KARACHI: Keeping with the tradition of organising an elocution contest on Iqbal Day, the Pakistan Women’s Foundation for Peace (PWFFP) held the Allama Iqbal Memorial Inter-University Elocution Competition earlier today on the topic “Realising Iqbal’s Vision of the Pakistani State.”

Seven universities and eight students participated, each passionately expressing their disappointment with the current state of affairs and reciting verses from Iqbal’s poetry, which moved the audience to tears.

The universities that participated in the competition included Benazir Bhutto Shaheed University Lyari, Hamdard University (represented by students from both the Eastern Medicine and Physiotherapy departments), ILMA University, Institute of Business Management (IOBM), Jinnah University for Women, Sir Syed University, and University of Karachi.

The program, compered by PWFFP executive member Shanaz Ramzi, began with a recitation from Holy Quran, followed by a welcome address by PWFFP President Ayesha Islam.

The eight contestants then presented their speeches, each allotted a maximum of seven minutes. While the judges—Dr Aliya Rehman, Abbas Hussain, Sana Sharifuddin Pirzada, and Dr Ameena Murad—tabulated the results, PWFFP Chairperson Nargis Rehman shared her thoughts with the audience.

Three of the four judges also spoke before announcing the results. Dr Murad remarked, “Reading Iqbal will take our youth to a world where they recognise their self-worth and enter the realm of their immense potential, which is crucial for bringing positive change to Pakistan. Only our youth can bring Iqbal’s dream to reality.”

Mr Hussain stated, “It is essential for us to listen to university students and their understanding of Pakistan’s future as they envision it. I would like to emphasise two extremely important points. First, Iqbal was an incredible learner; he taught himself Persian, German, and English to such a calibre that, even today, we marvel at his linguistic mastery when reading The Reconstruction or his Persian poetry, admired even by native Persian speakers.”

Dr Rehman announced the top three winners. The third prize went to Mohammad Zimam Nashit from IOBM, second to Zahra Mehmood from Hamdard University, and the first prize was awarded to Rayan Shaikh from Sir Syed University.

Published in Dawn, November 11th, 2024