Guftagu: Songs and Stories by Khaled Anam

wow junior

Guftugu with Khaled Anam is a lively swirl of stories, songs, and shared wonder. With music in the air and tales that spark laughter and thought, this session invites children to listen, sing along, imagine wildly, and speak freely. A joyful space where words dance, stories travel, and young hearts discover the magic of conversation.

Speed Mentoring

speed mentoring

Kids workshop: Scribble Squad: Creative Release for Moms and Toddlers

wow junior

A creative play session for moms and their minis to paint, explore, and reconnect. A nurturing space to follow curiosity, experiment with art, and take home a memory made together.

Mindfulness Practices of Fierce Self Compassion

Workshop

Shahbano Lodhi offers a workshop based on Kristen Neff’s concept of Fierce Self-Compassion – a missing element in many lives and particularly for women, as society traditionally emphasizes her role of a tender caregiver and censures her qualities as a fierce protector. In Kristen’s words “Specifically Fierce Self Compassion can propel us to stand up for and protect ourselves, meet our own needs without continually subordinating them, and motivate change both in ourselves and the world around us”. In the workshop, Shahbano will invite you to do a ‘Dastak’ on this topic and discuss where this need sits in our culture and particular context. The session will include mindfulness practices that help cultivate self-compassion.

Opening Panel

panel

This opening conversation brings together powerful women leaders from across sectors to deliver 10 minute reflections on what the last decade has changed, what it has cost, and what is now at stake. These are not speeches shaped by consensus or caution, but first words: direct, personal, and grounded in power, loss, and possibility. Together, the voices form a shared reckoning with the present moment, naming hard-won gains, unfinished struggles, and the growing forces pushing back against gender justice. The session then flows into a moderated conversation, connecting experiences across movements and generations and pressing toward what comes next. This is where the festival begins: with clarity, urgency, and a feminist vision for the decade ahead

Made with Love

film

While exploring Sindhi culture, the film emphasizes the significance of women characters in our society and depicts the struggle of a woman to appreciate it. The film won the "Best Film" Award at the Women International Film Festival 2024 and many others.

Raqs e Fana by Aliza khalid and Salman Tahir

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Raqs-e-Fanaa (The Dance of Destruction) is a powerful dance-theatre performance that stages an unsettling encounter between Prakriti—Mother Nature—and The Architect, a symbol of elite-driven development and unchecked capital. Through the grace of Kathak, the piece traces how harmony, balance, and beauty are gradually interrupted, controlled, and consumed in the name of progress. The performance is a haunting reflection on what is destroyed when nature is reduced to a resource.2;

Services Delayed or Denied? Women and Social Control

Fireside

The fireside session with Dr Luay explores how deeply rooted societal norms continue to deny women access to essential services and decision-making power over their own lives. It will also discuss how the access to scarce service is limited, burdened and sometimes denied. The conversation will also shed light on the invisible yet powerful barriers women face when seeking support from institutions such as shelters, police, justice and medico-legal. Through real-world examples and policy perspectives, the session will examine how these norms are upheld by systems meant to protect, and what needs to change at the community, institutional, and policy levels. Set in an intimate fireside format, this discussion invites reflection, dialogue, and collective responsibility in reimagining a society where women can access services and exercise their rights without fear or punishment.

Breaking the Men’s Club - Women in Finance

panel

For years, people assumed the investment market, especially stocks, belonged to men. Finance was treated as a space where men made decisions and women simply followed. Today, that story is changing fast. Pakistani women are investing in PSX, leading financial education, advising families and clients, and building serious wealth. Access to information, digital trading apps and mentorship has opened doors that were once shut. These women are breaking the stigma and proving that understanding money is not a gendered skill. For years, people assumed the investment market, especially stocks, belonged to men. Finance was treated as a space where men made decisions and women simply followed. Today, that story is changing fast. Pakistani women are investing in PSX, leading financial education, advising families and clients, and building serious wealth. Access to information, digital trading apps and mentorship has opened doors that were once shut. These women are breaking the stigma and proving that understanding money is not a gendered skill.

