Pakistan Women’s Association (PWA-Qatar) recently held a hair and beauty workshop at Shangri-La Hotel to an overwhelming response.
Led by experts in the field of cosmetics, the workshop was attended by more than 200 participants from different nationalities. They learnt different techniques on hair care and received beauty tips from stylists.
The event featured a tutorial workshop by Habib’s Hair & Beauty team. There were live demonstrations on hairstyles, makeup and nail art with professional tips and tools that can be used at home. Sabi Beauty (a Canada-based beauty artist) shared important tips on self-contouring techniques besides giving insight on different brands, skin toning and tips on applying false eye lashes and other related information.
The workshop concluded with an interactive question-and-answer session where the participants’ queries were answered on the spot. The participants also received a skin analysis facilitated by Naseem Al Rabeeh Premium, one of the event partners.
“We had an overwhelming response from the women here with more than 200 of them from different nationalities actively participating in the workshop. This was way more than our expectations,” said Rahat Mansoor Ali, president of PWA.
She thanked MES Trading, Naseem Al Rabeeh Premium, Habib’s Hair & Beauty and Sabi Beauty for becoming partners for the workshop, and Shangri-La Hotel Doha for hosting and supporting the event.
Founded in 2009 by Rahat Mansoor, Pakistan Women’s Association is a fraternity of Pakistani women residing in Qatar recognised for community welfare activities. They have been organising cultural events and a ladies coffee morning get-togethers, which takes place on the first Saturday of every month.
For women and families, PWA keeps organising events throughout the year. Recently, the association hosted celebrity Chef Gulzar from Karachi for a cookery contest at Doha Marriott. Women from the local Pakistani community took part in great numbers and the event was witnessed by families. Chef Gulzar selected the top three contestants who received gifts and awards. The cookery contest has been a flagship event of PWA which is popular with the local expat women.
The association also organised a breast awareness campaign exclusively for women last year at The Next Generation School (TNG), Al Wakrah Campus. The second such gathering organised by PWA, the campaign featured a lecture by a specialist; health quiz with prizes, free blood test, free nail art and henna designing and a buffet lunch was served to all the guests. “The purpose of the association is to create an open and inviting environment where women can build friendships, engage with the community, and experience all that Qatar has to offer,” says the founder of PWA.
Ali says the PWA was born out of the idea to provide a platform to the women. She felt that women were behind men when it comes to participating in social activities. They desperately required a platform from where they could demonstrate their abilities. “Women can do wonders if they are given equal opportunities. Keeping this in mind, I formed the association with the help of likeminded Pakistani women a few years ago,” says the founder.
She says the association has not only promoted the rich art and culture of Pakistan in Qatar but provided an opportunity to community members to participate in charitable activities.
Among other regular activities, the association also organised community events participated by local expatriates in large numbers.
The biggest of these events has been the Basant Mela, traditionally celebrated at the conclusion of winters to announce the arrival of spring. Celebrated with equal enthusiasm in both rural and urban areas of India, Pakistan and other parts of the subcontinent, a Basant festivity features multiple fun activities spread over days.
To provide a similar experience of Basant Mela here in Doha, PWA organised a grand festival, its 3rd Basant Mela at Al Wakrah Stadium in March last year. The fun-packed extravaganza featured multiple activities themed around the traditional celebrations of Basant. The theme colour was yellow, representing the blossoming of flowers.