Pakistani Woman Engineer shares her thoughts on Technical Empowerment for Women

Meet Pakistani Woman Engineer Sidra Kaleem. Here's what she thinks about technical empowerment for women:

1. Firstly, please tell us your thoughts on Empowerment for women: These days women empowerment is one of the most talked about topics. About 50% of Pakistan's total population is women, so you can very well imagine our importance in the country. The worth that I associate to the women of Pakistan is also huge. We are creative and can make vital contribution to national as well as global economy, provided we are recognized, rewarded and celebrated appropriately!

2. And why do any country's women need to be technically strong? Firstly we should bear in mind that science, engineering, technology; these are not “only” for boys. Most of the girls in our society have fallen into this trap which escalates them away from pursuing technical fields. Math and science are their worst nightmares ever, and numbers and calculation haunt them because they never realize that if we really put our mind into anything, nothing remains impossible. Today the entire world is in dire need of help, even most developed countries in the world suffer from crumbling roads and bridges, deadly diseases, various environmental issues, brutal natural catastrophes etc. etc. To mitigate and tackle these challenges women should come forward and play their roles. To benefit this world and humanity we need to craft our “Technical” skills.

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3. What made you chose a technical field? To be honest I “accidentally” landed in a technical field. I am a very “curious” person, I have so many questions which I never hesitate to ask, I love solving mysteries, I enjoy “Research” and I feel pleasure in giving, when I got to know that “Engineering” is all about questioning, solving and paying back to humanity I regarded this experience the most beautiful accident of my life. Why I chose Civil Engineering? Well it was something because of something you can easily relate to. From the house you live, road you drive, office you work, the beautiful city you live in, it’s all planned and designed majorly by Civil Engineers.

4. Your message to the youngsters? My message would be "work hard, be consistent and always remain positive no matter things are going exactly opposite to your expectations, have a belief that it will happen and it will surely happen. Never get disappointed by the negative vibes and prejudices, instead enjoy it & take it as a challenge to show the world what you are actually capable of doing."

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