Crime Reporter
RAWALPINDI: A live painting competition on the theme “Women Move Mountains” marked the opening of a two-week-long 12th edition of the Pakistan Mountain Festival (PMF) on Thursday at the Fatima Jinnah Women’s University.
The festival is an annual flagship event of the Development Communications Network (Devcom-Pakistan) to commemorate the UN’s International Mountains Day (IMD) which falls on December 11.
As many as 34 girl students and two boys participated in the live painting competition. The participating institutions included Fatima Jinnah Women’s University, National College of the Arts (NCA), Rawalpindi Women University, Westminster Academy, Foundation University Islamabad campus, SZABIST University, International Islamic University, FG College for Women Kashmir Road, Islamabad Model College for Girls and National Textile Institute.
The participants painted mountain women’s struggle in combating real-life challenges in the changing climate, women in mountain ecosystem conservation, and cultural heritage from the northern parts of Pakistan. They depicted the impact of climate change on life in mountains beside the aesthetic value.
Speaking on the occasion, Devcom-Pakistan Executive Director and founder of Pakistan Mountain Festival Munir Ahmed said: “Mountain women play a key role in environmental protection and social and economic development in mountain areas. They are often the primary managers of mountain resources, guardians of biodiversity, keepers of traditional knowledge, custodians of local culture, and experts in traditional medicine.
Somehow, mountain women’s potential and contribution to conservation is undermined.