The Courage to Lead: Confidence as an Inside Job

workshop

A powerful, introspective workshop on leadership, inner work, and authentic confidence. Through reflective exercises and real-world insights, Sidra will guide participants to strengthen their leadership presence from the inside out, cultivating clarity, emotional resilience, and a deep sense of self-trust. This immersive session empowers participants to lead with purpose, communicate with conviction, and show up more confidently in every arena of their life and work. A powerful, introspective workshop on leadership, inner work, and authentic confidence. Through reflective exercises and real-world insights, Sidra will guide participants to strengthen their leadership presence from the inside out, cultivating clarity, emotional resilience, and a deep sense of self-trust. This immersive session empowers participants to lead with purpose, communicate with conviction, and show up more confidently in every arena of their life and work. A powerful, introspective workshop on leadership, inner work, and authentic confidence. Through reflective exercises and real-world insights, Sidra will guide participants to strengthen their leadership presence from the inside out, cultivating clarity, emotional resilience, and a deep sense of self-trust. This immersive session empowers participants to lead with purpose, communicate with conviction, and show up more confidently in every arena of their life and work.

Changing the Game

panel

This panel explores the rise of women’s participation in sports in Pakistan, both nationally and internationally. Join us as we discuss how societal attitudes are shifting, making sports more accessible and acceptable for women, and how increased resources and funding are empowering the next generation of female athletes. This panel explores the rise of women’s participation in sports in Pakistan, both nationally and internationally. Join us as we discuss how societal attitudes are shifting, making sports more accessible and acceptable for women, and how increased resources and funding are empowering the next generation of female athletes.

Fighting for Wings: Sarah Qureshi

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Fighting for Wings is an inspiring bite by Sarah Qureshi that explores how a woman’s holistic approach to life and problem-solving can transform the future of aviation. Drawing on her work in aeronautical engineering, Sarah reflects on how thinking beyond isolated technical fixes—by considering sustainability, environment, community, and long-term impact—can lead to greener, more efficient aeronautical engines. This session highlights how women in STEM bring interconnected, systems-based thinking to traditionally male-dominated fields, challenging conventional design philosophies and redefining innovation. A Journey to Fly is both a personal narrative and a vision for sustainable aviation, showing how empathy, responsibility, and technical excellence can work together to change how we design, build, and fly.

From Access to Agency: Women in the Formal Economy: Faiqa Naseem

big ideas

Faiqa from State Bank will talk about incorporating women in the formal economy and banking. She will speak to the policy aspects of this and the impact on the ground.

Archiving Futures: Design, Identity, and Environment by Maria Aslam

big ideas

Given her activism through her role at Sustainable Design Council (SDC) and her focus on environment + design, Maria could talk about the intersections between environmental sustainability, urban design and women’s lives. Discussion could include how environmental degradation, climate change, poor infrastructure disproportionately affect women (especially poorer women), and how sustainable, thoughtful design can alleviate some gendered burdens. This could extend to advocating for community‑driven, feminist design sensibilities: affordable housing, accessible green spaces, clean water, waste‑management, communal infrastructure, not just as “nice to have,” but as necessary for gender equity.

The Land Sings Through Her

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Folk performance by select musicians from WOW Creative Gender grantee Mehrdar - 30 minutes.

Master Class For Investment

workshop

Women often face unique financial challenges, from delayed investing to limited access to financial guidance. Masterclass on Investment for Women is a focused and empowering session designed to equip women with the knowledge, tools, and confidence needed to make informed investment decisions. Led by Mashal Khan, this masterclass breaks down complex financial concepts into practical, accessible insights, helping participants understand how to grow their wealth, manage risk, and plan for long-term financial security. This session simplifies complex investment and financial terms, while offering strategies tailored to women’s real-life financial journeys. If you want to move beyond saving to smart investing, gain clarity on where and how to invest, and build confidence in making financial decisions that support your independence and future goals, this session is for you Whether you are a beginner or looking to refine your approach, this masterclass offers a supportive space to learn, ask questions, and take control of your financial future.

