Pasadena and Islamabad Connect as UN Association Chapter Hosts Free Women’s Rights Talk Sept. 16

[UPDATED] The Pasadena chapter of the United Nations Association will host a free public conversation on the status of women’s rights in Pakistan and the United States at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16, at the Maxwell House, 55 S. Grand Ave.

The discussion, titled “Women’s Rights in Misogynistic Times,” pairs chapter board member Jennifer Hall Lee with Dr. Munazza Yaqoob of the International Islamic University Islamabad, who will take part virtually from Islamabad.

It will center on gender in politics, reproductive rights, social and religious norms, and global patriarchy, the chapter said. Rep. Judy Chu will deliver pre-recorded welcoming remarks.

“Dr. Yaqoob and I have worked on the rights of women in Pakistan and the United States for over 13 years and now with the overturning of Roe v. Wade the time is perfect for a public discussion on the status of women’s rights in both countries,” Hall Lee said in a statement.

“Conversations about our rights need to include the norms and traditions that sustain misogyny,” Yaqoob said. “Then we can build solidarity in order to create change.”

Hall Lee, a filmmaker, holds the District 2 seat on the Pasadena Unified school board and has worked with women at the Islamabad university since 2013. Yaqoob chairs the Department of English at the university’s female campus. Their exhibition “Women Without Borders: A Visual Study of Women’s Lives in Pakistan” was shown at Pasadena City College in the summer of 2024.

Need to know: “Women’s Rights in Misogynistic Times” takes place Wednesday, Sept. 16, at 6 p.m. at the Maxwell House, 55 S. Grand Ave., Pasadena, CA 91105. Admission is free, donations are accepted, and the program will be livestreamed. Street parking is available. For more, email Beverly Goldin at bevgoldin@gmail.com, and RSVP online.