Shaheed Benazir Women's University collaboration
In spring 2022, the Shakespeare Institute began a collaboration with Shaheed Benazir Women's University in Peshawar, thanks to a grant from the British Council in Pakistan. We will develop and explore the enjoyment of Shakespeare among the women of the Khyber-Pashtounkwa region.
L to R: Shahman Shahriar, Michael Dobson, Rup Shrestha, Henna Karamat
Henna Karamat, university administrator and scholar of Shakespeare's heroines, visited the Institute. She conducted interviews with our Asian research students, and met the distinguished Anglo-Pakistani theatre-maker Iqbal Khan. Iqbal is an experienced director with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Birmingham Repertory Theatre.
In September 2022, the Institute became a co-founder of The Khyber Pashtounkwa Shakespeare Society. This is a worthy successor to the Shakespeare Ladies Club, established three centuries earlier back in England. The works of Shakespeare are placed at the centre of women's reading and discussion groups, cultural festivals and art competitions.
Further collaborative activities are planned. We welcome applications from PhD candidates interested in how Shakespeare's women have been understood within Pakistan, the Anglo-Pakistani diaspora, and other Islamic cultures.