When fourth-year College student Ammara Ansari seeks to share her interest in Pakistani women’s health and civic engagement with other University students by starting her own CIO: Pakistani-Afghan Women in Need.
“Personally, starting up the organization was a way to think about what it meant to give to a community [and] culture that I can relate to,” Ansari said. “As a Pakistani woman, it seemed like a good idea to bring this important issue, namely women's health and positive involvement in their societies, to the forefront.”
The aim of the organization is to raise funds for women in poor regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan and send them health-oriented care packages. Last week, the organization held its first major event, a local arts sale, to jumpstart its donation fund. PAWIN works in tandem with the non-governmental organization Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere, which works to fight poverty and support emergency projects.
“The idea is not to create an organization that is only at U.Va., but it is to start something here and then expand later on,” Ansari said.
Since the organization is still in its infancy, PAWIN has faced setbacks, such as difficulty finding artists to donate art for its first event. However, this hasn’t stopped the group from bringing an important issue to the forefront of Grounds.
“There is no organization here that specifically addresses what we are addressing, and I think [the CIO] has a lot of potential to spread awareness about an issue that really needs attention,” second-year College student Emily Hamilton said. “Women in certain areas of the world do not have access to basic needs and healthcare — how can that not be an important issue to raise?”
Second-year College student Meghan Grumbling has always been interested in women’s rights, especially in a global context, so PAWIN’s mission resonated deeply with her.
“We have a responsibility and obligation to help those we can,” Grumbling said.
The issue of inadequate health care for women in these countries is an issue people often ignore, Ansari said.
“[Pakistani and Afghan women are] such a brushed-aside issue,” Ansari said. “We, as U.Va. students, are so privileged. We get to go to class everyday… whereas a lot of times there are so many people who have difficulty reaching basic sanitary needs. Bringing this awareness to the U.Va. community is important.”
Through fundraisers and donation drives, members of PAWIN hope to make a difference in the lives of Pakistani and Afghan women as well as raise important issues here at the University. The arts sale was the organization’s first step toward reaching these goals.
“[The art sale was] a place where artists were allowed to showcase their art on Grounds and donate [the proceeds] to our cause,” second-year Nursing student Ali Davidson said.
“We [showcased] art from people… in Richmond and from students who attend the University. [The art ranged from] jewelry to paintings to decorated recycled beer bottles.”
The art sale promoted local artists, and the artists donated their work for the event, so all profits went directly to PAWIN.
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