Any drama with the simplest story can be made engaging if its pace is steady. Obviously good acting counts along with mature writing skills (it’s not like anyone can write a drama) but the pace is what keeps us hooked.

Recently, our dramas reached India and were appreciated. The mature acting and writing was purchased, along with the fact that they have a few steady paced episodes unlike the dramas there. After this, directors , producers and writers should have started to work really hard in order to create more masterpieces which can be aired abroad. In spite of this, we are getting to see more victims of dragging!

1.Arranged Marriage:

I mentioned in a previous article that this drama needs to end. Despite that, it makes it to my list once again. The story is simple. A cheating, abusive, torturous husband manages to portray his innocent first wife as an evil woman in front of his parents and they give permission to this bechara to marry the love of his life. His second cunning wife is pregnant now and will probably lose her child as punishment for her sins.

This content did not need 20+ episodes but somehow ARY managed to drag it this far. Let’s see whether they’ll ever end it or not!

2. Chup Raho:

You knew this was gonna be here, didn’t you?

The topic is thought-provoking. When I heard about it for the first time, I thought this was going to be a fast paced drama telling victims of sexual abuse to stand up for their rights. But alas, I was mistaken. The drama is bold, but that’s not the issue here. The issue is the stretched and useless scenes which make viewers annoyed.

The most important thing is, that at least I don’t watch this drama for entertainment. I watch it with a serious mood in the hope that it will deal with the issue of sexual abuse. But that seems impossible.

3. Ishq Mein Aisa Bhi Haal Hona Hai:

Samra and Fajar’s father abandoned them because they were daughters. Samra and Adnan (Humayun Ashraf) are in love and newly engaged.  Adnan’s cousin Neha (Hiba Ali) , who is an orphan and has been brought up by her khala( i.e Adnan’s mother) is a rebellious and rude girl who gets used by a rich playboy Shahmir (Yasir Mazhar).  Adnan’s mother falls sick because of this stress and on her supposed deathbed asks, “Kon karega meri Neha se shadi?” (literally) And like a gallant warrior, Adnan decides to marry Neha to save his mother’s life. I don’t get what the dude was thinking but Samra gets it and she decides to end it with Adnan. There’s a side-track between Samra’s sister and her college mate who happens to be Shahmir’s cousin.

The drama is no doubt dragged. First few episodes were on Samra and Adnan’s endless calls, meetings and then the engagement preparations, the shopping spree and then finally the engagement. When Shahmir abandoned Neha and left for America with his newly wedded wife, there were endless crying scenes from Neha and then endless hospital scenes from her khala! Then Samra discovered what a cheat Adnan was and she cried for two episodes.

Let’s see what will happen when Samra’s mother finds out about Adnan and Neha’s Nikkah. I’ll keep tolerating the slow pace to find out who is Samra and Fajar’s father and what will happen to Shahmir now! SPOILER ALERT: I  think it’s Shahmir’s father.

Feel free to share your thoughts on these and other dramas.

Areeba Mohsen

This world never was an easy place for women but undoubtedly this struggle for survival has become a hundred times harder in today’s world or may be it always was this hard and it’s only now when women who were wronged have spoken for themselves and have forced us to open our eyes and see the truth that we so conveniently had closed our eyes to for centuries. The need to talk about where we went wrong has never been more relevant than now and there is no better medium to spread awareness than media, be it electronic, social or print.

As much as we need movies and plays telling stories of rape, sexual harassment, domestic violence and honor killing we also need stories that inspire. Women who have fought against all odds and have achieved the un-achievable. As much as the dark side of this society needs to be shown constantly we also need to show the audience that there’s still hope and that no dream is too big. Women who did not comply to the society’s definition of what a woman can and can not do, women who did not let their gender decide their limits, women who are the epitome of freedom and women empowerment.

Today we celebrate such women and their courage. Here’s a list of stories that need to be told through our TV serials and cinema.

1-Syeda Ghulam Fatima

The first time I heard of this superhero of a woman was when Brandon Stanton (the owner of photo-blog Humans of New York) shared her story and helped her raise $1.3 million for her organization, Bonded Labour Liberation Front Pakistan (BLLF). I had never heard of this brave woman or her cause ever before and that makes me terribly sad as I wonder how many other Ghulam Fatimas are still unsung and uncelebrated.

