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Global popularity of Chinese culture boosts China’s confidence

People visit China Grand Canal Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition Hall in Cangzhou, north China’s Hebei…

Two-day workshop held on regional collaboration in South Asia

Honolulu/Islamabad—A two-day virtual workshop was held on March 3 and March 4 to foster regional…

Haider Rifaat (HR) Films

Under the banner of Haider Rifaat (HR) Films, Haider produces short films and documentaries.

In Shackles is a 2025 short documentary film by Haider Rifaat and details the story of Shamim, a 34-year-old Pakistani woman grappling with forced marriage and sexual violence tied to broader societal problems facing Pakistanis. The film premiered at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, United States on January 24, 2025 and released the same day on YouTube. In Shackles is sponsored by Initiate Futures and co-sponsored by the University of Hawaii at Mānoa’s Center for South Asian Studies, Center for Southeast Asian Studies and Department of Asian Studies.

The Haider Rifaat Show

Initiate Futures’ Communications Director, Haider Rifaat, has been headlining Pakistan’s first web talk show titled The Haider Rifaat Show since 2016, producing, hosting and directing the show without a team. In this series, Haider engages with research experts, journalists, politicians, academicians and artists in a discourse about a broad range of socio-political and arts-related issues.