Voices and Visions

This remarkable collection of prose and poetry is the outcome of a writing competition on the topic of Women in Pakistan, organized by the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Goethe-Institut, and Oxford University Press in 2007 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Pakistan’s independence,
the 50th anniversary of the Goethe-Institut in Pakistan, and the 90th anniversary of the birth of Heinrich Böll.
The fact that over 600 entries were received, posing a challenge for the highly distinguished jury to select only twenty, is a positive reflection of the innate talent and creativity of our younger generation and their awareness of social and cultural issues. Oxford University Press, Pakistan in publishing this anthology, has given a voice to the young writers expressing their thoughts on a topic of vital social importance.
Norman Ohler—journalist, published author, poet, prize-winning scholar, social worker, and artist—is widely travelled, perceptive, and has the ability to interact with a range of people. This is borne out by his successful mentoring of the winners of the Young Writers’ Competition who participated in the Writing Workshop.
Amra Raza is an Assistant Professor and PhD Scholar at the Department of English Language and Literature, University of the Punjab, Lahore. She is a recipient of the National Jane Townsend Poetry Prize (1990) and has contributed to research journals of national and international repute.
As a Teacher Trainer she has been involved in the designing and implementation of English language syllabi at various levels.