WES and SBS commemorates Pink Ribbon Day
As the month of October was widely celebrated around the world as Breast Cancer Month in support of all those brave souls who have been through this adversity, the Women Empowerment Society, in collaboration with Senior Biology Society at Forman Christian College, decided to host an event to show their support and join in the fight against breast cancer. All this culminated in a ‘Pink Ribbon Day’ being held on the 20 October on our campus. Students were encouraged to wear pink on the particular day, with many doing so and helping our cause.
To promote breast cancer awareness, a panel discussion was arranged in order to discuss the hurdles facing people when faced with breast cancer. Professor of History, Dr Arfa Syeda Zahra and Associate Professor of Biological Sciences, Dr Natasha Anwar were joined by C.E.O of Pink Ribbon campaigns in Pakistan, Omer Aftab. Dr Arfa has been a vocal advocate for women’s rights over the years while Dr Natasha moderated the session and bought in the biology and administrative issues to light through her experiences working in a consulting capacity to Shaukat Khanum Memorial hospital. The panel discussion mainly focused on the stigma, privacy, societal and political issues that breast cancer entails.
After a short break, the panel discussion was followed up by a Seminar from Hadiqa Kiani who talked about the importance of being aware about breast cancer and getting tested. She also stressed the importance of not letting the stigma and other issues affect problems of health.
Following this, a Human Logo of the symbol ‘Pink Ribbon’ was also made outside, in which students volunteered to be a part of this noble cause.
A Bake Sale was organized, the proceeds of which went to Pink Ribbon. The drive started almost a week before the event, with tables being set up at different points on our campus for students to sign up.
The bake sale attracted a host of students, with many enthusiastically buying the delicacies which were on offer such as chocolate brownies and cupcakes. The whole area was decorated with pink and white balloons, while pink ribbons also covered the area from one end to the other. Different merchandise regarding breast cancer was up for sale as well, such as customized t-shirts and mugs.
Apart from this, a separate table was set up where students could pick up pink ribbons to put on their shirts as a show of support, while brochures regarding breast cancer were also dished out to help raise awareness about the disease. Posters regarding the event were hung up at different locations on the campus to get the people to know about it. Besides this, Pink Ribbon donation booklets were made available at stalls as well, and we are pleased to report that both students and staff donated generously for this cause.
Another event that was organized by WES and SBS for this day was the All Girls Movie Night, the proceeds of which again went to the Pink Ribbon charity. Suffice to say, the students who bought the tickets and showed up for it had a great time, while subsequently helping our cause as well.
We managed to raise an overall total of Rs 44,000 from this event. All in all, this proved to be a day where so many different people united for a single cause and stood firm against breast cancer.