From Classroom to Community: Developing Social and Emotional Skills

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In a world where young people are navigating burnout, bullying, climate anxiety, and rising academic pressure, what does it truly mean for a school to teach empathy, belonging, self-awareness, and care? This conversation explores the power of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) as a protective buffer, one that supports mental wellbeing while strengthening relationships and community. Our panel will examine how empathy can be taught as a skill: from active listening and kindness to conflict resolution and courageous communication. We’ll look at the collective role that teachers, parents, and institutions play in nurturing emotionally healthy young people, and how intentional SEL practices can help build leadership, agency, and voice, especially for girls, who often face distinct cultural and developmental pressures. Join us as we imagine what an education system rooted in humanity could make possible for the next generation.

Her-Sur, followed by Conversation with the Documentary Team

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Her-Sur is a film that centers women’s voices from the peripheries, not as tokens of culture, but as architects of it. It explores the rich and diverse musical traditions of indigenous women across Pakistan, from the coastal rhythms of Balochistan to the haunting melodies of Tharparkar. With lyrics in Balochi, Sindhi, Urdu, and Dari, it documents not just song, but survival - how women use music as resistance, memory, identity, and joy. By highlighting younger women remixing ancestral soundscapes, the film bridges intergenerational wisdom and contemporary creativity.

Awaz II Dastak do: stories from the communities about collective actions

Baithak

The session highlights achievements of community led behavioural change initiatives for addressing GBV and child marriage. Aawaz II communities share messages on the negative consequences of GBV and child marriage such as physical and psychological harm on women and girls. Community volunteers, from diverse groups will highlight best practices which worked for attitudinal shift in local communities against GBV and child marriage. Youth volunteers from KP and Punjab will share how their voluntary awareness raising sessions resulted changing social norms for redressal of GBV and child marriage issues.

From Expectations To Choices - Exploring What Shapes Us

workshop

Join Dr Rab for an interactive session exploring how gender roles are learned, shaped, and passed on in everyday life, and how these ideas influence the way we see ourselves and others. Drawing on social, cultural, and psychological perspectives, the session gives participants a space to reflect on how families, education, and social media shapes expectations around gender. The session will explore how these patterns develop over time and how they continue to affect our choices and conversations. This workshop offers a safe space to pause, listen, and think differently. Participants will leave with greater awareness of how gender roles are constructed, and with the confidence to engage more thoughtfully, whether by speaking up, listening carefully, or asking a different question.

Echoes Unmuted: Storytelling, Safety, and Women Shaping the Future

panel

Drawing from Echoes Media’s grant-supported work on technology-based gender-based violence (TBGBV) and the gendered impacts of climate change, this panel explores how women’s stories illuminate both urgent risks and powerful possibilities. It brings together voices working across media, advocacy, and community engagement to examine how digital harm, climate vulnerability, disinformation, and social inequity intersect in the lives of women and girls in Pakistan. The discussion will also reflect on how misinformation and harmful narratives silence marginalized communities, distort lived realities, and reinforce existing power imbalances. Through insights from fieldwork, narrative initiatives, and creative practice, the panel highlights how ethical storytelling and inclusive representation can amplify unheard voices and become tools for safety, resilience, and accountability. Together, our panelists will explore how centering women’s experiences can challenge dominant narratives, drive cultural change, strengthen protection systems, and inspire new pathways toward equity.

Permanent Guest

film

In Lahore, 26-year-old Fatin and her mother Yasmeen are preparing for a neighborhood wedding when their plans are disrupted by the unexpected arrival of Shabeer, Fatin’s 70-year-old uncle. Fatin is uncomfortable with Shabeer’s visit, but her parents expect her to care for him, including driving him to his hospital appointments. Tensions arise during their interactions, and Fatin struggles to balance her duty to her family with the weight of an unspoken history.

Unfolding: A Celebration That Raised Us

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Unfolding: A Celebration That Raised Us is a poignant dance performance by Adnan Jahangir with his daughters, Samahar and Soha for almost half a decade. Adnan and his daughters have returned to the WOW stage. Each time bringing in a new nuance to the art of dance and expressions through movement. The performance captures moments of courage, change and connection. This dance is both a tribute to, and a reminder of the doors WOW has opened for all of us

Blacklisted (Almitrah)

performance

A musical performance tracing the emotional journey of a woman navigating borders, identity, and longing for home. A fusion of South Asian classical, jazz and contemporary sound

