In the name of Allah the Gracious the Merciful

AWSA Activities at 77^th Jalsa Salana, USA

Abdus Salam Science Fair

Participants included Lajna/Nasirat. A total of 25 Nasirat/Lajna participated in the Abdus Salam Science Fair.

The Abdus Salam Science Fair was held on Saturday, July 13th at the AWSA booth at 2:00pm. There were 3 categories of Poster presentations: 1) K-5^th Grade, 2)6^th-12^th grade, and 3) undergraduate/graduate/post-doc. The judges for the competition were: K-5^th grade (Elementary School): Sister Tayyaba Bhatti (serving as AWSA Finance Secretary) and Sister Farhana Khan (serving as AWSA publication Secretary).   6^th-12^th grade (Middle/High School):  Munazza Alam, Khulood Sharif and Dr. Shahnaz Butt. Undergraduate/Graduate/Post-doc: Drs Shahnaz Butt and Nusrat Sharif (serving as AWSA President).

The theme of the Science Fair involved research of any eminent women scientist from history or any other research topic that is of interest to the participant. Cash prizes were awarded to first, second and third place winners along with certificate of participation while a certificate was awarded to the fourth-place winner.  The youngest participant of the Science Fair was Adil Wahab Mirza. A certificate of appreciation was presented to him by AWSA for his motivation and inspiration in coming up with a poster.

The winners of the Science Fair are below:

Elementary School

First place: Shafia Rizwan Hameed

Second Place: Asifa Mirza

Third Place: Tanzeela and Zara Qureshi

Fourth Place: Kashifa Wahab Mirza.

Middle/High School

First Place: Aimen Khan

Second Place: Arfa Butt

Third Place: Safiyyah Bennett

Fourth Place: Amtul Kafi

Graduate/Post Graduate

First Place: Munazza Alam

Second Place: Farha Latif

AWSA Annual Meeting (July 2019)

The AWSA Annual Meeting was held at 6:30pm in the Conference Room B (Susquehana Hall).  The meeting commenced with Tilawat by Sister Arfa Butt who recited verses from Surah Yasin (chapter 36, verses 37-42) followed by the English translation of the verses. Dr. Nusrat Sharif (serving as President of AWSA) then presented highlights of the AWSA activities in the year 2018-2019, with special focus on the 6^th Annual Quran and Science Symposium that was held in Bait-ur Rahman on 16^th March 2019. She also described the implementation of membership to AWSA and efforts that AWSA will continue to foster in future.  There were two presentations at the AWSA annual meeting. Dr. Shahnaz Butt Sahiba presented on the title “The balancing act” She conveyed to the audience the rationale in balancing the life particularly since an Ahmadi Woman has to perform diverse Islamic roles. She said every stage in life of a woman there is a need to balance her choices and decisions so that her life remains successful. She particularly emphasized regarding the sacrifices that a woman has to make. She said it is important what sacrifices you choose to make to balance your life.

Dr Wajeeha Chaudhry (Secretary Umoore Talibat, Lajna Imaillah USA), briefly gave an overview of her Umoore Talibat department. Dr. Aziza Rahman Sahiba described some of the attributes of life of Dr. Abdus Salam with regard to his motivation for science and research. A quality that he emphasized was regarding not wasting time.

The meeting concluded with silent prayer. The attendance at the annual meeting was around 20-23 members.

Report by Dr. Nusrat Sharif, serving as AWSA President