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Conferences & Workshops in the US 2012-2013

Karachi Elegies Art Exhibit at Michigan State University

Along with the Asian Studies Center at Michigan State University, the Broad MSU's general exhibitions fund, and Dipti and Rakesh Mathur, AIPS is proud to support Pakistani artist Naiza Khan's first exhibit in the US: Karachi Elegies at Michigan State's Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum. The exhibit is curated by Karin Zitzewitz, MSU assistant professor of art history and visual culture. The exhibit is on display at the Broad Museum from February 22–May 26, 2013 in East Lansing, MI.

Born in Bahawalpur, Pakistan, in 1968, Naiza Khan is based in Karachi, Pakistan. Raised in England, Khan trained at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, University of Oxford, and Wimbledon College of Art, University of the Arts, London. Her work has been widely exhibited internationally, including in the 2012 Shanghai Biennale and exhibitions such as Hanging Fire: Contemporary Art from Pakistan at the Asia Society, New York; XV Biennale Donna, Ferrara, Italy; Art Dubai 2008, Manifesta 8, Murcia, Spain; and the 2010 Cairo Biennale. She has been selected for residencies in the Gasworks International Residency Programme, London, and at the Rybon Art Centre, Tehran. As a founding member and longtime coordinator of Vasl Artists’ Collective in Karachi, Khan has worked to foster art in the city, and participated in a series of innovative art projects in partnership with other workshops in the region, such as Khoj International Artists’ Association, New Delhi; Britto Arts Trust, Dhaka, Bangladesh; Sutra Art Foundation, Kathmandu, Nepal; and Theertha International Artists’ Collective, Colombo, Sri Lanka. In addition, Khan has also curated three exhibitions of Pakistani contemporary art, including The Rising Tide: New Directions in Art from Pakistan 1990–2010 at the Mohatta Palace Museum, Karachi. In 2011 she gave lectures at several universities across the United States, which were sponsored by the American Institute of Pakistan Studies. From 1991 until 2008 Khan was a member of the faculty in the Department of Fine Art at the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture in Karachi. She is currently a lecturer in the Department of Visual Studies at the University of Karachi.

For more information on the exhibit, including pictures, please follow this link: http://broadmuseum.msu.edu/exhibitions/karachi-elegies


AIPS Sponsored Panel at AAS

Title: Innovations on the Legal Front in Pakistan: New Laws That May Surprise You (Panel #307)
Sunday, March 24th, 2013, 8:00 AM
Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel
San Diego, CA

Abstract:
There have been a number of exciting transformations in Pakistan’s legal system in recent years. Many of these shifts and changes are hardly known outside of the country, despite having important implications for Pakistan’s democratic future and development concerns. This panel, bringing together scholars from law and the social sciences, seeks to capture the variety of legal fronts and processes within which new laws have been recently framed. Importantly, all investigate not only the processes that brought about these legal changes but also explore the reasons behind formulating the new laws and their implications.

Ali Ahsan (McKinsey & Co.) focuses on the influence and actions of the superior judiciary in being proactive in identifying legal concerns to be remedied and how it has affected legislative actions. He argues that it has transformed itself from a passive interpretive entity to a leading legislative force, not only greatly affecting the scope of existing laws but also proving instrumental in the creation of entirely new legislation. Building on this thread of the role played by Pakistan’s superior judiciary, Martin Lau (SOAS, University of London) traces the historical precedent of changes in family law and recent decisions in advancing the rights of women in significant ways.  Anita Weiss (University of Oregon) then explores the series of new laws that have recently been implemented to empower women in Pakistan, ranging from ensuring women’s safety as they enter public domains, to domestic violence legislation, and the banning of and establishment of new laws to protect women from traditional practices which cause women to bear the consequences for wrongs committed by others. Osama Siddique (LUMS) addresses the political consensus that influenced recent Constitutional Amendments, including the fundamental right to an education, the restructuring of the appointment mechanism for appellate court judges, the devolution of various legislative arenas from the center to the provinces. Asifa Quraishi-Landes (University of Wisconsin, Madison, Law) will explore common themes as the panel discussant.

Participants:
Anita M. Weiss (Chair/Session Organizer/Presenter)
Department of International Studies, University of Oregon
Paper Title: Moving Forward with the Legal Empowerment of Women in Pakistan

Asifa Quraishi-Landes (Discussant)
Univeristy of Wisconsin Law School, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Ali Ahsan (Presenter)
McKinsey & Company

Martin Lau (Presenter)
SOAS, University of London
Paper Title: The Quiet Evolution: Judicial Activism, Women;s Rights and Law Reform in Pakistan

Osama Siddique (Presenter)
Department of Law and Policy, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)
Paper Title: Constitutional Evolution through Consensus: Pakistan's Impressive Progress in the Post-Musharraf Era


University of Michigan Pakistan Conference 2013

On Friday 5 April 2013, the University of Michigan’s Center for South Asian Studies and Pakistani Students’ Association co-hosted a Pakistan Conference. The speakers included emerging and established scholars, a journalist, and a human rights lawyer. The discussion this year was based on a theme of human rights in Pakistan, organized into three panels: the politics of human rights, poverty as a human rights concern and international law and the cost of drone warfare. The discussion was drawn to a close by the eminent Pakistan scholar, Professor Ayesha Jalal. The conference was well-attended, with over 100 people (students, faculty, and community members) attending each of the panels.

Final Report