“My Amma’s (Nani’s) biggest dream was to get an education, but she couldn’t as it wasn’t allowed. She used to live in a small village in Bihar, India (before partition) where all her brothers used to go to school. She on the other hand used to cook for her brothers do their work so that they would tell her what they learned in school. This is how she learned to read Urdu and basic English alphabets. She got married at the age of 14 and went through the typical MIL abuse. She was blessed with ...

“Pilot by profession and female by gender. In this male dominated society the road for girls is not smooth. You are accepted less, you are trusted less and you are appreciated less. The scenario is even worse in aviation. “Girls cannot fly.” “Larkian achee Pilot nhee hoti.” “Larkian Pilot hoti hain?” “Ghar walo ne ijazzat kaisy di” “Husband kuch nahi kehty?” “You fly with boys?” “Where will you leave the kids?” “Who will manage the house?” These are glimpses of some questions a “female” pilot ...

“Even though I grew up in a very patriarchal environment where domestic violence was “normalized” and women had no say in the house, I was a girl with rebellion stirring inside. A born activist. I was in the 8th grade when I started visiting the house of a well-known activist named Chacha Gama in our area. He was a socialist and because I was friends with his daughter I visited their house often. It inspired me the way he talked, how he had a whole library of books, and how he was often found ...

“Never married. Twice engaged. Once at 25, then at 30. Called off both a few months before the weddings because of the toxicity, narcissism, verbal abuse, controlling behaviour and disrespect hurled at me day in and out. Single by choice, 36, independent, pay my own bills, change my own tires, mid-career HR professional, happy, content, hopeful and loving life. Here’s some of the BS I’ve heard (like most of you) since I started my damn period and my responses over the years to shut the toxic...

TW: loss “Koi kisi ke beghair nahi marta." (You don’t die without someone) My Dadi said that to me once. Her first child was a stillborn baby girl. Her first son died when he was only a few years old from an illness. She gave birth to 6 children after and celebrated the birth of many grandchildren. Unfortunately, she lost her husband (my dada) nearly 25 years before her own death. They had already been married for most of her life so to lose a life companion in old age and have to spend the m...

“I was just watching @conversationswithkanwal Season 4 Episode 2 and the episode reminded me of myself in a way. It literally brought tears to my eyes. I am the 3rd born and have 2 elder sisters and a younger brother. But when I was born my grandfather told everyone that I am his daughter, just so no one could taunt my parents - especially my mother - on the birth of a “third daughter”. I’m crying as I write this because my grandfather treated me in a way I cannot explain. The identity, confid...

“If you swipe right you’ll be able to see me and my grandmother, 71 years apart. My grandmother was the first female graduate of my entire family. After graduating in 1950, she went on to do a double masters. The immense struggles she faced is the reason women of my family could reach the heights they are at. She walked, so we could run. This is an ode to my daadi, what a brilliant, brilliant woman. She passed away in 2018 at the age of 92 and even on her deathbed she would say “hamarai gha...

“I went to the US for college and was lucky enough to be offered a job right when I graduated. I always wanted to make something of myself and be financially independent. Now I had the opportunity to start. My boss ended up sponsoring my work visa and I got to stay and build my career in marketing. In the years I worked here, I met my future husband and we both pretty much fell in love with each other in a matter of days. But guess what? He was a white, midwestern, country boy who never went t...

“I have some wonderful stories in my family - my nana and nani’s being the most famous. My nana (Syed Asad) first saw my nani (NoorusSabah) when she came to visit his sister. They locked eyes and that’s where their story started. It was the 1960s in Karachi and love marriages, especially in their circle, were not common. They were married in 1961. They were the most popular couple at that time among their peers. My nani wanted to see the world and live an exciting life. He promised her he’d giv...

“This is something very close to my heart, a life time memory and an appreciation post for my parents who have raised me to be strong! The story begins when my parents had a “love” marriage or so a marriage by choice is called in the desi community. They planned then that once their kids (as in me and my sibling) are all grownup and “married/move out” they will travel across the country on bike. However by 2020 both of us had grownup but neither of us were married nor moved out. So my father ...

One woman can change the world. For my world, that woman is my grandmother, Shireen Alam. She's a lover of fashion, a talented chef, she’s tech savvy and has an avid love for travelling. Most of all she's educated, progressive, independent, and very spiritual. Her education, travels and experiences taught us many things. She met her love in pre-partition India when they were children. They went on to have many kids and grandkids and are a big part of our lives (my grandfather passed 11 months ag...

Taking our stories from Soul Sisters Pakistan for a little trip around the world through the internet. For a very long time our Facebook community has been a space where we have shared our deepest thoughts, powerful stories and insights from our life. Our public blog crashed in 2019 (horrifying story) but the group remained strong. And it has taken three hard years to revive the blog. But here we are. Read(ier) than ever to bring in another wave of powerful stories of South Asian women from ac...