The first-ever lecture for the Lady Fatima Endowment Faculty Chair is held at Habib University.

Women’s functions in society need to be made more widely known, especially in a country like Pakistan where there is a systemic erasing of women in every aspect of life. To the detriment of religion and society at large, the concept of women and divinity specifically—that is, the feminine qualities of the divine and women’s role in religion—is largely neglected, despite the number of study that has been published on the subject.

Through its resurrected mission and vision of igniting talks on how to heal our dying planet, Habib University—Pakistan’s first university dedicated to liberal arts and sciences—is taking the difficult step of bringing these neglected areas to light.

It is named after Sayeda Zahra (AS), who was highly influential in the legacy of the Prophet (PBUH). It aims to recognise the contributions of women like Zainab (AS) and Sayeda Zahra (AS), reinstating their significance in our collective consciousness that is continually eclipsed by the predominance of male narratives. The aim is to bring attention to the place of women in cultural, societal, and religious narratives and to discuss gender equally from an ecumenical perspective.

One of Habib University’s six undergraduate programs, the Comparative Humanities Program is home to the Lady Fatima Endowment Faculty Chair in Women and Divinity. The goal of the Chair is to integrate the scholarly investigation of women’s roles into the Religious Studies specialisation of the program. Comparative Humanities is a unique program in Pakistan that teaches students to traverse disciplinary borders with flexibility and to draw from resources in the humanities and arts.

Scholars have the chance to explore the academic study of women and divinity and to foster discourse on women and religion through the Lady Fatima Endowment Faculty Chair. The Chair will involve a variety of scholarly endeavours aimed at advancing women’s and divinity-related courses at the university and encouraging scholarly contributions to the field.

Dr. Larisa Jasarevic, an independent researcher from Bosnia-Herzegovina, gave the first lecture for the Lady Fatima Endow Faculty Chair in Women and Divinity series at Habib University.

Thinking on the Tattered Planet: Ecostress, Religion, and the Gender Quarrel was the title of the speech. In summary, the discussion asked, “What thinking can we aspire to cultivate in our tattered planet?” in an attempt to foreshadow themes in the upcoming Lady Fatima Endow Faculty Chair in Women and Divinity Lecture series. Her insights on climate change, her prophetic lessons on sustainable living, and her recollections of Hazrat Bibi Fatima (AS) all influenced the conversation.

She offered a unique viewpoint to climate ecology with her extensive research on climatic futures, the sciences, and metaphysics. Her goal was to connect Islamic metaphysics with critical (eco) thinking. Dr. Jasarevic is an anthropologist and beekeeper who lives in a community perched on a mountainside in Bosnia-Herzegovina, a nation devastated by the 1992–1995 Bosnian War and the dissolution of Yugoslavia. In her book Beekeeping in the End Times, she makes assertions about climate change based on her findings.

“Commitment to critical postcolonial studies is, by now, a default stance in global academia, but Habib University puts that commitment boldly to work in ways that are seldom practiced,” Dr. Jasarevic said in her assessment of the university. How was I not impressed by that? I’m happy to hear that the Lady Fatima Endow Chair in Women and Divinity has been established. I look forward to the innovative and imaginative thinking that can arise when “feminine” and “divine” are paired as the main components of a study plan and research agenda. These seem to me like code terms for escaping the various cages that have ensnared studies of religion in general and Islam in particular.

As the evening’s host and associate professor of comparative humanities, Dr. Nauman Naqvi remarked, “Now that the Lady Fatima Chair has been established, what steps should we do next? What has religion, and Islam in particular, to offer at a time when the world is swiftly coming apart? Islam, a faith that bases itself on “constant renewal,” has the power to remake life via its vast teachings. Islam should assist us in reevaluating the sources of inspiration for sustainable living.

During her speech, Dr. Jasarevic remarked, “It is commonly known that the Prophet (PBUH) chose to live in poverty and that the Ahl al-Bayt were also impoverished. My own experience has taught me that they are imparting a new and vital lesson—one that could be referred to as sustainable living in today’s vernacular.I now see that I was having to re-learn the prophetic lessons in light of the challenging new circumstances for thinking about and navigating our broken world.

President Wasif Rizvi gave Mr. Abbas D. Habib a keepsake following the talk as a thank you for his outstanding endowment. Prominent Mohsineen community members of Habib University, the Abbas D. family, also gave Dr. Larisa Jasarevic a gesture of appreciation.

Researchers and academics from across the nation attended the event, together with students, professors, and community members. Leading business figures from the industry, including Shahbaz Yasin Malik, President and CEO of Hilton Pharma (Pvt.) Ltd., and Zehra Hassan, Family Office Manager at House of Habib, as well as Zeelaf Munir, CEO of English Biscuits Manufacturers, also graced the occasion.

The Lady Fatima Endowment Faculty Chair in Women and Divinity provides a forum for discussion that respects women’s place in all spheres of life, particularly in relation to religion, society, and culture. The Endowed Faculty Chair embodies the educational goal of Habib University, which is to transfer knowledge in a reparative manner for the benefit of society.