Fatima holds a master’s degree in Political Science from Punjab University. She has been campaigning for worker’s rights and against bonded labour in Pakistani brick factories, kilns. She has been threatened, attacked, and wounded because of her activism. Through her organization, the Bonded Labour Liberation Front, Fatima has established Freedom Centers where workers can go for protection and legal counsel. She is the elected General Secretary of Bonded Labour Liberation Front Pakistan. Alongside her husband, Fatima runs BLLF from a storefront in Lahore.

She helped to release more than 80,000 bonded laborers in Pakistan from all provinces since her engagement, and trained more than 600 women in alternative skills for poverty reduction. In September 2015, Fatima was awarded a Clinton Global Citizen Award for “leadership in civil society” in New York.

2-Shamim Akhtar

Shamim Akhtar, at 53 is Pakistan’s first female driver; she is one such example who decided to go against all odds to make both ends meet for her family and adapted to a role skewed toward gender based obstacles. Married off at 17 years, she quickly found out that she had to fend for herself and her children. In the face of considerable financial hardship, Shamim relied on her own intelligence and strength to take care of her children and marry off her eldest daughters. Her husband was never around, and left her for another woman.

She attributes her success to the Islamabad Traffic Police Training course that paved the way for her to show her the possibilities of being able to drive heavy vehicles as she had gained an excellent road sense and courage to defy all stereotypes associated with driving vehicles. Her untiring efforts later helped her gain a public service vehicle license, making her the first Pakistani woman licensed to drive trailers, tractors and trucks.

3-Samina Khayal Baig

Samina Baig comes from Shimshal village in Hunza Gojal, Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan, and was trained in mountaineering from the age of 15 by her brother, Mirza Ali. She is a student of Arts and began climbing when she was merely four years old. She is a high-altitude mountaineer who in 2013 climbed Mount Everest and then all Seven Summits by 2014. She is the first and only Pakistani woman to climb Everest and the Seven Summits. She is also the youngest Muslim woman to climb Mount Everest, having done so at the age of 21. Samina was the first to climb the peak Chashkin Sar (above 6,000 meters) in Pakistan in 2010, which was later renamed Samina Peak after her. She reached the summit of ‘Koh-i-Brobar’ (‘Mount Equality’) in 2011. Besides the Himalayas, Baig has been employed as a mountain guide and expedition leader in the Hindu Kush and the peaks of Karakoram. Baig has been a professional climber since 2009.

4-Kulsoom Hazara

Kulsoom Hazara, is a young enthusiastic, passionate and determinant Pakistani karateka who belongs to ‘Hazara Community’ located in Baluchistan. She is first female ‘karateka’ to represent Pakistan at international competitions. Despite of inadequate facilities and resources she is very optimistic about her future and vows of winning more medals for Pakistan. She participated in the 2012 Asian Championship, squaring off against fighters from various Asian countries. She is national Karate champion since 2003. She previously represented Pakistan in many international karate events like Islamic games, Asian and south Asian games and won many gold medals for Pakistan. Kulsoom is the only female player in Pakistan karate team who has hat-trick for wining 3 gold medals in 3 competitions and is still holding her record. Recently she took 2 gold medals in south Asian karate championship in new Dehli India and 3 gold medals in national games Lahore.

5-Sabia Abbat

Born and bred in Haripur, Sabia Abbat became the first woman from Hazara division to win the National Cycling Championship in 2013. Being a sports enthusiast at college where she represented the institution in various competitions helped. She saw a cycling competition in 2011 in Pania where the women could barely ride bikes and decided that this was a skill she wanted to learn. Back home, in Haripur, she practiced on her uncle’s cycle, fell a lot but kept at it. The cycling championship has nine events, six of which are held on a velodrome while three are on the road. Haripur has no facilities for training in cycling so for serious practice Sabia has to travel to Lahore. Sabia holds a Bachelor’s degree in physical education. She has been a National Champion, an army athlete and an inspiration and her journey is far from over.

6-Nergis Mavalvala

One of the most recent Pakistani woman to hit the international news headlines has been Karachi-born quantum astrophysicist Nergis Mavalvala, Associate Department Head of Physics at MIT, and a member of the team of scientists that announced the scientific milestone of detecting gravitational waves, ripples in space and time hypothesised by physicist Albert Einstein a century ago.

Dr Mavalvala worked with researchers at the US-based underground detectors Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) Laboratory to build sophisticated sensors to detect gravitational ripples created from the collision of two black holes some 1.3 billion years ago and had been hurtling through space to reach Earth on September 14, 2015. Dr Mavalvala, 47, attended the Convent of Jesus and Mary, Karachi, before going to the US as a teenager.

