A Pakistani craftsman weaves threads of different colors and shades to make a traditional khadi shawl on his loom. The metaphor of weaving was chosen as the underlying theme for CBEC-SIUT’s January 2025 International Conference, held in January 2025, to reflect the diversity of sources that continue to inform human understanding of morality through the ages.
Picture Courtesy: Sib Kaifee, Arab News.
Foreword by Farhat Moazam*
“The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together”
William Shakespeare, All’s Well That Ends Well
The theme chosen for CBEC-SIUT’s bilingual (English and Urdu), January 2025 international conference was “The Warp and Woof of Human Morality” or “Insaani Akhlaq kaa Tana Bana.” When weaving cloth on a loom, the warp constitutes the vertical threads whereas the woof are woven across these horizontally, an art the ancient Egyptians are credited for perfecting around 5,000 BCE. Weaving as a metaphor is frequently used to capture various aspects of human lives. Common examples include “the moral fiber” of individuals, “the fabric of life,” and “weaving” ideas to find solutions for difficult problems.
The choice of using this metaphor for the conference was our attempt to challenge an ahistorical and myopic ethics education that compartmentalizes secular versus religious, modern versus traditional, liberal versus conservative, whereas humans are composites of many identities.
The conference drew participants from professionals and members of the public alike. This edition of the Center’s newsletter, Bioethics Links, offers some of the highlights of the two days. This includes texts of three plenary talks, pictures of key events, quotes from attendees and examples of press coverage.
*Chairperson and Professor, CBEC-SIUT, Karachi
BIOIETHICS AND WICKED PROBLEMS
Nauman Faizi
I have been associated with CBEC as visiting faculty for the better part of a decade and have taught cohorts in the Master’s and Post-graduate diploma programs.
THE CHIMES OF HAYY IBN YAQZAN: FROM THE DIVINE COMEDY TO ROBINSON CRUSOE AND ONWARD
Syed Noman-ul-Haq
How does one describe Hayy ibn Yaqzan — literally, Living, Son of Awake? This Arabic work of fiction, whose renderings, paraphrases, shadows, and footprints are found in Hebrew, Latin, English, German, French, Spanish, and elsewhere,
RECLAIMING FEMINIST CONSCIOUSNESS IN URDU LITERATURE FROM ZAY KHAY SHEEN TO CONTEMPORARY POETS
Fatima Hasan
There was a time when the presence and role of women were not mentioned in history. The part played by women in nurturing civilization and promoting language and literature was barely recognized.
HIGHLIGHTS: INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE, JANUARY 10-11, 2025
Photo albums and excerpts from the two days of the conference.
CBEC-SIUT FACULTY REFLECTIONS
I believe that some of the most rewarding experiences and the greatest events that occur in life often rest on serendipity,
CBEC’S LONG-STANDING ASSOCIATION WITH KMU
CBEC-SIUT has had a long relationship with Khyber Medical University (KMU), a public sector institution in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK). It began in 2009 when KMU Professor Tasleem Akhtar approached CBEC with her conviction of the important role of integrating ethics in biomedical research, public health and professional clinical practices,
CBEC-SIUT MAKES INROADS IN BALOCHISTAN
CBEC’s goals include building and enhancing national bioethics capacity in clinical and research ethics within institutions and healthcare professionals of the four provinces in Pakistan. The Centre has been able to do so in Sindh, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,
From our Archives
Female Friendships and Pakistan Cinema
Kamran Asdar Ali
“Scholarly literature on gender in Pakistan has traditionally ignored the everyday experience of women, especially the domestic experiences of women within the household.”
CBEC Events
Breaking the Cycle: Rethinking Support for Juvenile Offenders
Saturday, April 12, 2025
In this forum, Ms. Farah Khan, a criminal lawyer from Karachi, discussed the issue of juvenile recidivism within the context of Pakistan. Using statistical data and case studies from her research on the same topic, she highlighted systemic shortcomings, including unjust policies, socioeconomic inequalities and lack of structured reintegration programs that perpetuate a cycle of offenses among juveniles. The forum attracted on-site and online audience, including lawyers, psychologists and physicians.
