Sharmeen

Academy Award winning Pakistani filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy recently participated in the 2014 Women in the World Summit held on 2nd April 2014 at the David H. Koch Theater in the Lincoln Center Plaza, New York. The annual Summit highlighted the stories and personal accounts of inspiring female leaders who shared their stories of courage and determination at the event. The Summit featured prominent international female personalities including Hillary Clinton, Christine Lagarde, Meryl Streep and many more.Sharmeen_1

Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy participated in different sessions at the event, including a special session titled “GIRLS IN THE WORLD: THE BRAVEST OF THE BRAVE” where she celebrated Pakistan’s heroic young activists along with Ambassador Catherine M. Russell, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, Humaira Bachal, President Dream Foundation Trust and Khalida Brohi, Founder and Executive Director, Sughar Empowerment Society. Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy also participated in a session titled “WOMEN ARE THE PEACEMAKERS” with Melanne Verveer, Executive Director, Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security and Atifete Jahjaga, President, Republic of Kosovo which was moderated by Tina Brown, Founder, Women in the World, and CEO, Tina Brown Live Media.


The Academy winning Director has also introduced a new social-issue focused television show titled “Aghaz-e-Safar”, a unique one-hour social justice talk show that tackles the most pressing social issues facing Pakistan today. Hosted by Fakhr-e-Alam, each episode explores a specific issue, and studies them through on set interviews, short video profiles, first-hand accounts and expert analysis. The first episode of the new show will air exclusively at 8:00pm, 13th April 2014on Aaj TV.

The series aims to cover a diverse range of key issues and will focus on particular topics including Child Abuse in Episode 1, Labor in Episode 2, Medical Malpractice in Episode 3, Sexual Harassment in Episode 4, Land in Episode 5, Minorities in Episode 6, Gun Control in Episode 7, Domestic Violence in Episode 8, Disabilities in Episode 9, Water in Episode 10, Unsung Heroes in Episode 11 and Education in its final and 12th Episode.

Over the course of the past one-year, the “Aghaz-e-Safar” team traveled across Pakistan to source compelling and engaging stories, and uncovered accounts that have never been explored on Pakistani television before. The team’s findings uncovered extraordinary narratives in seemingly ordinary places; from small villages that boast of unprecedented change to thriving urban centers that had reinvented themselves to deal with new challenges, bearing witness to Pakistan’s fighting spirit first hand. “Aghaz-e-Safar” endeavours to be a celebration of that spirit and is envisioned as the beginning of a movement that aims to inspire and enlighten audiences to be their own change makers.Sharmeen_2

The series aims to cover a diverse range of key issues and will focus on particular topics including Child Abuse in Episode 1, Labor in Episode 2, Medical Malpractice in Episode 3, Sexual Harassment in Episode 4, Land in Episode 5, Minorities in Episode 6, Gun Control in Episode 7, Domestic Violence in Episode 8, Disabilities in Episode 9, Water in Episode 10, Unsung Heroes in Episode 11 and Education in its final and 12th Episode.

Over the course of the past one-year, the “Aghaz-e-Safar” team traveled across Pakistan to source compelling and engaging stories, and uncovered accounts that have never been explored on Pakistani television before. The team’s findings uncovered extraordinary narratives in seemingly ordinary places; from small villages that boast of unprecedented change to thriving urban centers that had reinvented themselves to deal with new challenges, bearing witness to Pakistan’s fighting spirit first hand. “Aghaz-e-Safar” endeavours to be a celebration of that spirit and is envisioned as the beginning of a movement that aims to inspire and enlighten audiences to be their own change makers.