Page 19 - Pakistan Link - September 25, 2020

COMMUNITY
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy to Direct ‘Ms Marvel’
as the Studio’s First Pakistani Filmmaker
Celebrated Pakistani di-
rector, Sharmeen Obaid-
Chinoy will be directing
ntheey+M. s Marvel series for Dis-
The two-time Academy
Award winner has joined the
team comprising Adil El Arbi,
Bilall Fallah and Meera Menon
to direct the series, reports The
Hollywood Reporter.
Written by Bisha K. Ali, Ms
Marvel introduces the first Paki-
stani and Muslim superhero,
named Kamala Khan, into the
Marvel Cinematic Universe.
President of Marvel Studios,
Pakistani Teen Included in Group of
United Nations’ Young Leaders
Islamabad: An 18-year-old hu-
man rights activist, Hadiqa Bashir
from Swat, has been included in a
17-member global cohort of young
leaders on sustainable development
goals.
Announced by the United Na-
tions on Friday, the Young Lead-
ers for the SDGs Class of 2020 is
a flagship initiative of the Office of
the Secretary-General’s Envoy on
Youth which recognizes the efforts
of young people in driving action
and galvanizing others in support
of the 2030 Agenda.
These young leaders — be-
tween the ages of 18 and 29 years
old — represent the diverse voices
of young people from every region
of the world, and are collectively
responsible for activating millions
of young people in support of the
SDGs.
Kevin Feige has also said that the
first onscreen Muslim superhero
will be featured in future Marvel
films as well, in addition to the
series.
The studio is presently
searching for an actor who could
play the role of the hero who de-
picts her struggles as a Pakistani-
American woman with a reli-
gious family.
Directors El Arbi and Fal-
lah have a number of acclaimed
titles under their belt, including
the Bad Boys franchise that was
revived for a third-instalment af-
ter a 25-year gap. They have also
“As the UN marks its 75th an-
niversary during unprecedented
times, the 2020 Young Leaders for
the SDGs are a clear example of
how young people are leading the
way in shaping a more sustainable
and inclusive future for all,” said
Jayathma Wickramanayake, the
UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on
Youth.
This group will come together
as a community to support efforts
to engage young people in the real-
ization of the SDGs both through
strategic opportunities with the UN
and through their existing initia-
tives, platforms and networks.
From Pakistan, Hadiqa Bashir
was selected. Born into a patriarchal 19), a Commonwealth Youth
family in Saidu Sharif, she worked
against early and forced marriages,
sensitizing her community on the
negative effects that child marriages Asian Girls Rights Award (2016). -
been affiliated with Beverly Hills
Cop 4 and Rebel.
Obaid-Chinoy on the other
hand, became the first Pakistani
to win an Oscar in 2012 with her
documentary, Saving Face. She
bagged another Academy Award
in 2015 for A Girl in the River:
The Price of Forgiveness.
Menon, who is also on the
directing roaster for Ms Marvel,
has been working for TV shows
like You, For All Mankind and
episodes of The Walking Dead.
She is also known for her 2013
indie road trip comedy, Farah
Goes Bang. - The News
have on children’s mental and phys-
ical health by canvassing and lobby-
ing legislators and religious leaders ity will be restored and pilgrims from
against child marriages.
She is the founder of Girls
United for Human Rights and is
working for the protection and pro-
motion of Girls Rights in the tribal
regions of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
(K-P).
She volunteered for the Soci-
ety for Women’s Rights, for Hwen-
do Jirga, and is on the volunteer
board of directors at EveAlliance.
She is also a Women Deliver
Young Leader, the winner of the
With and For Girls Award (2018-
Award Finalist (2017), a two-time
Children’s Peace Prize Nominee
(2016 and 2017), a winner of the
The Express Tribune
www.PakistanLink.com
SEPTEMBER 25, 2020 – PAKISTAN LINK – P19
Umrah Pilgrimage to
Be Restored in Phases
n By Tareq Althaqafi
T Makkah
he suspension of Umrah in
Saudi Arabia, which was
implemented to prevent the
spread of COVID-19, will be lifted
in phases, Saudi authorities an-
nounced on Monday.
Minister of Hajj and Umrah Mo-
hammed Saleh Benten said that while
public health remains the Kingdom’s
top priority, his ministry is studying a
three-stage plan for the gradual resto-
ration of the pilgrimage.
During the first phase, Saudi
citizens and expatriates living in the
Kingdom will be allowed to perform
the minor pilgrimage. However, Um-
rah services will operate at 40 percent
of the normal capacity. This will be
increased to 75 percent in the second
phase, and in phase three full capac-
outside the Kingdom will be allowed
to return.
During all three phases, the min-
istry said, strict health precautions
will be enforced.
Benten said the ministry stands
by all the people — investors and
workers — involved in the sector dur-
ing this time of institutional trans-
formation. It wants, he added, to
empower Umrah companies and re-
lated organizations to become strong
economic entities that provide high-
quality services through the I’tamarna
application, which will make it easier
for pilgrims to book their journeys.
Benten said more than 30 local
and international companies will pro-
vide services to the pilgrims through
an electronic platform that will enable
the service providers to carry out the
necessary follow-up while serving
pilgrims. He added that Umrah com-
panies and institutions serve more
than 16 million pilgrims from the
Kingdom, the region and the rest of
the world.
Highlight
During the initial phase, the
Umrah operations will remain at 40
percent of the actual capacity under
normal circumstances.
He also stressed the importance
of early registration for Umrah, and
said that Umrah companies are re-
sponsible for conducting studies to
identify the needs of pilgrims, includ-
ing those who arrive through transit
countries. Citizens of 80 countries
can now visit the Kingdom for Um-
rah without requiring a visa and this
number will rise, Benten added.
Abddulfattah Mashat, the deputy
minister of Hajj and Umrah, said that
a forum had been organized, titled
“Managing Institutional Change and
Transformation in the Umrah Sector,”
with the aim of enriching the experi-
ence of Umrah pilgrims. The econom-
ics of Hajj and Umrah are not limited
to the services provided to pilgrims
but also include many other optional
services and logistics, he added
The ministry is working to man-
age the institutional transformation
effectively, improve services, enrich
the experience and enhance the sus-
tainability of the sector to serve more
pilgrims.
Mashat said that in 2019, 5.3
million Saudi citizens, 6.4 million ex-
pats, 1.2 million residents of Gulf Co-
operation Council countries, and 7.5
million people from other parts of the
world performed Umrah.
He said pilgrims traveling from
other nations previously had to go
through an agent and a registered
Umrah company to obtain a visa and
make other arrangements. However,
the ministry is taking steps to im-
prove the entire system, he added.
As part of the planned transfor-
mation of the sector, Mashat said that
an Umrah company will be able to
acquire existing companies and either
merge with them under its name, or
form a new entity.
In light of this transformation
of the sector, he stressed the need for
businesses to change the concept of
the services they provide and develop
new business models. – Arab News
AP adds: Hajj Minister Muham-
mad Benten said the kingdom will
launch an online application that al-
lows citizens, residents of Saudi Ara-
bia and visitors to apply and reserve a
specific time and date in which they
can perform the pilgrimage, known
as “umrah,” to avoid crowding and
maintain social-distancing guide-
lines.
The minister, who spoke during
a virtual seminar, did not say when
the pilgrimage would be permitted to
resume nor how many people would
be allowed to perform it at the same
time.
The kingdom held a dramatically
downsized, symbolic hajj pilgrimage
in July due to concerns that it could
easily have become a global super-
spreader event for the virus. Pilgrims
were selected after applying through
an online portal and all were
UMRAH, P28