The article is already too long and yet this is the tip of the iceberg only there is so much more to where this comes from. Pakistani women are superheroes in true sense of the word and it baffles me why we do not celebrate these women and their stories as much as we focus on the stories that show women as the victim. We hope we get to see more plays and movies focusing on lives of these women in future. Let’s celebrate women for the warriors they really are.

Lately most of us have discussed about the negativities that are being shown in our dramas & almost all the viewers condemn it, but it’s been a while that we’ve spoken about the positivity & those qualities that make us all fall in love with our dramas. It’s my little effort to recollect the memories & the positive feelings that we have about our dramas & what are exactly those things that make us end up being such a die heart fan of our Pakistani dramas.

I believe taking names of certain dramas would confine the main reason of this article because no matter what it’s an undoubted fact that Pakistani Drama Industry has produced thousands of dramas that are beyond perfection, so mentioning a certain drama wouldn’t help as we’d definitely be leaving a lot of dramas unnoticed plus I am talking about our dramas as a whole because if one drama has a good story the other has good dialogues, so let’s talk about our dramas in general.

1. The very first thing that I feel has always been a pillar in the popularity of Pakistani Dramas is a “SCRIPT”. All this while whenever we talk about even the olden golden dramas of Pakistan or even the new ones I feel those dramas always get a special attention of the viewers because of a good script. Everyone demands a perfect script & those dramas especially who have a good storyline/script no doubt end up being the favourite of the viewers.

2. Second in my list would be the “RELATE-ABLE CHARACTERS”. I feel this is another beauty of our Pakistani dramas especially that we always see the characters which are relate-able & quite original. We don’t have to see the lead actors in over-done make ups & top-notch wardrobes but it’s the originality and simplicity that does wonders & we end up liking any drama because I feel characters play another important role in making a drama connect to the viewers.

3. Third in my list would be “THE DIALOGUES . We have seen so many dramas over the years whose dialogues have always been appreciated because that’s the beauty of our mother tongue Urdu. We definitely haven’t seen hardcore Urdu being used in any of our dramas but it’s the simplicity & the easiness of conveying a certain message that gets clicked to the audience. Even at times such heavy feelings are conveyed with so much ease & smoothness which actually shows the versatility of our language.

4. Fourth in my list would be “THE REALITY” that our dramas are popular in getting across to the viewers. Any good drama that we see is always based on the reality & if not, it’s closer to reality as well. But I feel any drama that gets hit is definitely the one which the viewers see as real & not superficial because while watching a drama viewers tend to get so involved & at times feel pretty much in relation to a certain drama which I feel also plays an important part in the success.

5. Fifth & the last in my list would be “THE CAST”. The viewers are obviously keen to see their favourite actors perform on-screen & I feel that is also another reason of a success of any serial. A good cast definitely plays a vital role. The cast can also be referred to as a a good actor. The responsibility to project the beauty of any character lies solely on how the actors acts it out. If an actor can not act a certain character, he/she ends up spoiling the whole thing related to that particular character & I feel Pakistan has numerous great actors both males & females who have done & have been doing justice to the characters they are assigned with.

So, these are the factors in my list which I feel are the backbone of our dramas getting successful all these years. I hope I was able to point out the major aspects that make our dramas famous. If you all have any other suggestions that you feel play a part towards the success of our dramas, please feel free to share it with us because it’s been a while that we haven’t discussed about the positives & the good things about our dramas. I’d be looking forward to your comments. :)

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Ramadan is the month of blessings, a month we all Muslims wait for all over the world. With special arrangements at Sehar and Iftar, Muslims all around the world try to do more and better. We also wait for Ramadan throughout the year and with everything special that comes with this month, there are special Ramadan transmissions which mostly run day and night the whole month. Since their inception, Ramadan transmissions evolved drastically. And in the last few years, many unwanted trends have incorporated themselves in these transmissions. But the bigger surprise came when Ramadan 2018 was very peaceful as far as the usual drama that is incorporated in these shows go. They were peaceful and nice to watch. Here are few things which made this Ramadan more peaceful and easier:

No Aamir Bhai:

The initiation of Ramadan 2018 came with a ban on Aamir Liaquat Hussain. Yes, it was not a full proof ban as Aamir Bhai got the permission to appear on screen later on but nonetheless, it was nothing less of an achievement for the whole country. The way Aamir Liaquat has degraded the essence of Ramadan shows time and time again is not unheard of. With giving out babies to the most famous and I must add gross AAM KHAYEGA AAM, Aamir Liaquat has done everything with the years passing which should not really be done. This year too he created a lot of fuss with making the scholars fight over issues related to sectarianism and then walked out of the live show. So, yes, Aamir Bhai’s less appearance was indeed something which made our Ramadan more peaceful.

