WOMEN IN CULTURE The

objectives:
THE CONCEPT
Danka's "Women in Culture" is a unique project with the aim to facilitate the > Promote
women's
involvement of women in our society, by employing a two-pronged strategy
inclusion
to drastically improve female participation in the local art and cultural scene.
in
The project further aims to enhance the profiles of both young and well- Pakistan's
established female artists within the country. culture life
> Promote
female
artists in
Pakistan

BACKGROUND
As a developing nation, Pakistani cultural activities have witnessed a steep
decline in the recent past due to unforeseen natural disasters, incidents of
terrorism and civil unrest. This calls for an immediate action to ensure the
protection, support and development of our unique local culture with the
aim to introduce diverse opinions and ideas deemed essential for the
cultural advancement of any society. In the long term, such a bold step can
have direct and positive impacts on the worsening socio-political situation
within the country.

Furthermore, this project aims to provide citizens with an alternative

platform to positively channel their energies to seek much needed
psychological and emotional relief in this rough period, through actively
participating in local cultural activities. Unfortunately, this important aspect
of social development has time and again, been overlooked by international
aid agencies on the pretext of calling such projects widely ineffective.
However, the support of such projects is critical for sustainable development
within the country, as they promote popular discourses for social change.

With a female population of 90 million sidelined from the mainstream

Pakistani culture scene due to harsh gender bias prevailing within the
country, there is an increasing need in particular for women to safeguard
their role and place within the local cultural scene and society by actively
participating in cultural activities within the country. Popular research is
flooded with statistics and information pertaining to social and economic
conditions of women in Pakistan, but there is little or no information
available on the role and participation of women in arts and culture in
Pakistan.
PARTNER UP!
Danka is actively looking for public and private sector organizations, donor
agencies and culturally enriched individuals, willing to partner with a well-
reputed cultural organization to push forward the idea of women
participation in the Pakistani cultural scene.

We are looking for dedicated and professional individuals from the field of
event management, who will be willing to work together with our
organization on this highly challenging project. In addition, we are seeking
help from all event organizers and cultural centres within the country to
support this project by providing us with entry passes to their upcoming
events, which will be distributed free of cost among female visitors of our
website danka.pk, Facebook and Twitter pages. 

Furthermore, Danka aims to provide an un-conditional platform to female

artists of Pakistan through its web network and culturally oriented
publications. We are in search for volunteers who would be interested in
taking up the task of researching and interviewing deserving Pakistani
female artists for our web portal. 

All those interested in volunteering for this project or who have suggestions
and ideas for this project, may contact us by writing to women@danka.pk