A musical evening to raise awareness on the reproductive health rights of Pakistani youth was organised by Lifeline at a local hotel here on Wednesday evening. The show, called "An Evening with Fariha Pervez", featured renowned Pakistani singer as its talent. The versatile and multi-talented Dr Huma Mir was host for the evening.
More than 200 guests including parents, teachers, adolescents, political figures and media representatives showed up. Prominent personalities included MNA Shazia Marri, senior actor and producer Asif Raza Mir, young artist Tipu and the gorgeous film and television legend Zeba Bakhtiar. The tagline "Your child deserves to know. Equip your child with SRHR knowledge" summarised the entire theme of the evening.
Dr Huma kicked off the evening by welcoming the guests. She then provided a brief overview of the show, after which she asked on stage CEO Lifeline Omer Aftab to talk about the Lifeline campaign. Omer Aftab, a seasoned development and communications professional, said that only 29 percent girls and 41 percent boys had access to correct information about puberty and hygiene in Pakistan. Therefore Lifeline has launched a programme 'HAYAT' which will be run in nine districts of five major cities of Pakistan including Islamabad. Other cities are Lahore and Lodhra in Punjab, Karachi and Jamshoro in Sindh, Peshawar and Abbottabad in KP, and Quetta and Pishin in Balochistan province.
He said the programme targeted youth of the country; and to raise awareness amongst them, relevant messages would be disseminated through TV, radio, community theatres, outdoor and musical events.
Lifeline has also involved religious scholars to guide the young generation through their sermons and teach them the right practices. Fariha Pervez took the stage after a delightful dinner. She captivated the audience with her melodious tunes and charming self. Fariha brought to life popular Ghazals of Madam Nurjehan and Faiz Ahmed Faiz. She also took song requests from the audience and sang her hit "Patangbaaz Sajna" among other hits.
More than 200 guests signed pledges before the end of the successful show to demonstrate their willingness to support the SRHR education of youth. More than 20 guests also gave on-air testimonials to demonstrate their willingness to promote the cause of HAYAT. It is important to know that sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and rights of adolescents in Pakistan, especially of girls, often remained unfulfilled due to number of reasons; adequate knowledge, a non-supportive environment, and lack of access to reliable and youth-friendly SRH services. Consequently, Pakistani youth is prone to numerous health problems including stress.
One of the aims of HAYAT programme is to provide people with a platform to discuss this issue and reach out to the youth to aware them of their rights and to provide them with healthy environment. The event was the first in a series of musical evenings. Subsequent musical evenings will be held in Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar to raise awareness about the SRHR issue.