Forbes Asian list of “30 Under 30” consists of four Pakistanis. The 2016 edition of the list was published today. The business magazine recognised 600 young game changers from 20 different fields, 30 from each field.
The 30 Under 30 list of prominent figures from 2016’s Social Entrepreneurship and Media Marketing category features four Pakistani’s. These individuals are believed to be changing the world with their expertise in their fields.
Khalida Brohi
Khalida Brohi is a 25 year old who has started her very own non-profit organisation. She is the founder of Sughar, an organisation aiming to empower women in rural areas of Pakistan.
She began her work at the age of 16 after she became a witness to an honour killing. Sughar provides women from 23 villages a chance to go through a six month training programme. It is a platform for women in rural areas to gain knowledge about business, learn ways to monetise their traditional skills in embroidery and get access to loans and markets to sell their merchandise.
Fiza Farhan
Fiza Farhan, a 27 year old, made the news a few days ago when she was named in the United Nation’s panel for the development and empowerment for women. This is the UN Secretary General’s first high-level panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment.
Fiza is the CEO of Buksh Foundation and the Director of Buksh Energy. She was featured in last year’s list of Forbes ’30 Under 30’ Social Entrepreneurs as well.
Umar Anwar Jahangir
Umar Jahangir is young entrepreneur working for the betterment of Pakistan. He is running several not-for-profit healthcare programmes and organisations in Karachi. The 24 year old is also known for creating a one of a kind blood bank linked to mobile networks, a first in Pakistan.
Umar has over 6 year of work experience in innovative developments in the IT, media, advertising and health sectors.
Muniba Mazari
Muniba Mazari, aged 28, has been in the news recently as well. She was listed in BBC’s 100 Inspirational Women of 2015. Mazari is Pakistan’s first female Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nation’s gender equality and women empowerment.
Muniba, who suffered paralysis after an accident at the age of 21, is Pakistan’s first wheelchair bound model, artist and an anchorperson at PTV. She is a role model for women across the globe who feel that no setbacks can prevent them from having a successful career.
Ek chota sa sawal, in main se ktine log self made hain? Mostly seems child born with silver spoon in mouth.. Correct me if I am wrong..
Why do you have to criticize these people and their accomplishments, even if they are what you claim them to be it doesn’t change the fact that they’ve helped our country. I believe that we should be proud of them regardless of their backgrounds or upbringings.
Bhai, I totally agree with you and I don’t have anything against them. Its just that jab bande ke jaib main note na hon tu yeh sare kaam bade mushkil hojate hain aur aap ko pehle apne ghar ke rashan ki fikar hoti hai :-)
Banday ko khud se sab karna pare aur phir bane woh ek company ka CEO aur dosri company ka director aur woh bhi 27 years ki age main :-)
Mere is tarah ke buhat dost hain bhai jo born directors/CEO hain apne abaa ki company ke.
Jis tarah humare politicians ke bache by default paida hote ke sath hi humare future, Prime Ministers, President, Cheif Minister, etc hote hain.
I hope mera point thoda buhat clear hua hoga, aur agar aap ko kuch buda laga tu mazrat.
Being born with a silver spoon in your mouth doesn’t guarantee any success or recognition in the world. What you achieve regardless of your financial situation is what really matters. There are plenty of billionaires in Pakistan, yet you don’t see their names highlighted in such lists.
Read the story of Khalida Brohi. She was working for women empowerment at an age when the likes of us were deciding whether to take bio or computer in matriculation. Umar Anwar did his first internship at 13 and was employed at UNICEF at 15 years of age. Muniba Mazari may have been blessed with wealth before the fact but it was her attitude and civic work after her accident that got her the recognition, not her connections or wealth. Same can be said for Fiza Farhan. She may have been fortunate enough to be born in a wealthy family but she didn’t stop at a comfy 9-5 job and her parents’ wealth. Her achievements and hard-work got her the fame and respect that she currently enjoys.
We Pakistanis desperately need to shun this critical mentality of ours and start appreciating good when and where we see it. You and I could have been on that list today, but unfortunately we spend too much of our time in these useless discussions in comments sections of articles instead of doing any ground-breaking work.
Sir I agree with you to certain extent, in sab ki stories ki itni details tu article main bhi nahi jitni aap ne de dain. And yes being born with a silver spoon in your mouth doesn’t guarantee any success but it does help you to a lot sir.
Mera matlab hai ke agar mere aba billionaire hote tu without a doubt main apne aba ki company ka CEO/Director hi hota no matter how budhu/bewaqoof I am..
Baki yahan jin logon ki baat horahi hai mujhe unse koi problem nahi boss and I appreciate them.
Khakhwani bhai,
If they started into these philanthropic or social causes in their teens, it was because they had financial backing from their parents and they were not concerned about getting a career which would be good enough to make them and their family money on an ongoing basis.
On the contrary, look at most of us, we were trained by our educational institutions and parents to get into some sort of professional careers in our late teens so that we could earn a reliable and decent living for us and our (future) families.
For most of us, we’d get into these kinds of philanthropic and social causes on a full-time basis only when we are tension-free from financial side. If we don’t have to worry about achieving good grades leading to a good career, most of us would be taking up these kinds of activities which also bring you happiness & inner satisfaction.
I guess you were born with the wrong thing in your mouth
Yeh tu pata nahi hai bhai, us waqt buhat chota tha na main. No heart feelings please…
Stage dramas dekhne walay bhai, this is not the place for your irrelevant and tasteless jugats!
Hope, you won’t repeat it again..!
If you look at the people who have received this, it will be interesting to see that 75% (three of the four) have been honored with what the west likes to call “empowerment of women”. . . interesting.
3 females refreshed my memory of Shaheed Mhautarama Benazir Bhutto Pakistan need female pm to govern Pakistan.Pakistani women have lots of talent keep up the good work.
If you think Benazir Bhutto was a role model for Pakistani women then you haven’t been paying attention.
f***k off i**diot. You want women rule you?
yes, woman have a lot of talent and they need to be empowered and all that.
BB is the wrong and opposite example of all that.
She was not corrupt it was her Husband Zardari who was doing all the corruption.Regardless of that I think females should be given chance in all top position of Pakistan be it military or civilians posts.
Here goes the foot licker who wants women to be her boss. A good example of western slave mentality.
in bacharo ka kasoor nahi ha hollywood ki movie dekh li ho gai jis ma female hi hero hoti ha………………….
Muniba Mazari got into an unfortunate accident at the age of 21 not 7.
Everyone is talking about change. No one is talking about change in attitude. The moment we stop breeding like hares, Pk shall progress even with the same political mess. We have potential and ambition. We were always ready to take off. We just need to remove the shackles. Perhaps, silently, we can mix something in water supply on extensive scale and ensure male sterilization. Desperate times, desperate measures.
Who is your bad father who bred you?
f****in women empowerment or making women “rebel”? These feminist b****itches should be leashed before they corrupt our society.
Bro, Pakistan is still a haven for getting married to a submissive woman (/wife).. You don’t know, people are really skeptical of getting into relationships with women here in the U.S. (marriage is a far cry..!)
Is that how the women of your family have been treated?
Women in my family are treated way better than b****itches who want freedom from clothes, family system and cultural values.