Out & About
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
The saris swirled on the dance floor, but the women who wore them were anything but traditional.
Ivy League-educated bankers, doctors, and lawyers gathered Friday night to raise money for their much less fortunate counterparts in Pakistan.
Developments in Literacy, a nonprofit based in Long Beach, Calif., works to eliminate illiteracy in Pakistan by establishing schools for underprivileged girls in remote areas and providing funds for teachers, books, and supplies. Last year the group spent more than $500,000 on teacher training while operating 200 schools.
“We’re privileged to be educated. There are girls back home who have nothing,” a co-chairwoman of the event, Aasia Arif, said. Ms. Arif attended high school in Pakistan, then came to America to study international relations at Cornell and public health at Columbia.
“The challenge is to get parents to agree to educate their girls,” Ms. Arif said. “With education, girls can understand their rights and shape a just society.”
An American diplomat who has served as ambassador in Pakistan and Sri Lanka, Teresita Schaffer, said the group has the right focus.
“If I were queen for a day, I would educate every girl in Pakistan,” Ms. Schaffer said.
The event honored the chairman and chief executive of Ethan Allen Interiors Inc., Farooq Kathwari, whose philanthropy has earned him awards from the American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League, and the Council for America’s First Freedom.
The leadership of the New York chapter of Developments in Literacy include Tasnim Shaheryar, who serves as president (and whose daughter, Samar, is organizing a juniors benefit on November 18); Asema Asghar, whose company, Mangolias Linens, provided tablecloths embroidered with gold coins at the event, and investment guru Malik Sarwar.
Not every woman wore a sari. Pooja Munshi modeled a dress by Nikka, where she works as product manager.
