Hope for the Future: EmpowerHer

Hi everyone!

To get this blog off the ground, I would like to start by telling you all a bit about why I started EmpowerHer.

I think that the best way to illustrate my mission is through the story of a student enrolled at Humaira Riaz High School, whose family is arranging her marriage at the young age of 16. Despite her extreme passion for the education she has received up to this point, she will be unable to complete any further academic learning after her marriage has taken place. Sadly, her story reflects a prevalent reality in Pakistan, where early arranged marriages are the norm within impoverished communities, often marked by the lack of access to education. Among this population, girls are restricted by a generational lack of aspiration for females; often the only expectation set for them by their families is to become settled in an early marriage.

For women, this absence of empowered, female role-models can be demoralising. It fosters the inherent belief that ambitious dreams are not for women. They are essentially trapped in a cycle with no women to look up to and feel inspired by.

Even if a girl from this background is lucky enough to complete secondary school, she is still confined within this cycle in one way or another. Her choices for a career within her hometown are often limited to positions that do not necessitate a formal education, primarily because most women in the community never have the chance to attain one. Furthermore, in cases where the family is willing to entertain the prospect of a university education, they most likely would not have the financial means to make this dream a reality.

After reading the information above, I hope you can find more meaning within the prospect that working to empower one of these girls involves so much more than just academic support. The aim of this article is not to dwell on the reality that has been prevalent in the past, but to highlight a sense of hope for the future.

To reiterate what I do for EmpowerHer, I invite accomplished Pakistani women to speak to the girls about their stories and careers, also offering mentorship and advice. Hearing from accomplished, relatable women that they may not have had exposure to before, really empowers them to envision themselves as capable of achieving the same success. Although Empower Her is as of now, only running for students at Humaira Riaz High school, word spreads! When these girls come home with this feeling of empowerment and excitement, they’ll share it with their friends, family and anyone else that they come across.

Some people that I’m looking at to deliver these talks include lawyers, business owners, doctors, artists, women in the sports industry, and so many more. Although it may not seem like much to us, hearing from these women could be life changing for them and their community.

Going back to the story of this student at Humaira Riaz, it is undoubtedly clear that her reality needs to be one that stops affecting so many young girls in Pakistan. Change needs to happen, but while we continue to campaign for this change to become reality, the least I can do is provide these girls with the self-worth and empowerment that they’re entitled to.

By Sophie Abbas