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Pakistani Women Enter New Fields, as Pilots, Police Officers, and Entrepreneurs

Dawn, May 24, 2021

Pakistan AJK President Sardar Masood Khan meets Maryam Mujtaba, the first female commercial pilot from Azad Kashmir, May 23, 2021	Shazia Ishaq becomes first woman police officer from Malakand, May 9, 2021

 

First female pilot from AJK termed role model for others

Tariq Naqash

Dawn, Published May 23, 2021 - Updated a day ago

MUZAFFARABAD:

While terming her as a role model for all girls aiming to achieve excellence in apparently challenging fields of life, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Sardar Masood Khan on Saturday showered praise on Maryam Mujtaba, a resident of Muzaffarabad, on becoming the first female commercial pilot from the liberated territory.

The president extended felicitations to Ms Mujtaba after she called on him at the Aiwan-i-Sadr along with her spouse Mujtaba Rathore Aga, deputy superintendent of the AJK police.

Born to a family of Kashmiri migrants from Shopian in occupied Kashmir and settled in Muzaffarabad and Rawalpindi, Ms Mujtaba obtained her commercial pilot licence (CPL) after undergoing initial aviation training in Rawalpindi and later in New Jersey-based flight academy, Century Air.

Recently, the PIA promoted her as ‘first officer’ on Airbus-320 after she completed the requisite flying hours on domestic routes on an ATR.

Ms Mujtaba has also been designated by the Special Communications Organisation (SCO), a subsidiary of the Pakistan army running telecom network in AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan, as its brand ambassador.

The AJK president said her success would embolden many more Kashmiri women to seek employment in this field.

“You have inspired and encouraged a number of women in the liberated territory to consider aviation as a promising career,” he remarked.

He said in spite of the prevailing crisis in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the aviation industry was bound to rise again and provide livelihood to tens of hundreds of skilled persons, including women.

Ms Mujtaba told the president that flying was her dream since childhood and “PIA had given her wings to translate it into reality.”

Published in Dawn, May 23rd, 2021

First female pilot from AJK termed role model for others - Pakistan - DAWN.COM

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Shazia Ishaq becomes first woman police officer from Malakand, May 9, 2021

Zahiruddin

Dawn, Published May 9, 2021

CHITRAL: Shazia Ishaq, 25, belonging to a remote village of Upper Chitral, has become the first woman police officer in Malakand division after she passed the competitive examination of the Federal Public Service Commission.

Daughter of a retired junior commissioned officer of the Pak Army, Ms Ishaq had earned a BS degree in political science from Islamia College University in 2018.

Talking to Dawn, she said Police Service of Pakistan (PSP) was her first choice in the competitive examination as she yearned to be a police officer from her childhood.

Explaining the reason of her choice, she said in the male-dominated society a woman police officer could be a ‘ray of hope’ for women in distress.

Ms Ishaq said the presence of women police officers in and around the police stations would help the women feel secure. “It was a major ambition in my life to help the women in distress.”

Ms Ishaq said another aim of her choice of joining the police service was to raise the spirits of women so they could be able to take hard jobs beyond their traditional roles and prove their mettle.

Regarding the alarming rise in suicide cases involving women in Chitral, she said it were the social prejudices which frustrated the women to take such extreme steps. She admired her parents for giving her support to a level which filled her with self-confidence and respect for humanity.

About her preparations for the examinations, she said she worked consistently for one year and passed it in her first attempt. “Hard work with consistency is the basic condition to achieving any target.”

In a separate development, a married woman of 55 years of age committed suicide by jumping into the river in Shah Nigar village of Drosh in the early hours of Saturday.

Rescue 1122 sources identified her as wife of Sher Afzal, who is said to be suffering from epilepsy. She left her house early on Saturday when the family members were sleeping and jumped into the river, the rescue sources said.

Her body was yet to be located as the police have started an inquiry to ascertain the real cause of the death.

Earlier, two girls and a young man had committed suicide in two villages of Upper Chitral.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2021

Shazia Ishaq becomes first woman police officer from Malakand - Pakistan - DAWN.COM

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In a first, woman opens restaurant in Swat

Fazal Khaliq

Dawn, Published April 24, 2021

NoorA Ihsas works at her restaurant in Mingora. — Dawn

SWAT: There was a time when militants in Swat district restricted women to their houses and banned them from formal education.

