeda Rakhshanda Kaukab), Genders Empowerment: Shattering Mental Shackles (Ms. Samreen Riaz) & Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2010 and its legal Awareness (Ms. Samreen Javed). The speakers made their sessions meaningful and interesting by incorporating different activities. The students learnt as well as enjoyed the session. In concluding ceremony Prof. Dr. Syed Asif Ali, Dean Faculty of Information Technology, SMI University distributed the prizes amongst the winners of the debate competition. In the way ACU Gender Program was successfully ended under the esteem supervision and guidance of Dr. Mohammad Ali Sheikh, the Honorable Vice Chancellor SMI University, Karachi.