More power to women: Ayesha Mustafa
Conquering the world with their documentaries, campaigns and cartoons, five Pakistani women have made it to BBC’s 100 Women list.
Ayesha Mustafa, a Pakistani fashion entrepreneur based in UK is one of the lucky ladies and aims to promote women who have made a difference in the world through various personal endeavors.
“It is an honour to be among the BBC #100Women, the list that comprises high achievers and go-getters from around the world”, said Mustafa’s statement in a press release. “I am proud to be among other distinguished Pakistani Women who made it to this list. It goes to show how women all over the world are making an impact in every sector from business, science, IT, arts, law and medicine, and how crucial their role is in our society.”
The founder and director of Fashion ComPassion, an online fashion retail site, Mustafa speaks about how it all started for her, “The idea behind Fashion ComPassion is to create luxury with purpose and foster conscious consumerism. We are challenging the status quo by helping customers discover fashion that is kind to both people and the planet. Transparency and sustainability in fashion is the future and we want to be the leaders in this movement.”
Others who made it to the list
Sarah Khan
Sarah Khan is a 16-year-old filmmaker and an environmental campaigner who uses film to raise awareness about solutions to issues affecting women and girls.Her film Harvesting Hope won second prize at a film festival held in Harvard University at the ‘Girl’s Impact the World Film Festival’. The film is about the health complications women cotton pickers face due to excessive use of chemical pesticides.
Nigar Nazar
The first Pakistani female cartoonist, Nigar Nazar is Gogi Studios’ mastermind and lead cartoonist. A subtle, bilingual (available in English and Urdu) commentary on local gender issues, these comics are an important part of an emotive venture.
Sana Saleem
Internet rights activist, Sana Saleem is the director of the Bolo Bhi non-profit group that advocates free speech.She is also the co-founder of ‘Stories Beyond Borders’, a crowd-sourced storytelling platform connecting personal stories for advocacy and policy change.
Saadia Zahidi
Saadia Zahidi is a senior director at the World Economic Forum. Zahidi is also the founder and author of Global Gender Gap & Human Capital Reports. She has been working with businesses and governments to change gender gaps.
Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy
Lauded as Pakistan’s first Oscar winner, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy was awarded the Hilal-e-Imtiaz for her documentary Saving Face.Two-time Emmy winner, the film-maker received two Emmy Awards for the Best Documentary and Outstanding Editing: Documentary and Long Form categories in 2013 and also the accolade in the Current Affairs category for her documentary Children of the Taliban in 2010.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 3rd, 2014.