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For the solution of economic, ecological, and social crises of today, the role of women is being highly acknowledged. The mobilization of feminist’s movements has become increasingly important. In this day, the role of women as weavers and knitters have transformed into women claiming their feminine power to bring balance and peace on earth.
In Pakistan, women are standing at par shoulder to shoulder with men in every field. They are playing their role effectively in the modern era of mass communication and globalization and making the nation proud.
Following is the list of 10 immensely talented women (out of many) who are working both at home and abroad to make a name for their country.
1. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy:
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is the first Pakistani to ever win an Oscar Award for her documentary film. She was awarded for a short documentary/saving face that was based upon a British-Pakistani plastic surgeon who works to help women who are the acid-attack victims.
Sharmeen Obaid was born in Karachi and graduated from Smith College with a bachelor of arts in economics and government. She completed her two master’s degrees from Stanford University in International Policy Studies and Communication. Currently she is working as a faculty member at media sciences department in SZABIST. She is famously known for producing documentary movies on issues related to the Muslim world.
2. Jehan Ara:
A leader behind one of Pakistan’s leading startup incubators The Nest I/O, Jehan Ara is one of the women who have been invited by the White house on behalf of President Barack Obama to speak on the subject of entrepreneurship in Pakistan.
She is passionate about empowering youth and women in Pakistan and therefore she has helped set up various initiatives including Women’s Virtual Network, Branch of women on the web and Take back the tech in Pakistan. She is working as the President of Pakistan Software Houses Association for IT and ITES.
3. Maria Umar:
An online portal that is dedicated to providing service is being run by a passionate Pakistani female, Maria Umar. She is the founder of Women’s Digital League (WDL) which is helping women who are left behind with limited or no job opportunities. This platform is encouraging women to use their abilities and work online in fields such as data entry, data conversion tasks, WordPress, writing, graphic designing etc. WDL provides the women working remotely or in rural areas with equipment and training that is required to complete the job.
4. Rabia Gharib:
Rabia Gharib founded Toffee TV with @taleazafar and is working there as the Chief Wrapper. She is a recipient of the LadiesFund Trailbblazer Award and is also an Eisenhower fellow. Her passion for education and tech innovation forced her to develop a platform for providing learning and entertainment for children in Urdu language.
5. Sheba Najmi:
Sheba Najmi started her career as a TV anchor and reporter and worked as a Fellow at Code America and at yahoo. She got her BS and MS degree from Stanford University in Symbolic systems where she studied interaction between humans and computers. She worked as a lead designer for Yahoo. She is working as the Executive Director of Code for Pakistan which is a non-profit building civic innovative ecosystem to improve the quality of life in Pakistan.
6. Roshaneh Zafar:
Roshaneh Zafaris a development activist in Pakistan. She has an impressive list of credentials. She is the founder and managing director of Kashf Foundation, Chair of Kashf Holdings, and Founder of Kashf Microfinance Bank Limited in Pakistan. She has worked at World Bank for the issues regarding water and sanitation. Her Foundation is providing job opportunities and training to women and supporting 5000,000 women and families in Pakistan.
7. Kalsoom lakhani:
Kalsoom Lakhani is among those bright and young people who transformed their excellent ideas into successful startups, proving there is no lack of talent in Pakistan. She started by founding Invest2Innovate (I2I) in 2011 with a firm belief that entrepreneurs have the ability to transform the earth. She is the founder and editor of CHUP blog, co-ambassador of Sandbox, co-chair for Blended profit, and a World Economic Forum Global Shaper.
8. Malala Yousafzai:
A teenage Pakistani activist, Malala Yousafzai has been awarded the Nobel Prize for recognizing her efforts on behalf of children’s rights. She encouraged young girls to empower themselves and become agents of change in their own country. Currently residing in Birmingham, she is an active advocate of education as a fundamental and economic right.
9. Erum Khalid:
Erum Khalid is a graduate of the National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences. She has also worked as the faculty member in this institution and as the Director of Technology at Alchemy Technologies. She has rendered her services as the project manager at Folio3 and has a vast experience on working on software development, software engineering and design, and project management.
10. Maliha Khan:
With a vast experience in developing web and mobile applications, Maliha Khan has successfully worked for managing, designing, and marketing the field. She has worked for various organizations including PixSense Inc. and Clickmarks (Pvt) Ltd. She has also worked as the director of engineering for Social Media and Consumer Web Applications. She has actively participated in MIT Summer Research Program and has worked hard for developing applications such as Your Place, Fashion Playtes, and Brilliant earth.
