Women are no longer slogans or rhythms for chants parading down the streets. They are no longer a cry from the activists that no one sees a point to. Women of today are empowered citizens becoming faculties of a better tomorrow. They have proven their potential and make every sense to be brought forward in fields of significance and be granted equal rights and opportunities. No one can now say to another that a woman is to be kept at home, for they are good for nothing else. Because if they do, the work of the world’s most productive and revolutionary minds will beg to differ, for they are, in a good number; women.
Pakistani women haven’t conceded their share in the race to success either. They have been bold and outright in their quests towards making their futures exemplary. Conservative societies haven’t been able to shackle their confidence and they find their oppression as a source for their pride. A recent campaign “Walk a mile in her shoes” by a female premium footwear brand, Insignia, has brought to light the trajectories of twelve women who have covered miles beyond comparison, out of which the following three are the ones we find most inspiring.
Justice Nasira Iqbal
Very conscious of the iconic status of her married name – she is Allama Iqbal’s daughter-in-law. She also carries the emblem of her maiden identity as Trustee of the Ferozesons Trust and the Fatima Memorial System. Justice Nasira Iqbal is an erudite and a scholastic legend that belongs to a family of literary giants. She has served as Judge Lahore High Court and has had the honor of being the Member of Pakistan’s Delegation Human Rights Commission, Geneva, Member Supreme Court Bar Association, Member Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan. “The ability or the opportunity to dispense true justice has excited me about my work” she said.
In an interview she said, “Never take no for an answer. Law is a male- dominated profession and to be able to succeed, you have to compete with men. They will always try to put you down because they want to keep their status constant. Don’t let them do that. Some day or the other, you are bound to succeed.”
Mehrbano Sethi
Luscious cosmetics, a brand that has recently gone global, privileges Meherbano’s will to deliver. Being an entrepreneur, she has the basic skills to identify a commercial vacuum and occupy it with her innovative marketing strengths. Years ago, she found this vacuum in the cosmetics industry, where she realized the markets to be void of cosmetic utilities that would match the needs of Pakistani culture and tones.
There on, she went on to work and establish her own line. And now, that very brand accommodates the strength to facilitate scholarships for countless women to learn the art of makeup, and provides jobs to 300 women across the nation.
Question is, how did she gather the spirits and energy to make a name for herself in a market space full of male businessmen and entrepreneurs? As Meherbano puts is, it took support from her father and a push from her ambitious core not willing to take no for an answer. With that, she battled every hurdle that came her way and never let herself lose sight, of her aspirations.
Ayesha Kasuri
Ayesha is the Deputy Head of TNS and is dedicated to ensuring that TNS is a community that values the rights of children and helps project a positive image of the child, and where the team aspires to create a legacy of global-minded, critical and higher-order thinkers who will be the leaders of tomorrow.
These women are not just examples that you flip through, on fancy newspapers and continue to live on the ways you are used to. They are anchors that draw down your attention and put to halt the conservative. They make it hard for you to overlook their presence and serve as constant reminders that each defile finger raised at their potential, must now shift gear. For now, women are a force to be reckoned with.