PESHAWAR:
Defying the odds seems to have become a habit for Tania Gul. At 28, she lives in a hostel in the city away from her family because she got a job in a private bank and was unwilling to let anything get in the way of her career.
“Times have changed; women should prove their mettle in all professions be it teaching, engineering, medicine, the police or army because they can contribute to the country’s economic development equally,” Gul tells The Express Tribune.
Gul has been working as a locker custodian at a bank in Saddar since November 2013. She hails from Swabi and her family is settled in Islamabad.
“I am the first girl in my family who pursued higher education and is currently working,” she says proudly.
According to Gul, when she was accepted to the MBA programme of National University of Modern Languages in Islamabad, her relatives objected and said it would not be appropriate to send a girl to a co-education institute. But with her parents’ unwavering support, Gul not only attended university but took the bold decision of leaving home for a job in another city.
“I’m grateful to my parents who stood by my side and encouraged me every step of the way,” she says.
Shatter the ceiling
Like so many other girls from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Gul was also meant to follow the norm and marry young. However, the young professional was not one to cave in to family pressure.
“I had made up my mind to complete my master’s and I stuck to my stance regardless of my relatives’ objections. Thankfully, I had the full support of my parents,” she says.
With obvious pride, Gul explains the very relatives who so staunchly opposed her university education have now softened their attitude after they saw her working at a reputable position in a private bank.
Gul is a staunch supporter of education and equal opportunities for women in Pakistan.
“In our society, women are not given opportunities on the pretext of the veil or customs. They should be allowed to play a role in improving the financial condition of their families and adding to the country’s economy.” Citing her own example, Gul says she broke traditions and succeeded; all women have the potential to do so. “Bank on girls, equip them with education.”
Professional life
“Before I joined the bank, I did a 21-day training in Rawalpindi in the basic workings of the institution. Later, I received other on-the-job trainings to augment my understanding of the sector,” she explains.
According to Gul, trainings are an essential part of any profession as they help polish professional skills and people should avail them whenever an opportunity presents itself.
Although Gul is glad she is making her dreams come true, she admits she does face problems at work.
“Professional jealousy exists in every field and I too face it, but one must overlook such things in a work environment,” she says.
Sometimes customers test her patience too. “Dealing with customers can be difficult especially if they have no moral or ethical values. If a customer is staring and making me uncomfortable, I have at times asked a colleague to assist them instead,” she explains.
Away from home
“I do miss my family and hostel life is tough. It is tiring to come home from work and take care of household chores but this is a choice I made,” she says.
Gul aims to excel in her career and says she is working hard to get a promotion.
In a city like Peshawar where women are hardly seen in public and their participation in professional spheres is greatly limited, Gul is out to carve her own path to emancipation. And successfully so.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 10th, 2014.
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It's a pleasant surprise to see an article about the successful professional. Being one from the same area with the same culture, I can understand what it is like to be from a lower or middle class family and get through the education while starting in a locality with not so good institutions, job hunting and finally securing a professional job. On top of that if you are a female then it becomes much more hard. It's not that we don't respect females or there are no female rights. Anyone, who knows about Pushtuns they will know how much respect and care is given to females in our culture. However, the association of roles to gender is very much there, which however is slowly becoming thinner.
Well done to Miss Gul and the other courageous one. And much respect and gratitude for all those parents who made it possible for their children to struggle for success, including my own. Without the support of my mother and father, I would not be what I am.... I am proud of their success.