New York:
Apna Community Center organized “Youth Leadership and Empowerment Day” to raise awareness about women empowerment. Mahanoor Zaheer presided over the organization of the event which was began with the recitation of the Holy Quran. Later in the program, a report was presented about the performance of Apna Community Center. A session of inspirational panelists was also held in the program in which women experts in their fields narrated their struggles on the journey to success.
The panelists included Zunaira Ahmed, District and Communications Director of District 17 Senator Iwen Chu, Naila Siddiqui, Staff Attorney, Legal Aid Society, Amina Ahmed, NYPD Detective, and Shamina Dhodala, Supervising Pharmacist, Shazia Pharmacy.
Participants asked different questions about professions and they were also given satisfied answered. Addressing to event, Apna Community Center CEO Erum Hanif said that We want South Asian women problems to be understand and solved.
Being a community representatives we feel that we have no proper existence in an American system due to lack of representation, she added.
Addressing the participants after the session, community board member Devon Brown said that it was an inspiring talk for all women, because they proved that the profession and you don’t need to change, but become proficient at it to the best of your ability.
At the end of the session, the speakers were given flowers and gifts, in the second part of the program women were trained in self-defense and also shown a video about self-defense. How to defend yourself if they are attacked due to reason?
The Director of Apna community center Shazia watto said that hard work is the only way through which you can achieve whatever you want.
Iqra Zaheer and Rabia Riaz participated as volunteer , they expressed their views to the participants and said that we have learned one thing in our work experiences during the time we are at today and that is leadership, networking is a very valuable thing. Which you people should keep in your routine.
US officials also participated in the event while differently abled school girls were felicitated for their paintings and achievements.
