Hi All. Hope everyone is doing well during this very long January it seems like it was years ago that we celebrated New Years. This month we have seen new members join in so welcome to the community, I hope you will find support, escapism, advice, and a chance to help out other women with navigating working from home, with other home responsibilities. 

It is an obvious no brainer why she inspires me, a girl living in the north-west of Pakistan under a hidden name writes about the violence of the Taliban, is forced to stay home when Taliban bans girls from going to school. With the peace deal the schools reopen, a documentary by a New York Times reporter brings Malala into the spotlight as a BBC blogger. Death threats followed her, and she got shot in the head for advocating a girls rights to education. We all have seen, the images on tv her waking up and looking around, you can see in her eyes she knows this is not Pakistan.

Today she is a winner of the noble peace prize, a graduate from Oxford University and still uses her social capital for female advocacy. She inspires me that she has not forgotten that the struggle for female education still exists. Some say she is the Wests puppet. But we have seen many Pakistanis who move abroad, adopt the language, clothes, and customs like it was their own and forget who they use to be, Malala has not forgotten who she is. The Malala Fund supports international educational activists who strive and fight for a Girls right to education.
Here is her noble peace lecture

2. Damilola Odufuwa, 

Economist, businesswoman and activist a triple threat if I ever saw one. Dami and I lived in the same university accommodation in 2012-2013 she was studying international business and economic development and I financial markets. This girl was intelligent, funny, and classy as AF. After masters, she moved back to Nigeria, like Pakistan that it also struggled with political unrest, religious violence, and limited opportunities for women. Her career began in the media as a freelancer, MTV, editor in chief for ZIKOKO and Konbini, social producer for CNN, worked for a National Geographic Project and is the PR lead Binance the worlds largest cryptocurrency exchange. She is the co-founder of Wine & Whine an online space, providing support and funds for women's social enterprises.

She has been recognized by Vogue and GlobalCitizen organization, for her passion and determination for social change, to better the lives of African women. I am at awe for all that she has achieved, and I look forward to seeing what the future holds for her, I can see her in the UN general council. It shows what good and groundbreaking things can happen when Passionate, educated, and driven women work together for their community.

3. Greta Thunberg, Environmental Activist 

The young Swedish environmentalist activist who sat protesting in front of the Swedish Parliament, to get politicians to act against climate change. She ditched school to protest, not a lot of teenagers would do that. I had a high school friend, who was impressed by another young Environmentalist called swampy. He lived in a tree my friend chained herself to a tree. In the 1990s environmentalism was just Greenpeace protesting at oil tankers if you shopped from the Body Shop you were considered an environmentalist.

Climate Change is real. The UN in 2015 made is declaration the 17 Global Goals to be achieved by 2030. Major nations signed, Trump did not think the steps were enough and left the agreement, and we all know President Biden's feelings towards climate action. What is it about her that inspires me, her passion, her no-nonsense anger in her address to world leaders at the UN? How she has used her voice to fight for the environment, the ecosystem that sustains all life on this planet, that we have abused long enough for profit. She has given the ecosystem a clear voice that we can no longer ignore.

 Fighting for a cause or people that have no voice of their own is so hard, to convince others to see the ecosystem for what it is, our home without we can not survive. She has made the environment relevant to the youth and because of her lifelong Environmentalists like Dr Jane Goodall (her initiatives have included female education) and Sir David Attenborough are back in the public eye. 

In Pakistan, the environment is not discussed enough apart from Earth day now with the UN Goals, Tree planting campaigns have arisen with PM Imran Khan promising to plant so many trees in the country. What I have learnt from studying MOOCs on the SDGs achieving one goal can have determinantal effects on another.

Pakistan suffers from an energy and water crisis. It needs economic development, and planting trees require land and water, while they are both needed for farming. Pakistan is a hunting nation. During the Raj, the British would go to the mountain areas and hunt for exotic animals, like the Markhor and Siberian Ibex. and snow leopard. After independence, Pakistan has seen hunting as a money-making machine, where for the right price (a very high one) foreigners can come and hunt these rare animals and take them back as one of their trophies. There was global outrage when Cecil the lion was killed in Africa, by a US hunter, but in Pakistan, a US hunter pays $61,500 to hunt a mountain goat that had 41-inch horns, no one bats a lid. We do not own the land or the animals that also live. Who is the government to sell licenses to kill? The Peshawar government should find other ways to make money that does not involve blood sport.

Imagine a world if the women above ruled their nations, imagine them shoulder to shoulder with Michelle Obama, Jacinda Ardern, Angela Merkel, Christine Lagarde, the list goes on. What new possibilities there could be??? 

I will leave you with extracts from the amazing poem by  Amanda Gorman, The Hill we Climb

Khalida 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Community members,

We are currently hiring a QA Engineer and UI/UX Engineer.