Research Ethics Workshop
Aga Khan University, Karachi, January 30, 2025
Ms. Sualeha Shekhani, CBEC faculty and member of the Pakistan National Bioethics Committee for Research (NBC-R), seen here conducting a session on “Community Engagement in Research” in a research ethics workshop organized by The Aga Khan University. The workshop targeted participants involved in research related to non-communicable diseases. Ms. Shekhani used local cases to highlight ethical challenges such as research fatigue, benefit-sharing and the absence of the notion of reciprocity in community-based research.
Caring Beyond Cure: Navigating Ethics in
Pediatric Palliative Care
Saturday, December 21, 2024
This forum was led by Dr. Shahzadi Resham, Assistant Professor at the Department of Pediatrics and Child Health & Department of Oncology at the Aga Khan University (AKU), Karachi, and a pioneer in pediatric palliative care in Pakistan. During the forum, she used a case to highlight the ethical challenges specific to decision-making, such as disclosure and consent, when dealing with pediatric patients and their families. This was a well-attended forum, particularly from those in the pediatric specialty.
CBEC Forum: Ghalib and His Simple Verses
November 16, 2024
This Forum discussed the literary brilliance of Mirza Ghalib. The session was led by literary enthusiast Dr. Rubina Naqvi, Professor of Nephrology at SIUT Karachi and a CBEC alumnus. The discussion focused on his seemingly simple and straightforward verses, and explored the complexities packed within them including philosophical layers, metaphors and literary irony. The speaker engaged the partici- pants in discerning the meanings of selected verses.
CBEC Participates in Annual PSN Conference, Aga Khan University
November 7-10, 2024
At the invitation of Dr. Shahzad Shamim, Professor of Neurosurgery at the Department of Surgery, Aga Khan University (AKU), CBEC participated in the Pakistan Society of Neuro- surgery’s 37th National Conference. Dr. Moazam (picture on the right) gave the IA Raja Memorial Lecture titled, “Reflections: Science, Knowledge and the Surgeon Scientist.” She discussed the error in reducing the meaning of the word “science” to merely the technical, measurable in medicine. Dr. Aamir, Dr. Nida Wahid Bashir and Ms. Sualeha Shekhani conducted a workshop on publication ethics with surgical residents. They focused on local authorship issues and global disparities in scientific publications.
Workshop: Ethical Challenges Involving Critical Care of Patients, Karachi
October 26, 2024
During SIUT’s Fundamentals of Critical Care Support Conference, CBEC conducted a workshop on ethical challenges in critical care at the invitation of Dr. Fakhir Raza Haidri, Associate Professor, Department of Critical Care, SIUT. Dr. Moazam and Dr. Bushra used cases to highlight end of life issues including informed consent and medical decision-making. Dr. Moazam also emphasized that medicine’s focus on the ‘disease’ often overlooks the broader context of illness.
Conference: Pak TraumaCon 2024 SMBB Trauma Centre, Karachi
September 20, 2024
During the 2nd Pak TraumaCon, Dr. Moazam and Dr. Bushra co-chaired a session titled, “The Impact of Trauma on Trauma Victims” at the invitation of Dr. Waryam Muhammad Saleh, Consultant Vascular Surgeon and key organizer of the conference. This session was unique since it included trauma survivors. One member of the public and two physicians shared their personal experiences and the devas- tating effects of accidents on their families.
Teaching the Teachers: CBEC Collaborates with Jinnah Sindh Medical University (JSMU), Karachi
September 13-14, 2024
The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) has recently mandated the inclusion of bioethics education in all undergraduate curricula. Meeting this teaching requirement poses significant challenges since there are only two institutions in Karachi and one in Lahore that offer graduate level degree programs in bioethics in the country. However, acquiring basic knowledge in bioethics does not require a formal degree, and regular medical and dental faculty can be trained to teach bioethics at their institutions.
