The ZHR Writing Prize for Women held its Inaugural Award Ceremony recently. The event was well attended by Karachi literati including Kamila Shamsie, Saman Shamsie, Zehra Nigah, Omer Shahid Hamid and Dr. Saad Shafqat as well as members of the literary Press and Publishers. Three members of the 2019 judging panel, Ameena Sayyid, Muneeza Shamsie and Shan Vahidy also attended.

The event was hosted by Syra Vahidy, the founder of the Prize, which she set up in honour of her mother Zeenat Haroon Rashid. Members of the Haroon family were also present including Begum Pasha Haroon and Begum Laila Sarfaraz along with many dear friends of Zeenat.

After tea and refreshments, Syra Vahidy opened proceedings by sharing her memories of her mother and explained the genesis of the Prize. The audience also viewed an interview with Zeenat filmed by Sadia Quareshi Shepard for her film THE OTHER HALF OF TOMORROW a profile of eight Pakistani women.

Shan Vahidy spoke on behalf of the Panel of Judges explaining the difficult task of choosing the winner from among so many worthy contenders.

The Winner, Maham Javaid, and the recipient of the Special Citation Award, Sadia Khatri, read excerpts from their submissions. They were presented with their awards by Kamila Shamsie who welcomed the addition of the Prize saying it filled a long-standing vacancy in promoting Women's literary voices.