Announcement: Bioethics Links Newsletter, Volume 20 Issue 2, December 2024

[DR ROZINA HEMANI]

From: CBEC <cb...@siut.org>

Dear Colleagues,

 

We are pleased to announce the publication of the December 2024 edition of the CBEC newsletter, Bioethics Links. This issue makes a small contribution to the diverse literary and scholarly views, shaped by local norms, that have emerged from South Asia. The newsletter provides details including the speakers’ line-up for CBEC’s upcoming international conference titled “The Warp and Woof of Human Morality” in January 2025. This is to commemorate the Centre’s 20^th anniversary. It also includes reports of noteworthy activities that the CBEC faculty were involved in during the past six months. As CBEC prepares to begin its next academic year in January 2025, the newsletter introduces the incoming PGD Class of 2025 and MBE Class of 2026, with representation from all four provinces of Pakistan.

 

We look forward to your comments and suggestions. Happy Reading! Wishing you a Happy New Year!  

 

Dr. Farhat Moazam, Professor and Chairperson

Ms. Sualeha Shekhani, Assistant Professor

CBEC-SIUT, Karachi  

 

		Volume 20 Issue 2 December 2024
The picture above is a reproduction of "Boats on the Indus" (circa 1840) by British illustrator, Thomas Postans. It features the mighty River Indus which originates in Tibet, flows through Ladakh, India before passing through Pakistani regions including Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh, where it finally merges with the Indian Ocean. It was around the River Indus (historically known as Hindu or Sindhu) where one of the oldest civilizations in the world emerged.
		Foreword by Sualeha Shekhani*
	Every wave for Sohni is filled with rubies, water perfumed with musk, From river come many airs of ambergris Shah Abdul Latif (1689-1752)
The couplet (translated from Sindhi) above makes a reference to the Sindhi folk tragedy of Sohni Mahiwal, two lovers separated by the River Indus. It is around this River where ‘people, ideas and religions meet and mingle,’ as Alice Albinia writes in her part-memoir part-travelogue, “Empires of the Indus: The Story of a River.” The Indus is not only a geographical entity—it represents the historical and cultural evolution of South Asia, dating as far back as 3300 BCE. It was around the River Indus where religious scriptures such as the Rig Veda were composed, and vibrant folk traditions with songs and dances were produced. Civilizations and empires rose and fell in tandem with the river’s ebb and flow. Artists, novelists, poets, Sufi saints and scholars such as Bulleh Shah, Allama Iqbal, Ismat Chughati and Saadat Hasan Manto produced extraordinary works, highlighting the socio-political values and traditions of their times. This edition of Bioethics Links provides a small glimpse in the continuation of this tradition. Priya Sharma, an emerging scholar in the field of philosophy and social sciences from India reflects upon the relational nature of providing care in the subcontinent context as the essence of life itself. Harris Khalique, a renowned literary figure from Pakistan explores how Urdu literature connects with, and influences, the moral self. The newsletter also highlights how CBEC uses its video series, “Local Moral Worlds,” as a spotlight to capture the richness of local norms and values that shape human moral sensibilities. This edition offers fresh perspectives from this part of the world, connecting the past with the present and the future. *Assistant Professor, CBEC-SIUT, Karachi
		Articles
CARING: THE BASIS OF OUR LIVES   Priya Sharma It takes a village to raise a child. This African proverb was quite true when it came to my childhood. Growing up in a remote Indian village on the lower foothills of the Himalayas, I would rarely be found in my own house.		IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD…   Harris Khalique In art and literature, the global canons including our own embrace creatively written theological essays and summaries, faith-based parables, hymns and devotional poetry, religious music, and frescos and sculpture, etc. Later, in the 19th and 20th centuries…		LOCAL MORAL WORLDS”: CBEC TEACHING VIDEOS WITH A DESI SPIN Sualeha Shekhani Arthur Kleinman, the renowned US-based psychiatrist and medical anthropologist coined the phrase “local moral worlds” to highlight how individuals experience the everyday, emphasizing the importance of context and relationships in understanding health and illness.
SIUT INTEGRATES BIOETHICS IN THE UROLOGY CURRICULA Asad Shahzad In 2020, I was given the task of organizing the residency program of Urology at SIUT. Two postgraduate programs run concurrently at SIUT...		RICHARD CASH (1941-2024) A MEMORIAM: OUR FRIEND AND COLLEAGUE Aamir Jafarey Dr. Richard Cash touched and will continue to touch millions of lives globally following his death. As one of the developers of Oral Rehydration Therapy, his contributions to public health cannot be forgotten.		ENHANCING BIOETHICS CAPACITY IN QUETTA, BALOCHISTAN At the invitation of Dr. Rukhsana Majid, Head of the Department of Community Medicine, Quetta Institute of Medical Sciences (QIMS), CBEC faculty Dr. Farhat Moazam, Dr. Aamir Jafarey and Dr. Bushra Shirazi conducted a workshop…
CBEC-KEMRI BIOETHICS TRAINING INITIATIVE (CK-BTI) ACTIVITIES CBEC faculty was involved in two CK-BTI workshops: Bioethics Pedagogy Workshop in Nairobi, Kenya; and Hybrid Practicum on Bioethics Grant Writing in Karachi.		CBEC VIDEO WINS AWARD IN BARCELONA   This video has also recently won the runner-up prize in the ‘Audiovisual Award in Bioethics,’ organized by the Víctor Grífols i Lucas, Foundation in Barcelona, Spain, out of 151 global submissions.		CBEC-WHO COLLABORATIVE WORKSHOPS ON PATIENT SAFETY At the request of the Department of Quality Assurance at SIUT, CBEC in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) organized workshops to celebrate Patient Safety Day that falls on September 17.
Click Here to Register Click Here for Full Program
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Contact   Centre of Biomedical Ethics & Culture (CBEC), Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT), Sindh Institute of Medical Sciences (SIMS), Karachi, Pakistan Phone: +(92 21) 9921-6957 Email: cb...@siut.org Website: http://siut.org/bioethics/