Very Put Together Hosts:

Controversies and hosting have run hand to hand many times in the past. Take Aamir Liaquat again as an example and also Hamza Ali Abbasi. When a host does not know how to control the topics being discussed or where the guests are going with their opinions, things can get complicated. The other times no one usually wants to see someone with a controversial past suddenly taking hijaab and start hosting a Ramadan transmission. This year all these mistakes seemed really at bay as the hosts of nearly all the transmissions behaved very responsibly and kept the environment controlled and serene, a must for transmissions related to Ramadan.

The Stop On Circus By The Court:

I cannot even relate to how it happened but somehow all our channels from the big giants to small ones that most people do not even get on their cables ended up with gift shows. People were fighting with the hosts, dancing and doing ridiculous activities to get bikes and washing machines. Many times such segments were a part of the actual transmissions. This year we only had Fahad Mustafa’s Jeeto Pakistan that got people to watch it. Otherwise similar stuff which was a part of the Ramadan transmissions were chopped off. This was undoubtedly another relief after watching people fight over motorcycles on every second channel. Even a little peace is good peace, right?

No Fuzool Controversies:

Like our every other show, Ramadan shows also have had a way of connecting controversies with their other content. With Amjad Sabri’s distant nieces and his own family fighting over for the Sabri legacy in a live show to forcefully feeding mangoes to the audience and yes, many times comments by guests or the hosts which somehow hurt someone’s sentiments. Who can forget the epic Sahir Lodhi patriotic meltdown which also occurred in a Ramadan transmission? This year, however, was very safe as not many of that stuff was seen happening on Pakistani television except the Fahd Mustafa episode where he insulted a girl which occurred in the very end. The lack of controversies also helps to keep people’s minds on good things.

Airing Of Azan:

An order by the court made it obligatory for the channels to air Azan five times a day and it was actually a very beautiful development when all the channels were airing Azan amidst all the planned shows and advertisements. It was a true old-school PTV experience.

A Good Drama:

Yes, it is a bit out of the context but for some years the special dramas made to be aired during Ramadan are so non-sensical and stupid that you cannot even understand how people come up with those stories. But this year HUM TV broke the dormancy with Suno Chanda which people enjoyed watching throughout the month.

All in all Ramadan 2018 brought a big improvement in Pakistani television content. What do you think could be done to improve the situation more? Share in comments!

 Pakistan is a country which is going through a lot of crisis. The increasing crime rate and terrorist activities have made it difficult for people to enjoy their lives. In such a situation people need some sort of entertainment. Previously it felt really relaxing to see meaningful Pakistani morning shows while relaxing in a comfortable chair with a big mug of coffee but these days the trend of morning shows has changed. The only focus of these shows nowadays is on the host’s dressing and jewellery. Not only the host but also the guests are only displaying the work of different designers by becoming a decoration piece.

There are a huge number of housewives watching these Pakistani morning shows and to be honest there is nothing meaningful shown to them. All they get to see is the wedding arrangement, the bride and groom and the singing and dancing. In my opinion these shows must focus on the awareness programs. As the large audience is of the women who stay at home, these shows must tell them ways to become a better wife and an excellent mother. The concept of a morning show is completely disturbed these days. Apart from these wedding ceremonies in the shows, they focus of adult and vulgar issues. This has not only made it difficult to watch these shows with families but also it has had a huge negative impact on the minds of the audience.

The issue of marital conflicts is a huge focus of these shows. Every other day they invite a woman who is tired of bearing the brutal behaviour of her husband and they let everyone know their story. What is the benefit of all this? Absolutely nothing. These issues not only brain wash the audience but they also create a feeling of depression among them. According to me, Pakistani morning shows must be focusing on the talent of the youth, compatibility of the couples, ways to lead a better life, tips to remain active and confident. These shows must act as a grooming tool for the audience. They should provide platforms to the girls who want to start a career.

