Pakistani filmmaker Shehzad Hameed Ahmad bags an award for championing gender equality

KARACHI: Award-winning Singapore-based Pakistani filmmaker Shehzad Hameed Ahmed has another feather in his cap as he brings home yet another award. The documentary filmmaker was the male recipient for the category of the Gender Equality Impact Changemaker award. The filmmaker has done a fair amount of work that highlights why the world needs to move towards gender equality at a faster pace.

In 2012, his documentary The Pakistani Four came out. The story encompasses the lives of four Pakistani-American women.

He then created Flight of the Falcons in 2015 which brought to light the two-room school in Aroop, Gujranwala, and the Pakistani school teacher who runs it. It highlighted the prevalence of a lack of education for girls in rural areas and why Pakistan needs it.

His most recent film was Nepal’s Child Brides, created in 2017. The film covers Nepali activists fighting against child marriage and educates its viewers on the issue of child brides, largely prevalent in Nepalese societies.

Shehzad Hameed Ahmad has been a recipient of various international awards in the past, including an award at The New York Festival as well as World Media Festival, held in Hamburg Germany. He has worked on a broad range of topics, bringing awareness through his documentaries. His work has been featured on TVF International, Toggle, Dawn News, National Geographic, TV Ontario, CNA, and Crime & Investigation Channel, amongst others.

What does ‘Mera Jism Meri Marzi’ mean?

United Women Singapore’s GEIA aims to build the foundation for equitable distribution between men and women. It aims to recognize Singaporean organizations as well as individuals who work towards creating a society that is a cradle of women empowerment and gender equality. Shehzad Hameed Ahmed, furthering their cause was hence recognized for his efforts and awarded.

It is a matter of immense pride for the country. However, the issues highlighted through his documentaries cannot be subsided, and the attainment of a fairer and more equity-based society would definitely be another big win for Shehzad Hameed Ahmad and his award-winning documentaries.