Desert Sparks : Noor Bakhsh with Yasmeen Baloch

performance

Get ready for an electrifying journey into Balochistan’s musical heartland as benju legend Noor Baksh takes the stage with a young female Baloch benju player, Yasmeen, who’s redefining who the instrument was made for. Their performance ignites tradition with fresh fire - vibrant, and fiercely expressive - bringing the raw pulse of the Makran coast to life. This is the benju like you’ve never heard it: bold, rhythmic, and charging straight into the future and allyship in action in the very best of ways

Romantic Provocations

Interactive

Romantic Provocations is a roaming, shape-shifting exhibition that blurs the borders between art, science, politics, and public imagination. Part laboratory, part collective pause, it invites visitors into a living system where romance becomes method and friction becomes fuel. Across eight provocations, from algorithmic desire to intimacy by design, artists, scientists, and designers unsettle familiar narratives and open new ones. Multiple storylines unfold at once. Conversations remain porous. Ideas migrate across cities and disciplines, gathering new meaning as they travel and it all begins at WOW in Karachi. Visitors don’t simply observe; they participate in a slow, evolving negotiation of belief, desire, care, and disobedience. The result is a living archive of contradictions, gestures, and connections: a collective attempt to build worlds where love is disruptive, ambiguity is defended, and complexity is a shared inheritance

Leaf lab

Interactive

Step into a hands-on, heart-led workshop celebrating natural colour, heritage craft, and the joy of making slowly. Inspired by practices rooted in care, imagination, and integrity, this session invites participants to explore sustainable creativity through tactile, zero-waste methods. Together, participants will experiment with food-waste dyes, such as the rich hues of onion skin, while learning about ancient mordants and time-honoured techniques. We’ll also dive into leaf tapping and collaborative tapestry-making, using found foliage and reclaimed textiles to create new stories from what already exists. This is a truly regenerative experience: zero kilometre, zero waste, and full of meaning. Participants are encouraged to bring an old dupatta, kameez, t-shirt, or any beloved piece in need of revival. For walk-ins, a small collection of factory excess or discarded fabric will be available so no one is left out. Join Leaf Lab to reconnect with nature, reimagine the materials we already have, and rediscover the quiet magic of sustainable craft.

WOW CAST

Interactive

Step inside the podcast playground! Ever wondered what happens when you flip a podcast on its head? Welcome to our interactive podcast booth, a space where festival-goers become the hosts and star guests! Explore our newly launched podcast, WOWCast, meet some of the stars of the show, then grab the mic and create your own episode with the guidance of media students ready to bring your wildest ideas to life. Expect the unexpected, capture crazy amazing content, and see just how far a podcast can go when you take the rules and throw them out the window. Your voice. Your story. Your chaos.

Navigating Justice System by 7

Interactive

Game - will work well in the main market

Reimagining Our Planet: An Eco-Co-Creation Map

Interactive

To co-create an interactive map designed to engage visitors, especially children at the WOW Women Festival. We will be reimagining our world centered on a collective art activity where participants co-create a global map, shifting its representation from political borders and national names to a living, integrated system of rivers, birds, plants, and insects.It will generate a powerful visual statement on ecological literacy and the interconnectedness of all life. This will be a two-layered installation, where the underlying layer represents regional carbon emission percentages, physically linking ecological richness with global climate accountability and human impact. The final piece will be a powerful testament to collective environmental consciousness, created by hundreds of hands, demonstrating that Earth is a shared ecosystem, not a collection of independent countries.

Infinity and Beyond

Interactive

The Karachi Astronomers Society aims to engage and educate festival-goers about the wonders of space and astronomy, offering hands-on experiences through high-quality telescopes. Their presence at the festival is designed to spark curiosity and inspire a deeper interest in science and space exploration, particularly among young people. By blending education with entertainment, they create a memorable and unique experience that brings the universe closer to attendees of all ages.

Lets Build Minds: Brick By Brick

Interactive

The activity invites children into a playful world where imagination comes knocking and curiosity opens the door. There are no right or wrong builds here; fun is the only goal. Every piece is an idea waiting to be shaped. In this open, creative space, children build doors, pathways, homes, and worlds of their own making—learning that they don’t have to wait for doors to open, they can build them themselves. Through play, collaboration, and storytelling, the activity nurtures confidence, problem-solving, and self-expression, reminding every child that even the smallest ideas can lead to something extraordinary.