Editor’s Note: This article has been updated as of March 9.

The Pakistani Student Association (PSA) will host the Mock Mehndi in collaboration with Florida International University (FIU) and Nova Southeastern University (NSU). Mock Mehndi will be held on March 10 and will be held at the FIU Campus at the Wolf University Center  Grand Ballroom. All students are invited to attend and are required to RSVP through a link available on PSA’s Instagram.

Mehndi is a cultural event celebrated a day before marriage, with dances and music. Additionally, the Mehndi, also known as Henna, is a traditional skin decoration, especially on the woman’s hand, to bring luck into the marriage. 

The President of PSA, Sheikh Muhammad Asher Iqbal, and the Treasurer, Muhammad Waleed Anjum, detailed what the event is going to be and its significance. 

According to Waleed, the event is considered a fortune, since all the family members are together for one last time before the bride moves into her husband’s house. So, the main objective is to create good memories, especially for the bride.

Asher and Waleed explained that the reason to host this event is that it is very cultural, and it will give non-Pakistani students an insight into what Pakistani weddings are about. Within one event, there are different ceremonies that they perform that are very particular to Pakistani culture. Meanwhile, this event will also gather Pakistani international students to celebrate events that they missed with their families from being far from home.

In terms of music and food, each province of Pakistan has its own style, however, the PSA will have the most popular ones, especially Biryani, considered sort of an official food of Pakistan. Students are allowed to perform whatever dance and song they want to, particularly ones that are very well-known in Pakistan. 

The collaboration with FIU and NSU will be a good way of networking between the clubs and students since both universities have a large number of Pakistani students. 

FAU PSA started in the 2018 Fall Semester, and their main goal is to have an organization where all Pakistani students can join and celebrate their national and religious events that they can’t attend back home.

PSA looks for individuals who would like to contribute to the people of Pakistan. For Asher, the club is more than a guide and an accommodation for international and Pakistani students.

“We really need to reinvent the image of Pakistan in the U.S., showing the complete side of the story that the media doesn’t show,” he said. 

PSA is open to everyone to participate, the general boarding meeting happens once a semester along with other events. Details about upcoming events and meetings can be found on their Instagram.

Giovanna Brigo Cardoso is a contributing writer for the University Press. For more information on this story or others, contact her at [email protected].