Unveiling the Real Through My Lens

if i

ask you where this picture is taken

what would you say

how about this one

this one

this one

would it surprise you if i told you

these pictures were taken in pakistan

for some of you it might even challenge

your perspective of a country which is

not known for its beauty

that is why i’m here to challenge your

perceptions

for me i want to see how people see

pakistan

for me change in your mindsets

is the most important step towards

awareness

and then becoming receptive to change

is the first step towards becoming

progressive minded it’s a transition

from what you do not want to keep or

have or have anymore

do something that you want to embrace

which is unknown but maybe better

becoming receptive is like opening doors

to new possibilities

new horizons new limits which are still

unexplored and undiscovered

it’s a feeling it’s an emotion

it’s a cause it’s a belief

in yourself it’s a faith that you can do

it

it is this feeling that has brought me

on this stage today

the feeling that i can play my role

in bringing a change in the perspective

of how

the world sees pakistan this feeling

that i can set the bar a bit higher for

myself

to bring a change in pakistan and

towards pakistan

it’s like getting a revelation most of

you might know

revelation it’s a message getting from

the universe you need

to play bring people to a common cause

a cause in which you believe in

but you need to be prepared

to face the resistance and you need to

have

the patience to let people take their

time

and space to understand your cause

and believe in your message

by now everybody knows i’m a pakistani

some of you will google my name as well

and check who am i what am i doing here

standing on the stage

trying to bring a change in pakistan i’m

a common woman

someone who wakes up in the morning

what is the news then i pick the

news of my choice then

grab a cup of coffee call a friend

and talk to her and i always tell her

how much i hate the situation in

pakistan

me and my friend curse media people

government and anybody we can think of

can we cause for the bad situation in

pakistan

and you know how we end up those

conversations

may god help our situation because our

people do not want to change

but the question is do i want to change

do i want to be the first one

to bring a change in my attitude and my

efforts

do i want to change the way people look

at pakistan

that is what has brought me on this

stage today that is what has defined

the meaning of me to get out of my

comfort zone

to do something bigger and better for my

country

it’s very easy to sit in our cozy spaces

and have those long discussions why

things are not changing

it’s very easy to blame everybody out

there

why things are not improving it’s very

easy

but to tell others what went wrong

and or has been going wrong for so

long in the past

but leaving that couch

and believing in yourself requires

a lot of courage

so i left pakistan

in 2005 for the first time after i got

married

it was a complete shift of reality i

loved the expert lifestyle

it was a so wow i was so impressed

i could have big cars i could have a big

house

so someone started feeling that i

deserved it i felt that i had the right

to own all this i was better than

everybody back home

but i realized i was wrong i learned i

was wrong

because i was carrying an identity which

was not

at all impressive for the people outside

of pakistan i was a pakistani

it was not a projectable identity

i do remember when people would ask me

when i told them i was pakistani and the

first question was

how are things back home is your family

safe

some would even ask me were you allowed

to study in pakistan

one asked me was it easy how many

women are like you in pakistan

the funniest was when once somebody

asked me

do you have cars in pakistan i said no

we only invest in high-tech weapons for

commute we only use

donkey guards i said it in my heart

didn’t say it

loud there was a reality check

it told me that

i was carrying an identity

which was too embarrassing

and i learned that the downfall of a

nation its cultural heritage begins

when people start feeling embarrassed of

their identity

and disown their very existence

that was my revelation that gave me the

courage

to use my small space to bring a change

towards people in pakistan and towards

the image of my country i’m not sure how

many of you are

aware of the geographic location of

pakistan

it’s heritage art culture

pakistan is a beautiful country

a very hospitable people it has four

seasons

breathtaking landscapes a very

vibrant culture and a rich heritage just

the right ingredients

to attract tourism from all over the

world

tourism that can tell people the real

stories

of the nation and its people

it’s the thought

that made me and encouraged me to start

doing something

for pakistan in my space and that was in

singapore

so i started doing events

i started bringing out these elements of

art

culture and heritage for people of

singapore

through art exhibitions literary theater

musical events fashion shows concerts

anything that could tell people what is

pakistan

the real meaning the real stories

because i believe you cannot know it

till

you know the real art and culture

well it was like solving the rubik’s

cube puzzle

you know how you have to keep moving

to get all the colors in the the right

sides

it requires a lot of focus

and patience it requires persistence

it requires optimism and when you

complete one side

that feeling is very gratifying but

before i could

complete my rubik’s cube puzzle the

world got hit by

poet 19 pandemic everything came to a

standstill

but sure must go on so i

approached a friend i told him i wanted

to play

my role on a different platform to let

people know what i want to do for my

country and my people

so i asked him i want to give a talk

why do you want to do this good question

i never thought about it why do i want

to do this

why am i doing what i’m doing and what

isn’t it for me

but i immediately said legacy

she said what does legacy fear you

is it money is it fail or is it

something else

good question but a tough one why am i

doing what i’m doing

and what is in it for me and what

exactly is legacy

that is when i had my true

revelation i am doing it

for my children i

am doing it for the children like my

children

back home i am doing it for my future

generations

i am doing it for the 64 percent

of population of my country that is

under the age of 30 years of age

who have been fighting a war

which was never theirs in the first

place

who were declared terrorists while they

were victims of terrorism

while they were supposed to manifest

their dreams and wishes

they created stories and then those

stories

had loss grief

sorrows and loneliness the stories that

never got a chance to share with people

i am not sure how many of you are aware

of an incident that happened on 16th

december 2014

in a school in peshawar

150 people were killed

out of which 132 were children

the ones who were lucky that they

escaped death and survived still

went through the most traumatizing

experience of their lives

not just imagine for a minute

that you go through this and

you are made to go back and sit

in the same classrooms where you saw

that incident

after a few weeks just for a minute

think

you’re sitting on your desk and you see

those empty chairs

which were soaked in the blood of your

friends

a few weeks back

it requires a lot

of resilience bravery

strength to face your fears

and stand up for your future which

these children have

it requires commitment to be

unthreatened

by the uncertainties of an unknown

future

if these children at this age

have this much commitment

for their better future it’s my

responsibility as a pakistani

to play my role by using my space

and ensuring the better future

it’s my acknowledgement for their

efforts

it’s my commitment to their

better future

and now i feel the time is also on our

side

with this new wave of optimism and

change in pakistan with the new

government

i feel it’s the right time for

people outside of pakistan to go and

visit pakistan

to create their own stories those

stories

that can erase the previous negative

stories in the media

and create new happy ones

it’s my way of giving hope

because i believe there is hope

this future and that is the meaning of

me

thank you

thank you so much