The Embassy of the Czech Republic in Pakistan has recently unveiled a new web page, heroines.pk, that celebrates the accomplishments of women in both Pakistan and Czechia. Developed jointly by the Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art in Plzen, Czech Republic and the National College of Arts (NCA) Lahore, the page features a hundred artistic portraits of women who have made significant contributions to their respective societies.The initiative was launched by the Deputy Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic Jiri Kozak, Czech Ambassador to Pakistan Tomáš Smetánka, and Nilofar Bakhtiar. The web page aims to highlight the role of women in society, provide role models, and promote women empowerment. By showcasing the achievements of Pakistani and Czech women in diverse fields such as science, technology, education, and entrepreneurship, the initiative hopes to inspire young women to realize their full potential.
The web page also features short biographies of the women portrayed in the artistic portraits. The collection includes prominent Pakistani women such as Samina Baig, Asma Jahangir, Perween Rahman, and Arfa Kareem, among others. The initiative was inspired by a set of 50 posters of outstanding women from all times created by students of the Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art in 2020. The posters were later exhibited in Lahore alongside a similar series celebrating Pakistani women.
To make the collection widely accessible, the Czech Embassy has prepared an online version of the book, which will also include an Urdu translation. Ambassador Tomáš Smetánka hopes that the Heroines collection will serve as an educational resource to broaden young people’s perspectives on women’s roles in society.In addition to the web page, the Czech Embassy, NCA, and Bata Pakistan Ltd. have established The Heroine Award. The award will be conferred every year to a woman who has distinguished herself in her profession or area of activity. The laureate’s portrait will then be added to the collection, which the public can access through the web page. Nominations for the award can be submitted through heroines.pk.
Through this initiative, the Czech Republic and Pakistan hope to strengthen their bilateral ties and promote gender equality. The Heroines web page is a tribute to the resilience and fearlessness of women in both countries and aims to ensure that their stories live on forever.