'MOMent of Appreciation'

'MOMent of Appreciation'

 

This Mother’s Day 2022, the University Film Club (UFC) held a celebration for mothers and motherhood, and to honour the influence of mothers everywhere.

At 3pm, the online celebration began, led by host Nimra Ahmad. Hafiz Abdul Hannan initiated with a ‘qirat’. Then, the Secretary of the UFC, Syed Suhaib presented the welcome address for the guests and audience. Next, the event coordinator, Alvina Rais Khan, elaborated on the ceremony.

The respected panel consisted of the Guest-of-Honour, Dr. Faiza Abbasi, Assistant Professor and Director at UGC HRD, AMU. Also, Anam Rais Khan, Civil Judge and Metropolitan Magistrate, Delhi Judicial Services. Next, Bushra Arshad Bano, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Firozabad, and Sajida Nadeem, the founder and General Secretary of the Dr. Zakir Hussain Foundation. Lastly, Asifa Rana, Judge, Small Causes Court of Aligarh.  

The first guest to speak was Dr. Faiza Abbasi. Dr. Faiza elaborated on the difficulties of a working mother in different. It is complicated for women to break gender-defined roles as it is never an equal race. Mother’s often have to sacrifice the joy of raising their children for self-achievements. Dr. Faiza Abbasi mentioned how as a young girl, she viewed her mother as her whole world, even referring to her as “Chaand-ki-pari”.

Next was Bushra Arshad Bano. She began her speech with the quote- “All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.” She mentioned that commemorating Mother’s Day into one day is not satisfying, as every day is Mother’s Day. Bushra Bano Ma’am shared her experiences, as she studied and went for interviews for examinations while simultaneously raising her sons.

The next panellist was Anam Rais Khan. Anam Khan had a different take than most, speaking about the over-idealisation of mothers. Mothers are expected to perfectly balance work and family. This is unrealistic and pressurises mothers to perform beyond their capacities. Anam Khan Ma’am shared that upon becoming a mother, she realised exactly how difficult it is to manage work and home life.

The third guest was Sajida Nadeem. She appreciated that a woman constantly plays several roles, as a mother, wife, and daughter. Sajida Ma’am asserted that the hardest job in the world is that of a working mom while also the most beautiful job. A working mom is always making sacrifices and raising her children and family at the sake of her own goals.

The final panellist was Asifa Rana. She spoke on the diverse quotes and poetic verses written for mothers, and that those are never exaggerations. Asifa Ma’am also beautifully phrased that going with the flow of current is easy, the real test is when you swim against the water’s current. A mother leaving her children at home to go for work is the real test.

After the respected panellists, member Filza Khan professed the deep impact of cinema as a figment of imagination which stems from an element of truth from society. Stories on the silver screen shape the way we tell our own. Cinema is generally categorised on the basis of message portrayal. For instance, Bollywood consists mainly of commercial cinema. Movies like ‘English-Vinglish’ by Gauri Shinde highlight the struggles of being a mother. It is a testament of how cinema is a reflection of society. The UFC encourages filmmakers to produce more content which moves the audience. Finally, Mahvish Fatima gave the Vote-of-Thanks on behalf of the UFC to everyone present. She highlighted that this was the only event in the history of the Kennedy Hall to be conceptualised and brought to life by only the female students of UFC.

The evening came to an end with the screening of a precious video of family portraits of the panellists. Everything was wrapped up with the AMU Tarana and the National Anthem.

Written By,
Sheeza Shoeb