Hafsa
What does life as a woman or girl look like in your country / city / town / village? Any issues / challenges / exciting milestones? Life is a game full of challenges, especially if you're a girl living in a South Asian region but luckily, my parents weren’t that conservative, maybe because they didn’t have a male child. Unfortunately; however, things drastically changed when I lost my dad and then my mom.
What would you like the world to know about YOU? What life experience, challenge or achievement do you want to share? What obstacles have you faced and overcome? Things weren’t going smoothly after my father's death. I was only 21 and my sister was 16. Within a period of 30 days, I saw people change. I witnessed the cruelty of this phenomenon that we call 'life' and how extremely difficult it can become when the people, whom you once used to call your loved ones, reveal their true selfish selves.
In such hard times, my mom never gave up. She did everything to support her two daughters till her last breath. I still remember the time when she was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2013 and for the first time I felt helpless and scared of losing her. She still didn’t give up and fought this treacherous disease for 4 years, but alas, it had spread throughout her body and the only cure left for her was to bid goodbye to this life and mortal world.
Being the eldest of the two siblings, I had to do something for my sister and my mom after my father passed away. I started working as a freelance content writer on Upwork and Alhamdulillah, got successful enough to be called a top rated freelancer. It’s been almost 6 years now. I also did a double M.A in English in the mean time from University of Karachi, and I’m really proud of what I have achieved in life.
If you are an entrepreneur, tell us all about your business and how you got started. I started as a content writer on Upwork and as my passion for writing grew more and more, I decided to start a blog. I have a wordpress blog where I post frequently and use my instagram account to advertise and promote my content.
What are you most passionate about and what are you doing with that passion? I love travelling, reading, photography and writing. I have planned to become a full time blogger and start writing a book too.
What's your definition of success? For me, success isn’t all about money and riches. It’s about feeling a sense of achievement, relief and accomplishment. It’s about doing something that you always wanted to do in your life. Most people end up living a stressed life because they don’t follow their passion and interest. If you are able to successfully turn your passion into your job/business, then you have achieved your goals.
How have the women and girls around you helped you to get to where you are today? Whatever I am today is only because of my mother. She made sure that I perform well academically and professionally.
Looking externally into the public sphere, what female public figure inspires you the most to achieve your dreams? The truth is that every other person has succeeded in their own ways, following their own dreams. They are inspiring for me and for everyone else too, and I certainly want to become like them too sometimes, but one thing that I definitely don’t want to become is being dependent on someone else, like most of the South Asian women are. For me, being an independent woman is a strength.
Describe yourself in one word: "I am... Independent
Complete this sentence: "To be a girl or woman today, is to be..." A woman of words.