However, after the security forces eliminated militancy, many local women chose various career paths in line with their skills and interests. They took up legal profession, became women’s right activists, and joined NGOs.

However, a woman has opened a restaurant, the first of its kind in the region.

Noora Ihsas, a poetess and a social media celebrity, established the Chai Saaz in Mingora in partnership with two other literary people.

She told Dawn that she knew the reaction of the conservative people to her initiative but it was her passion to open a restaurant and show the people that women of the region could do every job decently.

“I want to make other women realise that they can do business and earn a livelihood in a respectable manner. If a woman dares open a business, she will never be at the mercy of men and will earn with respect,” she told Dawn.

The woman said every woman should realise that she had the power of doing every job.

She said she faced many difficulties from the patriarchal society as many men said she won’t be able to open the restaurant as it was not a woman’s job.

“Today, I showed everyone that a woman can do [everything] if she has the courage,” she said, adding that women had the right to do business or job.

“When people criticise me, I do not get disheartened and instead, the criticism gives me more courage,” she said.

Noora Ihsas has hired cooks for the restaurant but she also works in the kitchen. She also welcomes guests and serves them food.

She said many men appreciated and encouraged her for taking initiative, including Riaz Ahmad Hairan and Shahab Shaheen, both literary men in Swat.

Several members of the civil society participated in the restaurant opening ceremony and lauded her.

Haji Zahid Khan, president of the Swat Hotel Association, said he was really happy to see youth come forward and do business.

“Today, it is also a very good development that a young woman has showed courage to open a restaurant. The involvement of youth in business activities will not only prevent them from negative activities but will earn them a handsome money as well,” said

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2021

In a first, woman opens restaurant in Swat - Pakistan - DAWN.COM

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Swat rights activist wants end to child marriages

Fazal Khaliq

Dawn, Published September 29, 2020,

 Hadiqa Bashir

SWAT: Hadiqa Bashir, the 18-year old women rights activist who has recently been selected along with 16 young leaders by the United Nations for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), said that she would not only work for achieving the SDGs but would also carry on her mission of ending child marriages.

She was talking to this scribe about her selection by the United Nations in the latest class of 17 young leaders for SDGs.

“About 7,000 young leaders from 172 countries applied for the 2020 class. Luckily, I have been selected from Pakistan by the UN with 16 other young leaders from across the world,” she said. She added that it was not only an honour for her but also for the entire country.

Ms Bashir said that every young leader selected for SDGs was given four of the 17 goals to catalyse their achievement. “Of the 17 SDGs, I will work to ensure quality education, end poverty, achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, and end gender-based violence,” she said.

Hadiqa Bashir is among 17 young leaders selected by UN for SDGs

The rights activist said that she would actively work to engage young people in achieving the SDGs. She said that she had been working to end child marriages in Malakand division since she was 13-year-old.

“My mission of ending child marriages in my region will continue with my new responsibility as young leader,” she added.

She said that women education was indispensable for the progress and development of a nation but unfortunately girls in rural areas were deprived of education.

“An educated woman can do a respectable job and earn money. This way she will not be dependent upon her husband for her own needs,” she added.

Ms Bashir also received Mohammad Ali Humanitarian Award in 2015, Asian Girls Human Rights Ambassador Award in 2016 and other national and international recognitions.

The United Nations announced the names of 17 young leaders for SGDs on September 18 including AY Young from United States, Hadiqa Bashir from Pakistan, Layda Eskitaçolu from Turkey, Jichen Liu from China, Lester Philipp Vargas Angeles from Peru, Loay Radwan from Egypt, Mariama DjambonyBadji from Senegal, Martin Karadzhov from Bulgaria, Oluwaseun Ayodeji Osowobi from Nigeria, Ralf Toenjes from Brazil, Satta Sheriff from Liberia, Siena Castellon from Ireland, Tania Rosas from Colombia, Tim Lo Surdo from Australia, Udit Singhal from India, VanessaNakate from Uganda and ZahinRazeen from Bangladesh.

Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2020

Swat rights activist wants end to child marriages - Pakistan - DAWN.COM 

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