December 6, 2018: CODE PAKISTAN held a consultation with the students and faculty members of the Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU), Rawalpindi, on countering on-campus violent extremism in Pakistan. The consultation focused on the role of female faculty and students in countering extremism and peacebuilding through on-campus extra-curricular activities.
The students and faculty members of FJWU shared that end of December marked 20 years of FJWU as a women’s university in a building that used to serve as the Governor’s House in the colonial times. They added that after the inception of the university, buildings were added to accommodate the expansion of the university to hold 22 Departments with over 6,000 students.
The students and faculty members of FJWU maintained that the institution had a long history of empowering women with education to provide them with opportunities to work and be self-sufficient. They further added that tolerance was strongly supported on FJWU campus and that students were encouraged to listen to and respect divergent opinions.
The students and faculty members of FJWU shared that extra-curricular activities, such as debates, quiz competitions, sports, etc., were strongly encouraged on the campus. They disclosed that FJWU housed the only women-only squash court of twin cities. They added that the FJWU students had drama society, a photography society, and a software engineering society, among others. They further revealed that FJWU was actively collaborating with the British Council and that the students were greatly benefitting from the British Council seminars on various topics. The students and faculty members of FJWU shared that a regular entrepreneurship week was held at the university to provide the students with a platform to showcase their ideas.
Alongside the students, the participants of the consultation included the following prominent faculty members of FJWU: Dr. Shafia Azam, Dr. Afshan Batool, Dr. Fozia Malik, Ms. Sana Mukaram, Dr. Adeela Rehman, Dr. Fouzia Ghias, Dr. Nargis Bibi, Dr. Sadaf, Dr. Asma Jabeen, Dr. Asma Khalid, Ms. Bushra Bashir, Ms. Sobia Hanif, Ms. Afkar Majeed, Ms. Sadia Usmani, Ms. Ramsha Aslam, and Ms. Johar-i-Nayyara. The consultation was part of a series of consultations that CODE PAKISTAN is holding with the faculties and students of various universities across Pakistan.