One of the Pakistani morning shows was the Nadia khan show. That show had different segments like; health, beauty, fitness and much more. That show as compared to the shows these days was very meaningful. It was not a time waste. She used to invite celebrities and discuss their secrets of becoming famous, she used to invite doctors and ask them about different health related problems of women and she also used to invite dress designers and make up artists to give tips to the women at home. Its not that this doesn’t happen nowadays but this is a minor portion of the three hour transmission of these Pakistani morning shows.

 As I mentioned in my previous article that Pakistani people are very emotional they get carried away with whatever is shown. This is what the Pakistani morning shows take advantage of. They invite troubled and depressed people, show their sad stories, and cry a bit and our audience gets carried away which as a result increases the ratings of the show. Our audience should also give suggestions as messages in these shows so that get to know what we demand. It’s a matter of three precious hours each day. In a month they become 90 hours and in a year 1080 hours. Only watching a useless morning show every single day wastes your 1080 hours in a year. Another major focus of these shows these days is on competing with each other. One show arranges a wedding; the other also arranges the same wedding next week. In the same way one show call a fake peer, the other show does the same act the next week. This is what the shows are all about these days.

These shows must also invite talented young students in their shows once in a week or twice so that they can have a platform to show their talent. There are millions of talented youngsters out there; some are creative, some are good singers, some write well and some are all rounders. All they need is a platform. Pakistani morning shows should arrange spelling contests, quizzes and activities for the youth so that they can have somewhere to look up to. Many youngsters idealize different celebrities and they dream to meet them. The morning shows should arrange contests and the winners should be given a chance to meet their favourite celebrities and become like them. This is what a morning show should be like. Only wearing colourful dresses and gossiping not only creates a negative impact but it also wastes a whole three hours of the audience.

Moomal Hassan

The women working in the Entertainment industry of Pakistan have got some real talent and serious potential. It definitely isn’t a piece of cake to work in an industry where you are always at the risk of open and often criticism. According to my personal opinion, it’s the women, who are mostly getting criticized in the social media (particularly Facebook) either for their acting skills or their dressing (Meera, Veena, Mathira and few others are especially on the hit list for that matter). Hence today, I decided to talk about those ladies who really stood out in their respective fields, worked hard, achieved something appreciable and really made us proud.

Mehreen Syed

The first ever Pakistani model to have appeared on the cover of Almara, Mehreen Syed is a wonderful multidimensional personality. Her earlier fame comes from her tremendous modeling career. Mehreen represented Pakistan in many international fashion events and magazines including Vogue and Time. For her modeling career, she has bagged many awards including the “International Model of the Year” and “Face of the Year” awards.

Other than being a spokesperson and brand ambassador for many international brands, Mehreen Syed has broaden her horizon and came up with her own fashion academy IFAP in Lahore, for which, till date I heard nothing but pretty impressive reviews. Not only that, but earlier this year, Mehreen came up with her own blog that incorporates fashion and beauty talk in a desi way. Mehreen Syed – the model, the business women, the wife and now a mother is definitely an inspiration for those who plan to come to this field.

Mehreen Jabbar

With the magnificently successful names like Ramchand Pakistani, Doraha, Daam, Malal and Vasl, Mehreen Jabbar really doesn’t need a formal introduction. Hailing from the city of sea and cool breeze Karachi, Mehreen Jabbar belives in perfection and leaving no loopholes. Her first movie as a director, Ramchand Pakistani won the People’s Choice Award in the Fribourg International Film Festival, Switzerland in a time when Pakistan’s film industry was crippling. Here is a list of awards and nomination that I found on her official website, makes me so proud of her being a Pakistani woman.

• Audience Award for Ramchand Pakistani, Fribourg Film Festival, Switzerland.
• Honourable Mention for Ramchand Pakistani, Fribourg Film Festival, Switzerland
  E-Changer Award for Ramchand Pakistani, Fribourg Film Festival, Switzerland. – 2009
• FIPRESCI Prize for Ramchand Pakistani by the International Federation of Film Critics.
• Honourable Mention for Ramchand Pakistani by the 13th Annual Satyajit Ray Award at the London Film Festival. – 2008
• Global Film Initiative Grant for Ramchand Pakistani. – 2006
• Best Director for TV series Harjaee (The Unfaithful), Indus Drama Awards. – 2004
• Young Achiever’s Award, IndusVision Channel
• Nominated for Best TV Series for Aur Zindagi Badalti Hai (And Life Changes), Lux Style Awards
• Best Director and Best Film for Daughters of the Late Colonel, KaraFilm Festival, Pakistan
• Best Series Award for Aik Mohabath Sau Afsaney (One love, 100 Stories) Pakistan Television Network