Dr Syed Moyn Aly, Director Academics of Jinnah Sindh Medical University (JSMU) approached CBEC with a proposal to provide basic bioethics education to their faculty. He proposed conducting two customized workshops for earmarked faculty from their 11 affiliate medical and dental colleges. These individuals would then be relied upon to conduct ethics education sessions at their respective institutions.
This is the first step in this collaborative effort with the aim to offer similar workshops for JSMU faculty annually in order to expand the cohort of bioethics-trained faculty with the capacity to teach basics of bioethics to medical and dental students.
CBEC Forum: Tiny Kidneys, Big Dilemmas
September 7, 2024
The Forum featured three pediatric nephrologists with an interest in bioethics: Dr. Ali Lanewala (SIUT, Pakistan), Dr. Aaron Wightman (University of Washington, USA), and Dr. Priya Pais (St. John’s Acade- my, Bangalore, India). They explored ethical challenges in pediatric nephrology through cases, highlighting how legal, cultural, and socio- economic factors complicate care in different contexts. The Forum attracted a diverse online audience from the USA, Europe and Africa.
CBEC Internship Program for high School Students
July 1-5, 2024
In the summer of 2024, CBEC launched an internship program for high school students to introduce them to facets of ethics in everyday life. The program received over a hundred applications reflecting a strong interest in ethics. Six students were eventually selected.
Organized by CBEC faculty members, Dr. Nida Wahid Bashir and Mr. Farid Bin Masood, the weeklong internship offered a flavor of common ethical issues. A notable feature was a social media advocacy project, where participants developed infographics and campaigns addressing medical issues such as the challenges of polio vaccination in Pakistan. The internship also featured a student debate on “Using Artificial Intelligence in Academic Writing,” and a thought experiment involving selecting people for a lifeboat on a sinking ship. CBEC’s video, “The Sound of Silence,” was used to explore the gender nuances in obtaining
informed consent within the Pakistani context. Students found discussing Richard Selzer’s story, “Whither Thou Goest,” particularly interesting. The story explores interactions between a widow who donates her husband’s heart and the male recipient, focusing on the emotional impact of organ transplantation on donors and recipients.
Student feedback revealed an appreciation for the internship, with comments about “personal growth” in communication, critical thinking, and decision-making skills. Students also liked the “engaging” and “interactive” nature of the sessions.
CBEC Forum: Dilli Jo Ek Shehr Tha
Mughal Delhi’s Romance with her Urdu Poets
May 18, 2024
Dr. Saif Mahmood, author of "Beloved Delhi: A Mughal City & Her Greatest Poets," explored the rich history of Urdu poetry connected to Mughal Delhi. Audience, many online, heard works of poets like Sauda, Mir, Ghalib and Dagh, and “virtually” toured historic Delhi streets.
Methods and Ethics of Research
Khyber Medical University (KMU), Hazara,
May 13-15, 2024
As part of CK-BTI, a collaborative workshop with KMU was conducted to highlight ethical issues associated with health research. The picture shows participants engaged in a discussion with CBEC faculty includ ing Dr. Aamir Jafarey and Ms. Sualeha Shekhani.
Train the Trainers
Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS), Karachi
May 2024
At the request of DUHS Vice-Chancellor, a course has been initiated to train DUHS medical faculty in teaching bioethics to medical students. The picture shows Dr. Farhat Moazam and Dr. Bushra Shirazi conduct ing a session on “Informed Consent.”
CBEC Shots
Impressions of PGD Alumni
In this series of short videos, recent graduates of the CBEC-SIUT Postgraduate Diploma (PGD) program in Bioethics share their personal journeys, insights, and reflections providing a glimpse into their experiences, challenges, and growth during the one-year program.
Atif Mahmood
Asif Jan Muhammad
Abubaker Ali Saad
Saima Saleem
Muhammad Arsalan Khan
Journal Club
Discussing two poems by
Harris Khalique
Nida Wahid Bashir
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