Location: Islamabad
Position: Full-time
Experience 1+

Send your resumes at rmalik@herdomain.com

We have seen in a short number of years the explosion of comments, likes, raised questions and issues that provoke a wide variety of emotions that leads to action. The uploading of the video of the last moments of George Floyd who was pinned down for eight minutes and could not breathe while onlookers were desperately shouting to stop. This clip became a call to action to #blacklivesmatter movement and the world witnessed universal solidarity to black people and their continued struggles for equality.

Social media has an important role in spreading knowledge and instigating reactions from its audience. It can be used for good or for evil, it's great to see Trump being banned from Twitter, realizing the negative effects his tweets had on US society.  

In Pakistan, have seen social media, in particular, Instagram as a platform for expressing our selves through our selfies, businesses advertising their new locations, collections and offerings. We are all heavily influenced by the 'gram'. I stumbled on these articles which share the title using social media to lead change. Also, the graphic designer who uses social media to exhibit her creations,  inspired by women' issues in Pakistan.

Tell me what do you think about these articles? Do you agree with them?  Or do you think Instagram should just be used as entertainment only and not a rallying device????

Shehzil Malik

Samya Arif

 

1st of January is the day we reset to the beginning, we write down our resolutions or goals, or aspirations whatever you want to call them. We all have a list of what we would like to change, introduce, improve get rid off. 

Forum 2.0 has had a bit of a refurbishment in order to encourage more engagement between community members, to raise questions, to offer support, encouragement and advice. To motivate and inspire with your comments, stories, even pictures of your workstation. 

We created three new channels; Wellbeing, Productivity and Career growth as a way you can post or read about issues you're interested in. Let me know in the comments, what topics are of interest to you. Also, I would like a community member to moderate a channel; that they are interested in. So if you are passionate or want to learn more about the issues in the channels moderating the channel will be a great opportunity for you just comment down below.

Hi All
I hope everyone is well and had a great Monday. There was an article on BBC about people sharing their passion for reading and its known as 'Bookstagram'. I know I am guilty of posting pics of what I am reading I did that since getting back to reading in 2018 when I discovered liberty books and readings. pk, online retailers where I could get the latest non-fiction and fiction books at great prices with quick delivery. The prices of Liberty books are a bit higher but they do package the books in nice brown paper, it gives that real vintage vibe.
Last year I read Becoming by Michelle Obama and oh my word. She is truly an inspiration to all women. Reading the story of her childhood, how her mother fought for her education. Her career journey, meeting Barack and the Whitehouse the list goes on.
It is so important for women to hear the stories of such women, their struggles and journey which is not always portrayed in the media.
Even today there is still a great level of inequality in the workplace for women and more so for minority women, that we have to shout 10 times louder than our 'white' counterparts.
I saw on youtube a short clip of Michelle on Ellen's show and it was so funny when she described her first kiss with a boy named Ronnel, the way Michelle said it's a BLACK Ron-Nel was so funny. It's like saying white people can not say Denzal Washinton the way black people do. Den-Zell!!!!!

Here is a link to the Michelle video I was talking about
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-hQt7-CHpk


Actually, my point is that let's start a book club!!!!. What we could have one day in a month we can post about a favourite book we have read, what kind of books are we into, how do you get in the feel of reading? Do you have a special place in your home you like to read? or a special coffee mug? Also, those who are parents do you get time to read to your kids. I remember just before Dinner my dad would tell us stories of Sinbad and Genie in the lamp, the films he would see in the cinema during the 1940s in Quetta.

So let me know is a book CluB a space you guys would be interested?????

Goodreads is a great place to find book recommendations, join reading communities and make new friends. 

Bookstagram

Hey everyone! I am Zumar Noor and I really commend the idea of this community! I am an aspiring data scientist, mother of a toddler and MS student at FAST NUCES, Karachi. I am eagerly looking for connections and learning opportunities through this platform. Looking forward to getting to know all of you better!

Hi All,

Hope everyone is doing well. I was reading online about the various initiatives, boot camps that have appeared in Pakistan and reading about so many girls who would never have thought of learning digital skills are now supporting their homes from the income they have earned through learning those new skills. Covid 19 has given young women an opportunity to learn and earn online as freelancers or as employees. I am really amazed that these girls with limited financial resources, sometimes with little family support but having 100% determination work hard, get certified and start to earn much more than before. 

I have always told my students that you have many opportunities but the first step is looking for those opportunities and hearing such success stories should inspire rather than making you feel jealously or depressed. I have already sent the digiskills.pk link to my ex-students and those who I know will avail these opportunities are the ones who do make a difference in their own lives and local communities. 

Women Tech Global Conference
Taal Project
Pakistani Women in Computing