With badly tarnished image of Pakistan following the tragic killing of a Sri Lankan national, there’s some good news that will mend the country’s image a bit.
With strong belief in themselves, three Pakistani women have ventured their way to the BBC’s 100 women of 2021. They are Abia Akram – a disability leader, Laila Haidari – founder, Mother Camp and Malala Yousafzai – the youngest Nobel Prize laureate.
The list of British Broadcasting Service also included many women from Afghanistan among other countries. The selected women are working in different fields, including Entertainment and Sport, Culture and Education, Science and Health and Politics and Activism.
Abia Akram
Since 1997, she is working as an activist in the disability movement. Coping with her disability, Abia Akram began the Special Talent Exchange Program (Step). According to BBC, “She is the first woman from the South Asian country to be appointed as co-ordinator for the Commonwealth Young Disabled People’s Forum. She is also the founder of the National Forum of Women with Disabilities and has campaigned for the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Inclusive Development.”
It added: “Akram is also working to include disability in the United Nations 2030 Agenda and its sustainable development goals.”
Laila Haidari
Laila Haidari, who has been nominated for the Science and Health category, has helped nearly 6,400 Afghans since 2010 by her drug rehabilitation center — Mother Camp — set up in Kabul.
She began her camp by utilizing her savings and financed it by opening a restaurant, which was closed following the takeover of Kabul by the Taliban in mid-August this year. The restaurant was run by recovering drug addicts.
Her family belongs to Bamyan, Afghanistan but she was born as a refugee in Pakistan. Haidari is a vocal advocate of women’s rights as she had been entangled in a child marriage at the young age of 12 years.
Malala Yousafzai
After being shot in the head by the Taliban, Malala became a vocal advocate for women’s education. She is also the U.N. messenger of peace.
BBC said: “Malala’s activism started with blogs for the BBC about living under Taliban rule in Pakistan and the ban on girls attending school. In October 2012, a gunman boarded her bus and shot her in the head.”
Following her recovery, Malala has kept on working as the co-founder of the non-profit Malala Fund in order to make a world where every girl can lead and learn without any fear.
