Muniba Mazari, Pakistan’s Iron Lady, hosted a stimulating evening of conversation at Jubilee Park yesterday.
Mazari, who uses a wheelchair after surviving a tragic automobile accident 13 years ago, said it was time to break preconceptions and change the script ahead of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3 at an event titled ‘Pakistan – Connected Through Diversity.’ She prefers the term ‘differently-abled’ than ‘disabled.’
The Pakistani activist, anchor, artist, model, singer, and motivational speaker, who has a history of working with Pakistan’s differently-abled community, remarked in her introductory remarks: “Tonight, we are going to celebrate compassion and kindness. We live in a world which tends to celebrate sameness, where people see the world the way they want to see it – a world where people are labelled as crippled, handicapped and disabled. Tonight, let’s change the narrative and replace these negative labels with positive words like ‘courageous,’ and ‘resilient’.”
“I would like to say one more thing: dream big. Aim high and believe in yourself. Because if a woman in a wheelchair can do all this, what’s stopping you?” Mazari concluded.