Forbes magazine this year named three Pakistani women in its “30 under 30: Social Entrepreneurs” list: Malala Yousafzai, Shiza Shahid, and Khaleda Brohi. Malala, of course, is an icon for universal education and needs no introduction. Shiza Shahid is the Stanford-educated cofounder of Malala Fund, which aims to translate Malala’s vision as well as her global recognition into meaningful change on the ground through assisting girls’ education programs. Brohi is the young founder of Sughar, a non-profit organization that equips women in rural Pakistan with business and embroidery skills and offers microcredit to help them launch home-based, small scale businesses.
A few years ago, NPR had an insightful story about some of the Pakistani women from relatively humble background making a positive impact at the local level.
Unfortunately, Perween Rehman was assassinated last year. She was a fearless development worker who helped poor, marginalized people help themselves through self-help initiatives.
Finally, while not strictly a social activist, 22 year-old Samina Baig from Gilgit-Baltistan is another positive person who became the first Pakistani woman to successfully climb Mount Everest.
Great finds! :k: Also, it’s nice reading about some Pakistani men (mentioned in certain articles above) being supportive of and/or trained in female empowerment as well.