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