Aamina Sheikh

Aamina Sheikh is one of those distinct female celebs for whom I, personally have noticed a lot of hatred and negativity spreading on social media, people just doesn’t find it necessary to think twice before bashing someone’s natural complexion, body shape, postures and dressing for that matter, sadly. I really have to say that she is one of those marvelous dusky beauties we have ever had in Pakistan, and she really knows how to do her job well. Lately, she had been receiving great international exposure and fame for her acting ventures; it was nice seeing news about a Pakistani female film artist in international electronic and print media other than Meera and Veena.

In addition to Lux Style Awards for her serials Dil-e-Nadan, Agar Tum Na Hote and her modeling projects, Aamina Sheikh won the Best Performance by an Actress Award in SAARC Film Festival Awards for her movie Seedlings, and for the same movie, she was awarded at New York Film Festival as well.

Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy

Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, the first ever person to bring an Oscar to home, Pakistan for her venture Saving Face is a proud daughter, a loving wife and a caring mother. I really like the way she dedicated her huge success to the two men (father & husband) in her life, for behind the success of a confident, successful lady, there has to be a fair share of the courage and confidence that males of her family inculcated in her. In 2012, Sharmeen made it to the list of 100 most influential people of the world, I managed to take a list of her other awards and honours from her official website, take a look below. Sharmeen, definitely made all her fellow Pakistanis proud.

AWARDS

• International Emmy Award – ‘Best Documentary’ : Saving Face, New York, NY (October 2013)
• IDA Documentary Award: Saving Face, Los Angeles, CA (December, 2012)
• Glamour Women of the Year Award,  New York, (November, 2012)
• Juliane-Bartel Award: Saving Face Hannover, Germany (October, 2012)
• Abu Dhabi Film Festival Audience Choice Award: Saving Face Abu Dhabi, UAE (October, 2012)
• Nominee- Gucci “Women in Film”: Saving Face Venice, Italy (July, 2012)
• New York Indian Film Festival “Best Documentary Film”: Saving Face New York, NY (May 2012)
• SAARC Film Award “Best Documentary”: Saving Face Colombo, Sri Lanka (May 2012)
• Platinum Remi Award: Transgenders: Pakistan’s Open Secret Houston, TX (April 2012)
• Academy Award (Oscar): Saving Face Los Angeles, CA (February 2012)
• International Emmy Award: Pakistan’s Taliban’s Generation New York, NY (September 2010)
• Alfred DuPont Award: Children of the Taliban New York, NY (January 2010)
• AIB Award “Best current affairs documentary – television” for Pakistan’s Taliban Generation London, UK (November 2009)
• Best of Asia: International Museum of Women San Francisco, CA (December 2007)
• One World Media Award Broadcast Journalist of the Year London, UK (June 2007)
• South Asian Journalist Association Award New York, NY (June 2006)
• Livingston Award New York, NY (June 2004) (Awarded the Livingston Award for Best International reporting under the age of 35 in any medium, print and broadcast)
• Special Mention “One Future Prize” Munich International Film Festival Munich, Germany (June 2005)
• American Women in Radio and Television Award, New York, NY (June 2005) (Received the Gracie award for Outstanding documentary film)
• Cine Golden Eagle Award Washington, DC (Fall 2004) (Received the award in the “Informational” category) FRONTLINE/World received the prestigious
• Edward R. Murrow award from the Overseas Press Club for its 2004 TV season. One of the episodes honored was Sharmeen Obaid’s “On a Razor’s Edge”
• American Women in Radio and Television Award, New York, NY (June 2004) (Gracie Award for “Individual Achievement, Reporter/Correspondent)
• SAJA award, New York, NY (June 2004) (South Asian Journalist Association Award for Outstanding Broadcast)
• Banff TV Rockie Awards, Banff, Canada (June 2004) (winner of the special Jury award)
• Overseas Press Club Award, New York, NY (April 2004)- (Awarded the “The Carl Spielvogel Award” for best international reporting in any medium showing a concern for the human condition.)

So this was my short list, feel free to add any name that you think have earned a dignified name for the entertainment industry of Pakistan and managed to present a softer image of our country globally.

Zubia Rizvi